Grace for President Lesson Plans for Special Education
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Grace for President by Kelly DiPucchio is one of the best picture books for teaching students about elections, leadership and believing in yourself. Below is a ready-to-go, one-week plan with five Grace for President lesson plans for special education: read aloud visuals, election vocabulary, a Future Voter button craft, a class vote and leveled comprehension quizzes. Use it around Election Day, or any time you teach voting and community.
What is Grace for President about?
In Grace for President by Kelly DiPucchio, illustrated by LeUyen Pham, Grace is upset when she learns that there has never been a female president of the United States. So she decides to run for president in her school’s class election, against a popular classmate named Thomas. Grace works hard on her campaign, and in the end she wins the election. It’s an empowering story that shows students how an election works and that anyone can be a leader.
For special education classrooms, it’s a great pick because:
- The story follows a real election from start to finish, so students see campaigning, voting and counting votes in action.
- Grace’s feelings at the beginning of the story are a natural way to talk about emotions and fairness.
- Election words like president, election and vote are words students will hear on Election Day.
- The Future Voter craft lets every student see themselves as a voter.
5 Grace 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: Grace and Thomas, their school, and how Grace ran for president and won. Keep the visuals out all week for retelling.
2. Election vocabulary
Teach words like president, election, champion and vote with picture definitions, then practice with matching cards and clip cards. Leveled vocabulary cards let some students match pictures while others read and match words. Clip cards double as fine motor practice and make an easy independent center.
3. Future Voter button craft
This is the craft students love wearing home. Using simple visual directions with real photos, students:
- Write their name on the button
- Color the button
- Cut one strip each of red, white and blue tissue paper
- Glue the tissue paper to the bottom of the button
- Tape the button to their shirt
Each step has a picture, so students can follow along as independently as possible. Have students wear their buttons on Election Day!
4. “I am a future voter” sentence and a class vote
Students complete the sentence “I am a future voter” by tracing or writing the word and adding the picture card, with two levels: cut and paste a visual, or write a response. Then hold a class vote of your own on something students care about, like a class reward, a read aloud or a snack, and count the votes together.
5. Leveled comprehension quiz
Wrap up the week with questions like “Why was Grace upset at the beginning of the story?” and “What did Grace win?” There are 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
The last question, “Who do you vote for?”, lets every student practice making a choice. It’s also quick data for IEP goals around answering wh- questions and recalling details.
A simple week with Grace 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 | Make the Future Voter button craft. |
| Thursday | Complete the “I am a future voter” sentence, hold a class vote and sequence the story. |
| Friday | Review the story and give the leveled comprehension quiz. |
Everything above is included in the Grace 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 Future Voter button craft with visual directions, the craft sentence, sequencing, and leveled comprehension quizzes. Every activity is differentiated, so you can use it with your whole class.
Extend the lesson
- Talk about feelings. Grace is upset at the beginning of the story. Use an emotions chart to talk about how she felt and how she felt when she won.
- Make campaign posters. Let students make a simple poster for a class job or a favorite book, using a sentence frame like “Vote for ___ because ___.”
- Graph the class vote. Turn your class vote into a bar graph so students can count and compare the results.
- Connect to real elections. Show photos of a polling place and an “I Voted” sticker so students can link their Future Voter button to what adults do.
Tips for students who need more support
- Pre-cut the tissue paper strips for students who are still building scissor skills, so the focus stays on following the steps.
- Offer two picture choices for the class vote for students who are just learning to choose.
- Model each craft step first, then point to the matching picture on the visual directions as students work.
- Post a visual schedule for the week so students know when it’s craft day and voting day.
Teaching Duck for President too?
Grace for President pairs perfectly with Duck for President. Start with Duck’s farm animal election and classroom ballot box, then follow with Grace to talk about leadership and being a future voter. See our Duck for President lesson plans for the full week.
Do I need the book?
Yes. Book companions go alongside the book and don’t include any of its text. You can find Grace for President at most school and public libraries, or find Grace for President on Amazon.
Looking for more read alouds? Browse every month’s books on the Book Companions page.
