CNN iReport

I am Chris McWilliams, a teacher at Holland Township School

in NJ .

My 5th and 6th grade Gifted and Talented students have been

busy working on an election project that involves the entire middle

school in a mock election. The students have created their own

candidates to run for president. They have written a profile and

made a cartoon video with their drawings. The following is a

schedule of events . 1. The students will register to vote during lunch next week

and then be given a "Registered Voter" sticker.

2. On Oct 16th or 17th a DVD prepared by the Gifted and

Talented students will be shown in Social Studies class. The DVD

will present the Candidates that are running .

3. The Election will take place during Social Studies Class.

6th grade on Oct. 20th,

5th grade on Oct 24 * A voting booth will be placed in the

hallway and parent volunteers will help. * Ballots will be given to

each student. A state and the number of electoral votes will be

listed on the top of each ballot. There will also be ballots that

are not representing a state and will be used to calculate the

popular vote. A Map will be placed on a smartboard and as the

electoral votes come in , we will color in the state according to

the color that represents the winning candidate. Once electoral

votes are counted a winner will be declared. Students will compare

electoral votes to the popular vote and a class discussion will be

conducted the following day. I am so proud of the work my students

did !