A Book with a Lesson

Students learn about the role of the President of the United States as well as the campaign process that precedes the presidential election through the eyes of the character, Henry Hopeful, who is inspired by Barack Obama. Students participate in a mock voting activity and fill out a ballots which are tallied by the teacher to demonstrate how a presidential candidate is elected by voters. The teacher introduces the What Voters Do chart as a place to record how adults engage in the voting process. Students write a short speech about what they would do if elected President. The purpose of the lesson is to lay the foundation for students to understand the role of the President of the United States, the election process, and spark their imagination to consider becoming the President someday to evoke the change they want to see.