On Friday, September 27th, our first grade classes participated in their first election! Over the past two weeks we had been learning about our community and government. Each class read, discussed, and analyzed the books, Duck for President, Grace for President, and Otto Runs for President. These books helped us learn so much about elections, and choosing a good leader.

Duck for President Campaign

On Friday, we began our day working on campaigns. Each student chose a candidate whose campaign they wanted to be part of. We then split into campaign groups, discussing character traits that would make our candidate the best choice. We shared our campaigns with one another, allowing for any last minute changes in our chosen candidates.

First Grade voters at the booths

Around lunch time, each class visited the voting booth. Prior to voting, voters were required to show their voter’s registration (completed on Annual Voter’s Registration Day 9/24).

Otto fans cheering results    First graders cheering the ballot counting

First Graders cheering the ballot counting    First Graders cheering the ballot counting

At the end of the day we came together outside to count the ballots. Otto won by a landslide! We had a lot of satisfied voters, and think that our first graders were able to learn so much from this experience!

Cheering Video Clip