For the past few weeks, students K-3 have been working very hard in a new unit involving the democratic process of elections, inspired by the recent presidential election. During the first week, students read Grace for President by Kelly DiPucchio and illustrated by Leuyen Pham. In the book, students are introduced to the concept of what makes a good leader, how to campaign and a simplified version of the electoral college.
After this book, students raised their hands and nominated potential candidates (“the Library Lion would be a good president, but David from No David! would be a bad president!”) and librarians Maria Paz Alegre and Lynn Frielinghaus narrowed it down to 5 potential candidates:
Piggie & Gerald, Library Lion, Amelia Bedelia, Ling & Ting, Paper Bag Princess!
Students were broken into groups and asked to campaign for different candidates by listing reasons that they would make good presidents (“Amelia Bedelia tries her best no matter what! The Library Lion loves kids! The Paper Bag Princess is very smart!”) After campaigning with their classmates, students were checked off one by one and allowed to vote! Their names were checked off of lists, votes were done in private voting booths on iPads, and each student received a “I Voted Today!” sticker!
Congratulations to all of our young voters! And the winner of the Little Dalton Library Presidential Election is…
PIGGIE & GERALD!!!
