This has been the oddest Presidential primary of my life. While I have a lot of opinions about this election season, that's not why I am writing today. But, given that it is a Presidential election year, I realized that my son is now old enough to really start to comprehend what the U.S. Elections are all about, what our election process is, and why it's important.
He's always been fascinated with the facts surrounding the U.S. Presidents, but he's never shown much interest in how they became presidents. But lately, he's been asking questions. Perhaps he's just more curious now that we are just finishing up a 2 year study of American History. Or maybe it's because he has overheard me discussing the election with various people.
Either way it's more than time he has a chance to understand the process and what better way to understand any topic than with a lapbook study?
I received this lap-pak for free in exchange for this review. I am also being compensated fairly for the time it takes me to review the product. All opinions expressed are my own and I am not required to write a positive review. This post may contain affiliate links to 3rd party sites where products may be purchased resulting in paid compensation for this blogger.
Of course when you need good quality lapbook Home School in the Woods is the place to turn. I wasnt' just wanting an arts and crafts project. I wanted a planned lesson that included a lapbook with detailed instructions but more importantly one that has an in-depth study of the elections process. My goal was for my middle school student to really gain a comprehensive understanding of the subject.
While some might think that a lapbook study is for younger and elementary students, I still like to incorporate one or two throughout our schooling year and I suspect we will also do this into high school. Why? You might ask. Because, I think a lapbook is a concise way to disseminate a lot of information into a cohesive study that doesn't overwhelm the student or the teacher.
The Hands-on History Lap-Pak: U.S. Elections from Home School in the Woods is the perfect study for this election season, or anytime, you want to dig in to study the U.S. elections process.
Well, that's not good enough when you are a homeschooling mom!
I want my son to learn what I didn't learn about the process. I want him to understand the roles each candidate, delegate, and electorate plays in the system. I don't want him to be in the midst of an election year, as an adult hearing pundits talk about a brokered convention and thinking, "huh?" I want him to understand the electoral college and why in some election years a person can become president without winning the popular vote. I want him to know, really know why it's important for him to choose to vote and how to go about making his choice.
The U.S. Elections Lap-Pak does that and more.
It starts off with a history of government and the variety of government types around the world. It gives information about the word "election" and what it means to select.
The lap-pak also very methodically and concisely explains the role that an election plays in the American framework. There is a comprehensive outline of the three branches of the federal government and how each play a key, integral role in the function of our society.
It talks about how the founding fathers crafted the election process so that power was not wielded by a few.
You'll discover a summary of "suffrage" and how many fought for the right to vote and how we American citizens are guaranteed the right to vote.
The lesson gives a detailed explanation of the political parties, candidates, how they raise money, a sense of campaigns, and platforms.
The explanation of the process of an election is expansive including the role of media, advertising, stump speaking, debates and how those roles can affect the outcome of an election.
There is a good breakdown of voting at the polls, political conventions, the electoral college and how each of those play key roles in selecting a winner for the presidential election.
There is a summary of what happens after the election is over, when and how a winner is announced information regarding the the inauguration.
In addition, the lapbook includes a "Vocabinet" where the student is able to study specific key vocabulary words.
As you can see the lesson covers extensively the election process. He learned so much and to be honest, I did as well. I think the "vocabinet" part of the lapbook was key to pull it all together. I decided to make it a fun matching game. We laid out all fo the terms, and then tried to match the definitions without looking them up in the booklet.
The lap-pak comes on in digital form. You can either choose a downloadable version or you can order a CD version.
What you get in the pack is the printable lessons in pdf format, an mp3 audio version of the lesson, and the printable lapbook. Plus there are images of each of the mini-books and a completed lapbook so you will know exactly how it all fits together.
I suggest that you start out familiarizing yourself with the various files in the digital file.
The way that I did it was that I printed a copy of the lesson booklet on 8.5×11 for me as a teacher's guide along with the detailed explanation for how to build the lapbook.
For the student you can also print the lesson in a handy booklet, which I did for my son.
I also then printed each part of the lapbook using the detailed lapbook guide to know how I wanted each page to look. I chose to print each portion of the lapbook on a colored cardstock. I like the sturdiness of the lapbook when it's completed using cardstock. For pages that needed an artists hand I printed those either on yellow or white cardstock.
I allowed my Young Man to listen to the audio version while he also read along from the booklet. This way he was utilizing both his auditory and visual processes. I also allowed him to build each mini-book as we go through the lesson while the information is still fresh in his mind. Plus, this allows him to be hands-on with each part of the lesson, which satisfies the kinesthetic part of him.
When all of the mini-books are complete, then he adds them into the lapbook as described in the lapbook guide.
If you are a multi-child family you can either choose to do it as a family unit study or utilize it time and again as each child grows.
The lesson guide also shares information about additional online resources so you can extend the learning to be as in-depth as you want it to be. We took about 5 days to study out the election process. But you don't have to be as detailed as we were.
Register to Win an Elections Lap-book.
3 people will win a download version of the Hands-on History Lap-Pak: U.S. Elections.
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Great! I'm so glad that you have this opportunity.
Thank you Renee! Your blog is such a blessing.. You truly have been given a gift! Would you be kind enough to share with us in a post your curriculum picks for middle school!!
Oh sure. I'd be happy to do that. I generally list my curriculum at the beginning of the school year, but last year, 2015, was quite hectic for us, and I wasn't able to get one completed. I will add this to my calendar. Thanks for asking.