How I Teach the Electoral College

Article II, Section I of the U.S. Constitution established the Electoral College, a body of electors who actually elect the President instead of the U.S. voters. And, without fail, the Electoral College confuses students when they first learn about it.

 So, I created a set of doodle notes to help them understand the Electoral College process.

I have a blank version, fill in the blank version, and a coloring page version so it can be used with students on multiple levels at the same time.

To make the doodle notes easy to cover, I created a PowerPoint that covers all of the information in the doodle notes.

These doodle notes are available in my History Gal store on Teachers Pay Teachers.

Once students have an understanding of what the Electoral College is and how it works, they can move onto a map activity. This FREE Electoral College Map Activity  (also in my History Gal store) contains 4 different Electoral College map activities for the 2012-2020 Presidential elections:

2012 Presidential Election Map: Students will use the included PowerPoint (2 slides) to complete the map illustrating the breakdown of electoral votes for Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.

2016 Presidential Election Map: Students will use the included PowerPoint (2 slides) to complete the map illustrating the breakdown of electoral votes for Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

2020 Presidential Election Map: Have students predict the Electoral College outcome based on the 2012 and 2016 maps. Students can also complete the map as the results are announced on election day and, again, when electors cast their ballots.

2012-2020 Electoral College Breakdown Map: Students answer questions about the map to become more familiar with the allotment of electoral votes. Students can also use the map to create their own "what if" scenarios about the 2012, 2016, or 2020 elections.

The maps really help students visualize the breakdown of electoral votes in past elections, the many different ways candidates can reach 270 electoral votes, and why some states get more attention from candidates than others.

How do you teach the Electoral College?