United States presidential election
Lesson plan overview
This ESL lesson is dedicated to the US presidential election, and how the President of the United States is elected. Students will learn about the Electoral College, will discuss voting and elections in their own country, as well as the 2024 US election, and the likely outcome of Trump vs Harris. Other interesting lessons are “Vladimir Putin wins Russian election”, and “Phrasal verbs: politics”.
The lesson starts with a few conversation questions about elections, voting, as well as the United States and students’ knowledge of their elections.
Reading: Students read a timeline of the US presidential election, and complete the text with extracts that have been removed. This part is also used to introduce a few useful expressions (e.g. to garner support, to take office, to sway undecided voters). To practice these expressions, students complete a gap-fill activity.
Listening: Students watch a video called “Does your vote count?:The Electoral College explained”, and complete 2 listening comprehension activities.
Speaking: Students look at criticisms of the US presidential elections, and express their opinions about them.
Finally, students discuss the 2024 presidential election (there is a timeline with key events included to help students).
For more speaking practice, and to review key vocabulary from this lesson, you can use the conversation cards.
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Teacher’s lesson plan
Student’s worksheet
Student’s interactive PDF
Conversation cards PDF
Pre-class activities
All video-based ESL lesson plans include online pre-class activities, which are FREE and can be completed without registration. Perfect for teachers who wish to embrace the blended learning approach. By providing students with resources and engagement opportunities before the actual class session, educators can foster active participation, enhance comprehension, and optimise in-class discussions.
The pre-class activities are optional: if you choose not to assign them, or your students don’t complete them, it will not disturb the flow of the class. You can find and review the pre-class activities for this lesson plan here:
To send the pre-class activities to your students, copy the link below.
In-class activities
Additional resources
Each video-based lesson plan includes links to additional resources (videos and articles), which are FREE can be found online (in the pre-class activities page. These links aim to extend the learning experience, enabling students to connect classroom knowledge with real-world applications.
Unlock these resources with one of our subscription plans
Teacher’s lesson plan
Student’s worksheet
Student’s interactive PDF
Conversation cards PDF
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