Presidental Elections & Candidates, Game Theory & Study, Educational Games

Electing the President (Revised Ed.): An Interactive Simulation on the Electoral Process

Name: Electing the President (Revised Ed.): An Interactive Simulation on the Electoral Process
Author: Betty See
ISBN: 9781593639938

by Betty See

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Overview

Electing the president and vice president is a basic right and responsibility of every citizen of voting age, yet the complexities of electing our leaders is not a concept that everyone understands. "Electing the President" is a motivating, hands-on simulation that prepares students for the future process they will be a part of and molds them into educated voters. Students will experience the exciting process of electing the President and Vice President of the United States in this weeklong simulation. As the two parties square off, students take on the roles of candidates, convention delegates, and members of the Electoral College. Complete teacher instructions and all necessary student handouts provide an easy-to-stage simulation that can be used with small or large groups. This learning-by-doing project will help students understand the Electoral College process and realize the importance of voting.

About the Author, Betty See

Betty M. See returned to college after the youngest of her four children entered kindergarten. She earned her bachelor's degree in English and master's degree in reading. She has had a varied teaching career. She taught seventh and eighth grade language arts, was a middle school classroom teacher, teaching all subject areas, and for 10 years worked with gifted students in grades 3-8 in Little Falls, NJ.

At each of these levels, she often used simulation activities to help students become involved in the learning process. In 1992, she received an A+ for Kids Teacher Network Award for a simulation activity, Celebrating Our Heritage.

Mock trials were among the favorite activities of her students, gifted and others alike. Finding little prepared material suitable for her students, she wrote trials using characters familiar to the students. These trials were the basis for her successful first book, Jury Trials in the Classroom. Her second book, Electing the President, started as a simulation to help students understand the election process when See taught fourth-grade social studies. Later she adapted it for gifted students into a schoolwide project for an actual presidential election. Her students proportionally allocated electoral votes to different classes and tabulated both popular and electoral results. Responses from classroom teachers were positive, stating that this simulation helped students understand the electoral college concept and how the president was elected. Her most recent book, More Jury Trials in the Classroom was published in 2007. As with the first book, she has created trials in which the participants are familiar. As before, there also is an added an element of humor to further pique the interest of the students.

See has retired from the classroom, but has never given up her love of teaching and writing. She and her husband, Bob, retired to Florida and live at the Leeward Air Ranch, where he flies his Piper Archer, and she is editor of the community newsletter. In addition to editing, she regularly submits humorous columns about aviation and life in general.