By Laura Devaney, Managing Editor, eSchool News — The 2012 presidential election is drawing near, and educators across the country are using campaign efforts as a chance to teach students about the democratic process, the major issues in the race, and how these issues might affect students now and in the future.

Lots of free resources exist to help teachers incorporate the election into their lesson plans. Here are just a few of these digital tools and interactive resources for teaching about the election.

BrainPOP — Offers games, quizzes and more

CNN — offers a number of useful tools for teaching about the election, including an animated look at the election process, etc.

MTV — offers Fantasy Election letting students build a “dream team” of ideal political candidates and other interactive activities

PBS LearningMedia launched the Election 2012 Collection, a compilation of election-focused digital resources available to K-12 classrooms and educators nationwide

Pearson — offers free help to teachers and students as the 2012 election approaches

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