On 3 November 2026, Americans voted in the midterm elections. News organisations said the Democrats won control of both the House and the Senate. Students learn simple election words, read a short text and talk about voting and politics. This A2 version uses short sentences and simple past and present tenses.
Level: A2 · Time: 45 to 90 minutes. Pick the activities that suit your class. They work in almost any order.
Lesson Activities
- Warmer: Where Is This Building? – students guess the picture as the squares are revealed. (Answer: the US Capitol in Washington DC, where Congress meets.)
- Vocabulary Match – 10 words from the reading, matched with simple definitions. Do this before reading.
- Reading: US Midterm Elections (with word bank) – a short gap-fill text with a word bank, using the pre-taught words.
- Sort: True or False? – 12 sentences to sort. Students can predict before reading, then check after reading.
- Discussion Cards – 10 questions, from personal to opinion.
- Ranking: What Matters Most in an Election? – students rank 9 issues and defend their choices.
Teacher Tips
- For a shorter lesson (45 minutes), use the warmer, the vocabulary match, the reading and the discussion cards.
- Language focus: the simple past for news (voted, won, said). Ask students to find three past verbs in the reading.
- Follow-up: students write three sentences about voting in their own country.
Looking for a more challenging version? Try the B2 lesson.