Mentor texts are a great way to expose our students to a variety of experiences and voices. If you are covering democratic processes and procedures such as voting and the election process, using picture books can be a great way to build understanding. With lots of vocabulary terms to cover, picture books can provide context for our students. Here are several mentor texts about voting and the election process.
One of the things about mentor texts, is that you do not have to read the entire book in one sitting. For example, E is for Election is a book that covers a new term for letters of the alphabet. Choose a few pages each day or focus on a few different terms at a time. The book Ten Hereos Who Won Women the Right to Vote is a picture book that could also be read in small chunks. Choose one woman to focus on each day.
Some of the picture books in this list, such as Lillian's Right to Vote are beautifully written stories with great story development. Other books, such as Vote for Me! are silly or will be a quick read.
These picture books are a great addition to a unit on voting and the election process. Check out this blog post on holding an election simulation within your elementary classroom.
This post contains Amazon Affiliate links to make it easier for you find the books shared in this post.
