Duck for President Lesson Plans for Special Education
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Election season is the perfect time to teach students what it means to vote, and Duck for President by Doreen Cronin makes it easy and fun. Below is a ready-to-go, one-week plan with five Duck for President lesson plans for special education: read aloud visuals, election vocabulary, a classroom farm animal election, a craft sentence and leveled comprehension quizzes. Use it the week of Election Day, or any time you teach voting and community.
Why teach voting with picture books?
Elections are abstract. Words like ballot, election and speech don’t mean much until students see them in a story and then do them for themselves. A funny farm story gives students a character to follow, and a book companion turns the story into a week of meaningful practice:
- Students learn election vocabulary with picture support.
- They practice making a choice and marking a real ballot, a skill they’ll use as adults.
- Retelling and sequencing build comprehension, and the leveled quizzes give you data for IEP goals.
- Every activity is differentiated, so your whole class can take part.
What is Duck for President about?
In Duck for President by Doreen Cronin, illustrated by Betsy Lewin, Duck is tired of doing chores on Farmer Brown’s farm. So he holds an election and runs against Farmer Brown himself. After winning, Duck runs for bigger and bigger jobs, all the way to president, and finds out that every job is hard work. In the end, he heads back to the farm to write his autobiography. It’s funny, it’s familiar for students who know Click, Clack, Moo, and it explains elections in a way kids understand.
5 Duck for President lesson plans for special education
1. Read aloud and story map
Read the book whole group and stop to talk about the characters, the setting and what happened. Use the whole group visuals to fill out a story map together, and keep the visuals out all week for retelling.
2. Election vocabulary
Teach words like election, ballot, speech, chores and autobiography with picture definitions, then practice with matching cards and clip cards. These words carry over to real life, so keep them posted through Election Day.
3. Farm animal election with a classroom ballot box
This is the highlight of the week. Set up a ballot box (the sign is included), hand out farm election ballots, and let students vote for their favorite farm animal: duck, horse, cow or pig. Students check one box, fold their ballot and drop it in the box. Then count the votes together and announce the winner. Students can mark with a marker, a bingo dauber or a sticker, so every student can vote independently.
4. “I will cast my vote” craft sentence
Students complete the sentence “I will cast my vote” by tracing or writing the word and adding the picture card. There are two levels: cut and paste a visual, or write a response. They look great on a bulletin board next to your class election results.
5. Leveled comprehension quiz
Wrap up the week by asking questions like “Who did Duck run against?” and “What did Duck do at the end of the book?” with three levels:
- Level 1: picture answer choices to circle or point to
- Level 2: written answers with picture support
- Level 3: blank responses for students who are ready to write on their own
A simple week with Duck for President
| Day | Lesson |
|---|---|
| Monday | Read the book whole group with visuals and fill out the story map. |
| Tuesday | Reread and introduce the election vocabulary words. |
| Wednesday | Hold the farm animal election with ballots and the ballot box. Count the votes together. |
| Thursday | Complete the “I will cast my vote” craft sentence and sequence the story. |
| Friday | Review the story and give the leveled comprehension quiz. |
Everything above is included in the Duck for President Book Companion: a teacher planning guide with a suggested schedule, whole group visuals, a story map, vocabulary cards, clip cards and matching cards, the ballot box sign and farm election ballots, the craft sentence, sequencing, and leveled comprehension quizzes. Every activity is differentiated, so you can use it with your whole class.
Extend the lesson
- Graph the results. Turn your farm election votes into a simple bar graph so students can see which animal won and count the votes.
- Talk about chores. Duck runs for office because he doesn’t want to do his chores. Make a picture list of classroom jobs and let students vote on a new class job.
- Practice giving a speech. Have students tell the class one reason to vote for their favorite animal, using a sentence frame or an AAC device.
- Connect to real elections. Show photos of a real polling place and “I Voted” sticker so students can link the classroom activity to what adults do.
Tips for students who need more support
- Use real objects. A real box with a slot makes voting concrete. Let students practice putting a ballot in before the election.
- Offer choices with pictures. Keep ballot choices to two pictures for students who are just learning to choose.
- Model it first. Vote yourself while students watch, then have a para model it too.
- Post a visual schedule for the week so students know when the big classroom election day is coming.
Do I need the book?
Yes. Book companions go alongside the book and don’t include any of its text. You can find Duck for President at most school and public libraries, or find Duck for President on Amazon.
Looking for more read alouds? Browse every month’s books on the Book Companions page.
