Students can express their opinions by holding a mock election on an issue relevant to their school environment. For example, what new pizza topping should be introduced into the cafeteria menu? Separate the class into groups and have each group choose a favorite topping (or assign toppings). Groups should use ReadWriteThink's Printing Press interactive to create colorful flyers supporting their topping as the "best" choice. Flyers should include drawings or photographs of the topping, nutritional information and persuasive words, phrases and quotes. Post the flyers along with ballot boxes in the hallway or other common area, and encourage other classes to vote for their favorite toppings. As you tally up the final scores, use the opportunity to represent the data in a line, circle or bar graph.

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Have each student review a candidate's economic policy as posted on official campaign websites, found by searching on the candidate's name through Yahooligans, a kid-friendly search engine.(Note: While there are many presidential candidates representing different parties, you may choose to divide the class into two groups and restrict the discussion to the Democratic and Republican parties.) Mediate a classroom discussion about the major points of each economic plan, posing the following questions to the class: To what areas or programs will your candidates allot the most federal funds? What programs might see their funding cut? Do you agree or disagree with your candidate's economic plan? Which candidate do you think has the most feasible plan?

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Would you want to be president? What would you do if you were president for a day? What laws or rules would you make?

Ask students to prepare a letter to the president. (This activity can be completed before or after the presidential election.) In the letters, students should describe what they would do if they were president for a day. Encourage students to include some biographical information about themselves and drawings of their families or school. Package all letters in one envelope, and include a cover letter with the teacher's name, the grade of the students and the school's mailing address. Visit the White House Web site for further information about mailing the letters to the president.

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Have students explore the scientific and ethical issues surrounding stem-cell research or any other scientific endeavor. Students should use newspaper, magazine or Internet resources to identify where this year's presidential candidates stand on the topic. This is an excellent activity to help students examine the validity of differing viewpoints as presented in various news sources. On what scientific evidence do the candidates base their opinions? With which candidate's opinion do the students agree? Ask students to write a short report about their findings and indicate which candidate they support and why.

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