11/3/2026

Morning Announcements

Morning Meeting Agenda

Mon · Social Studies Tue · Literacy Wed · Science Thu · Math Fri · ROAR + Houses
Today is Election Day across the United States!
Literacy of the Day

The words of voting

Today adults across the country head to the polls. Every big idea comes with its own vocabulary — and knowing those words is how you understand what’s happening around you.

Portrait of John Lewis

Meet John Lewis! He worked very hard so that everyone in America would be allowed to vote. He said voting is one of the most powerful things a person can do.

Word of the Day: VOTE. To vote means to make a choice with a group. When lots of people vote, the choice with the most votes wins!

1. Choose 2. Mark it 3. Count

How voting works — three simple steps!

Let’s talk
  • Have you ever voted on something with your class or family? What was it?
  • If your choice doesn’t win the vote, what’s a good way to act?
  • Why is it important that EVERYONE gets a turn to choose?
Try it

Class vote! Let’s vote on something fun — maybe our next read-aloud or a brain-break song. Raise your hand for your choice. We’ll count together and see which one wins!

Quote of the day: “The vote is precious. It is the most powerful nonviolent tool we have.”

Who said it?Hide
Portrait of John Lewis
John Lewis — a leader of the American civil rights movement. As a young man he was a Freedom Rider and helped lead the 1965 march in Selma, Alabama, where he was badly injured. He spent decades in Congress and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He repeated this idea about voting throughout his life. Photo: U.S. Congress (public domain)
BALLOT the paper where you mark your choice French: “little ball” CANDIDATE a person asking to be chosen for a job Latin: “white robe” CAMPAIGN the work of persuading people Latin: “open field” DEMOCRACY a system where the people decide Greek: “people power”

Four words worth knowing — and where they came from.

Let’s talk
  • “Democracy” comes from Greek words for people and power. What does that tell you about who’s supposed to hold the power?
  • Lewis called the vote a “nonviolent tool.” What does it mean to call a piece of paper a tool?
  • A campaign tries to persuade you. What’s the difference between persuading someone with facts and persuading them with feelings?
Reveal the word originsHide
Ballot comes from an Italian/French word for “little ball” — people once voted by dropping colored balls into a box. Candidate comes from Latin candidatus, “clothed in white,” because Romans seeking office wore white togas. Campaign comes from Latin for “open field” — originally a military term for taking an army into the field. Words carry their history inside them.
Try it

Persuasion practice! With a partner, pick a harmless school topic — longer recess, a new library book, a class pet. Make your case in 30 seconds using one fact and one reason. Then swap. Which was more convincing, and why?

Additional Notes/Activities

If additional activities are needed for the Morning Meeting, they will be added here.