Right now, a week after voting closed, by any normal assessment of the US election, Joe Biden has clearly won – the leaders of many countries around the world have already called to congratulate him.
His opponent, former president Donald Trump, is refusing to concede defeat, however, claiming (without evidence) that there were problems with the election.
Is Trump simply doing what any reasonable person would do by making sure every vote is counted? After all, being the President of the United States is the most powerful job in the world so you want to be certain you announce the right result. Or is he being deliberately obstructive, and should he just depart gracefully for the good of his nation?
This resources pack includes a story about the election from The Week Junior newspaper, and an activities pack designed to get children thinking, talking and writing about what the article means to them.
Activities include:
- Debate whether Trump refuses to concede when he has clearly lost is harming the nation and its people
- Have you ever known you were going to lose something long before it had finished – perhaps a game like Monopoly, for example? Write a personal recount of what happened, describing how you either gave in gracefully or clung on until the bitter end
- Write a set of instructions for conceding defeat in a contest such as an election in a grown-up way
- Kamala Harris is the first woman to have been made Vice President of the United States although no woman has ever held the top job there. This is not the case elsewhere. More than 70 countries around the world have elected a female leader of their governments. Write a fact file about three of them, outlining who they were, which countries they led, when they were in power and some of the things they achieved.
Find the entire series of Topical Tuesday resources to download here.
What is The Week Junior?
The Week Junior magazine looks at current affairs and helps children make sense of the world, provides context and clarity to complex issues, improves general knowledge and encourages discussion and debate.
To find out more about The Week Junior and to download its free resources, please go to schools.theweekjunior.co.uk.