Decisions and Elections

Overview

In this third lesson of the six-part unit Power, Rights, and Governance, students examine how representative democracies make collective decisions. Through a short mock election, they consider majority rule, minority rights, informed voting, and whether an election process is fair.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• Explain representation, voting, majority rule, and minority rights.
• Compare candidate platforms using evidence.
• Participate responsibly in a secret-ballot election.
• Evaluate whether a decision-making process is fair and democratic.

Success criteria

• I can explain how representatives make decisions on behalf of others.
• I can identify similarities and differences between candidate platforms.
• I can use evidence to make an informed voting decision.
• I can describe one strength and one limitation of the mock-election process.

Curriculum links

• Government, democracy, elections, and the relationship between rights and responsibilities.
• Understanding how political decisions affect individuals, groups, and communities.
• Assessing differing perspectives and the significance of political decisions.
• Communicating reasoned conclusions and participating respectfully in discussion and decision-making.

Lesson structure (30 minutes)

1. 0–5 min – Hook: a shared spending decision Display the question in the opening decision question: “How should a class decide where to spend $500?” Students briefly think, pair, and share possible methods, such as teacher choice, consensus, random selection, or a vote. Invite two or three responses and ask: “What makes a decision fair?”

2. 5–10 min – Direct teaching: representation and fairness Use the democracy concepts slides to explain that representation means choosing people to make decisions on behalf of a wider group. Clarify voting, majority rule, minority rights, and several decision-making processes, including consensus, direct voting, and representative decision-making. Emphasize that a majority decision should not remove the basic rights or voice of minority groups. Ask students to distinguish between “the option with the most votes” and “a fair process.”

3. 10–15 min – Introduce the mock election Open the mock-election instructions and explain that students will elect a representative to recommend how the class should use a fictional $500 grant. Present three age-appropriate candidate profiles and platforms, for example:

• Candidate A: improve classroom technology and research materials.
• Candidate B: fund a class activity and student well-being initiatives.
• Candidate C: support a community service project and environmental action. Explain that candidates may have different priorities, and no platform is automatically “correct.” Review expectations: listen respectfully, ask relevant questions, avoid personal attacks, and vote independently.

4. 15–24 min – Analyse platforms and question candidates Distribute the voter-information sheet. Students read the candidate profiles, record each candidate’s main proposal, identify one possible benefit and concern, and note which groups may be helped or overlooked. Allow candidates or teacher-appointed spokespeople to give a brief statement. Students ask questions such as: “Who benefits most?”, “How would the proposal be carried out?”, and “How does it respect minority views?” Circulate to prompt evidence-based reasoning and clarify unfamiliar terms.

5. 24–28 min – Secret ballot and count Revisit the voting procedure slide. Give each student one ballot and remind them that a secret ballot protects voter freedom and privacy. Students select one candidate, fold their ballots, and place them in the ballot box. Count the votes publicly with student observers recording totals on a tally sheet. Announce the result without suggesting that the winning platform is automatically the fairest or best.

6. 28–30 min – Debrief: was the process fair? Use the debrief questions for a rapid whole-class discussion. Ask: “Was the process fair?”, “Was everyone’s voice equally counted?”, “Could a minority group still have valid concerns?”, and “What would improve this election?” Students share one observation from their voter-information sheet or give a one-sentence response orally. Connect the activity to the next lesson’s deeper mock election preparation.

Resources

• the complete Decisions and Elections slide deck
• the voter-information sheet
• Candidate profiles and platform summaries
• Ballots
• Ballot box or labelled container
• Tally sheet and writing materials
• Board or projector
• Timer

Assessment

• Observe students’ explanations during the opening discussion and concept teaching; listen for accurate use of representation, majority rule, and minority rights.
• Review the voter-information sheets for platform comparisons, identified impacts, and evidence-based reasoning.
• Use the final debrief to assess students’ ability to judge fairness, participation, and protection of minority rights.

Differentiation

• Provide a word bank, simplified candidate profiles, and sentence frames such as “This platform may help ___ because ___” for students who need language or literacy support.
• Read profiles aloud, allow text-to-speech or speech-to-text, and pair students strategically without requiring them to disclose their voting choice.
• Offer a comparison table with symbols or colour coding for students who benefit from visual organization.
• Extend confident students by asking them to propose an electoral safeguard, such as accessible information, independent vote counting, or stronger protection for minority voices.
• For EAL learners, pre-teach key terms with simple definitions and permit discussion or responses in a first language before sharing in English.