Election Day

Our country is a democracy. An important part of a democracy is that the citizens participate in their government by voting. The first Tuesday, after the first Monday, of November is Election Day. On Election Say, voters across the United States have a chance to elect the leaders who will govern their cities, towns, states, and even our entire country (The President is one example). People go to polling places such as firehouses, schools or other public building throughout the day to vote.

Candidates usually belong to one political party. A political party is a group whose members have similar ideas about our government. There are two main parties in America - the Democrats and the Republicans; however there are also smaller parties. Candidates from each party are listed on a ballot and voters must choose one. The officials are elected when they receive the most or the majority of votes.

Election Day is a legal holiday in Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maryland, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and West Virginia. A bill was been proposed to make Election Day a national holiday.

Check out this link for some fun, educational crafts you can do related to Election Day.

http://holidays.kaboose.com/election-day.html

*Information adopted from http://www.congressforkids.net/Elections_electionday.htm

Vocabulary:

1. democracy (noun) - government by the people where they have the right and duty to elect officials and participate in their government
2. citizens (noun) - a person who lives in a particular city, state, or country
3. participate (verb) - to take part in
4. elect (verb) - to choose or select by vote
5. polling place (noun) - the place where votes are taken
6. vote (verb) - to express or signify will or choice in a matter, as by casting a ballot
7. candidate (noun) - a person who seeks an office
8. ballot (noun)-method of secret voting by means of printed or writtenballots or by means of voting machines
9. majority (noun)-number of voters or votes, jurors, or others in agreement,constituting more than half of the total number

Election Day Unscramble:

Unscramble the vocabulary words. After you have unscrambled them write four sentence using four vocabulary words of your choice.

1. tjymarioa ____________________
2. ticzisne ____________________
3. ctlee ____________________
4. lgilnop ____________________
5. cydmcaero ____________________
6. praptaetcii ____________________
7. tveo ____________________
8. ltolab ____________________
9. cddtasnie ____________________

Grammar Point: Capitalization

Capitalize days of the week, holidays, and months of the year but not seasons.

• I love the fall because of Halloween and Thanksgiving.
• Example from blog: "Election Day" is capitalized.

We also capitalized state and city names.

• Example from blog: Election Day is a legal holiday in Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maryland, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and West Virginia.

Activity: Write a paragraph about your favorite holiday include what month it is in, the date it occurs, and where you usually celebrate it (including the city of state). Make sure to follow the capitalization rules from above!