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6th grade · Social Studies · Unit 12 of 14

Choosing Our Leaders

The Electoral College, terms and amendments

What your child practices

How the Constitution and its amendments set up the selection of leaders: the Electoral College, terms of office, Alabama's senators, representatives and electoral votes, and the amendments that widened the right to vote.

Alabama Course of Study content standard: 6.14 · how political leaders are selected under the Constitution and its amendments

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. The Electoral College elects the president; a state's electoral votes equal its senators plus representatives. You need 270 to win.
  2. A president must be at least 35. Senators serve 6 years; representatives serve 2.
  3. In a primary, voters choose a party's candidate.

Example: A state has 2 senators and 7 representatives. How many electoral votes does it have? Electoral votes = senators + representatives. 2 + 7 = 9. Answer: 9

Choosing Our Leaders in Alabama

In the Alabama Course of Study, this is unit 12 of 14 in 6th grade Social Studies, after Explorers & Colonizers and before Federalism in Alabama.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    The president is elected by the…

    • Supreme Court
    • Electoral College
    • governors
    • Senate alone

  2. Question 2

    How many members does Alabama send to the US House of Representatives?

    • 2
    • 9
    • 7
    • 35

  3. Question 3

    A president serves a term of…

    • for life
    • 2 years
    • 4 years
    • 6 years

  4. Question 4

    How many senators does each state have?

    • 2
    • 1
    • 7
    • 100

  5. Question 5

    The 15th Amendment (1870) said the right to vote cannot be denied because of…

    • race
    • income
    • age
    • height

  6. Question 6

    The Constitution first let states decide who could vote, which meant that in 1789 most voters were…

    • all adults
    • women
    • everyone over 18
    • white men who owned property

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