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Election-Year Issues: Where Do the Political Candidates Stand?
Note: This is an update of the C·R·E·A·T·E for Mississippi lesson plan "Election 2000," which was created by a team of Lead Teachers prior to the 2000 presidential campaign. Authors of the original lesson plan are listed at the end of this document.
Subject Area:
Social Studies
Grade Level(s):
5-8
Duration of Activity:
Seven, 50-minute periods
Description of Activity:
Cooperative groups of three to four students will create multimedia presentations that compare the platforms of political candidates and their parties using selected issues of importance to the campaign. By modifying the activities slightly and substituting the Web sites used, the lesson can be adapted for any election - local, state, or national. The lesson can also be adapted for studies of past elections of importance to the state or nation.
Objectives:
Students will
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research specific issues impacting a current or past election campaign.
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become informed about candidates and party platforms involved in a particular election.
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evaluate candidates' and their parties' positions on election issues.
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improve their research skills while searching for information on the World Wide Web and in printed materials.
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create presentations in cooperative groups that address selected political issues and outline one candidate's position on those issues.
Materials/Equipment:
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Computers with Internet access, one per group minimum
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Microsoft PowerPoint or other presentation software
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Digital projector or large-screen monitor
- Handout 1: Checklist for Election Campaign Presentations
- Handout 2: Storyboard Form
Prerequisites (skills or background needed):
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The teacher should prepare the class ahead of time by asking them to be looking in newspapers and magazines and listening to the news for issues related to political campaigns.
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Students must have rudimentary research skills using the World Wide Web.
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Students must have a basic knowledge of how to create a presentation using software.
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Students must be able to work cooperatively in groups.
Procedure
Teacher Component:
Day 1
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Introduce the election campaign to be studied, pointing out the candidates involved and their political affiliations. Include any third-party candidates, not just the Democrats and Republicans.
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Ask the class to discuss any important issues involved in the election with which they might be familiar. This discussion should be general in nature, simply introducing issues to consider for research.
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If students do not have access to magazines and newspapers at home, bring some to class for the students to review as part of the discussion.
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Some possible issues on which to focus include: abortion, drugs, education, Social Security, health care, gun control, labor laws, and crime.
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Facilitate a brainstorming session with the entire class about what they know and what they need to know to make informed decisions regarding candidates for this election.
Day 2
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Continue the discussion from the previous day if necessary until all students in the class understand what the issues are and how they relate to the election campaign.
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Divide the students into groups of three or four to work cooperatively in creating presentations about the election and the issues involved. Refer to these groups as their "Home" groups.
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Assign each Home group one of the candidates for the election.
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Select three or four issues that seem most important or interesting to the students following the brainstorming session. The number of issues should match the number of students in each cooperative group and the topics should be parallel across groups.
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Assign one student from each cooperative group one of the issues to research. Students are to become "Experts" after they have researched an issue. Experts from each Home group will work together to research the issue, and they then will take the information back to their Home group.
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Distribute Handout 1: Checklist for Election Campaign Presentations, and ask the students to review the handout. Answer any questions they might have. Remind them to use this as a guide for the type of information they need to collect as part of their research.
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Allow the students to begin researching their assigned issues by Expert groups.
Day 3
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Allow the students to continue researching their assigned issues. Answer any questions they might have about the information they find. Be sure that the Expert groups have a clear understanding of their issue before returning to their Home groups.
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Ask the Librarian or Media Center Director for assistance in locating any printed material the students might need as part of their research.
Day 4
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Group the students by Home groups to discuss what each Expert learned about the important issues.
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Assign the Home groups the task of researching the positions their assigned candidate has taken on each of the issues. Students do not necessarily have to support the candidates' views, but they do need to be able to explain to the class what the candidates' views are.
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Allow Home groups to begin compiling their ideas for their presentations once they have collected all the information they need about their candidate.
Day 5
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Duplicate enough copies of Handout 2: Storyboard Form for each group to have one per slide in their presentation. Require the groups to storyboard their slides before beginning to work with the software.
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Move around the room and review the groups' storyboards. Make any suggestions regarding design or content that might be helpful in creating a better presentation.
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As each group's storyboard is approved, allow the groups to begin working on their actual presentations.
Day 6
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Allow the student groups to complete their presentations.
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If there is sufficient time, ask the student groups to critique each other's presentations and make any final editing changes.
Day 7
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Set aside class time for the student Home groups to present their presentations to the class.
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Allow time for questions and answers and discuss any differences that might appear between two or more presentations on the same candidate's positions on issues.
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Ask the student Home groups to submit print copies of their slides for assessment purposes.
Student Activities:
Day 1
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Participate in a class discussion of the issues involved in the election campaign being studied. Determine if there are candidates from parties other than the Democrats and Republicans.
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Look at newspapers, magazines, and television news to discover what the issues are.
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Brainstorm with the entire class about what is known and what needs to be known to make informed decisions regarding candidates for election.
Day 2
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Continue the discussion from the previous day if necessary until everyone understands what the issues are and how they relate to the election campaign.
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Divide into "Home" groups of three or four who will work cooperatively in creating presentations about the election.
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Select one of the assigned issues to research.
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Use Handout 1: Checklist for Election Campaign Presentations as a guide for what needs to be in the group presentations. Review this handout with the teacher, and ask any questions about items that are not clear to the group.
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Separate into "Expert" groups by assigned issues. Research by Expert group what is involved in each issue-what the different "sides" to the issue are.
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Begin researching the assigned issues in Expert groups, and take notes about the information found.
Day 3
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Continue researching the assigned issues until the necessary information has been gathered. Ask any questions about the information that is not clearly understood before returning to the Home group.
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Ask the Librarian or Media Center Director for assistance in locating any printed material the Expert group might need.
Day 4
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Meet with the Home group to discuss what each was learned about the important issues.
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Once the issues are understood, begin determining the assigned candidate's position on those issues. The Home group does not have to support their candidate's views, but they do need to be able to explain to the class what their candidate's views are.
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Begin compiling ideas for the presentation once all the necessary information about the candidate and the issues is collected. Use Handout 1: Checklist for Election Campaign Presentations to help determine if enough information has been gathered.
Day 5
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Before beginning to produce the actual slides, outline the presentation using storyboard forms, one for each slide to be created. The teacher will have enough copies of Handout 2: Storyboard Form for each group to have one for each slide in their presentations.
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Give the completed storyboard forms to the teacher to review. Listen to his/her suggestions regarding design, or content that might be helpful in creating a better presentation.
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Create the actual presentation slides based on the storyboard forms. Add the content first. Consider slide design (background, colors, font style, and so on) after the content has been added. Save animations as the last thing to do in case the group runs short on time. Content is the most important thing.
Day 6
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Make any additions or corrections needed to complete the presentation.
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If there is sufficient time, ask another Home group to critique the presentation, and make any final editing changes.
Day 7
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Give the presentation as a Home group before the class.
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Discuss all the group presentations, and ask any questions that evolve as a result of the presentations. Particularly note any differences that appear between two or more presentations on the same candidate's positions on issues. Clarify the candidate's position.
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Submit printed copies of the presentation to the teacher for assessment purposes.
Accommodations:
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Work with the Librarian/Media Center Director for access to materials needed by the student groups. Let this person know ahead of time what the classes will be working on.
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Assign group members on an equitable basis so that no group has an advantage over another. Pair more experienced computer users with those less knowledgeable.
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Consider the students' family backgrounds and abilities when assigning issues to research. Do not select topics that might prove embarrassing or too difficult for the students to understand.
Extension Activities:
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Ask the students to locate political cartoons that portray issues covered in their research.
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If the election being studied is for the U. S. presidency, ask the students to locate maps displaying electoral votes for each state. As a class, discuss these maps as well as the function of the Electoral College in a presidential election.
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Hold a mock election both before and after the class conducts research and gives the presentations. Compare the results.
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Hold a mock television debate among all the candidates. Videotape the debate.
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Have the students role play candidates being interviewed by a television news anchor.
Integration:
Assessments:
- Handout 1: Checklist for Election Campaign Presentations
URLs
Major U. S. Political Parties
Third-Party Political Parties
Television News and News Writers
Politics and History
Electoral College
Curriculum Frameworks
Mississippi:
Fifth Grade
- Examine how the government, established by the Constitution, embodies the purposes, values, and principles of United States democracy. (C, H)
- Identify people, places, documents, and events that led to the establishment of a democratic system (e.g., The Founding Fathers, Declaration of Independence, Article of Confederation, Constitution, Bill of Rights, etc.).
- Analyze the ideals, principles, and practices of citizenship in a democratic society. (C, H)
- Explain how the powers of the national government are distributed, shared, and limited.
- Identify people, places, documents, and events that led to the establishment of a democratic system (e.g., the Founding Fathers, Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, Constitution, Bill of Rights, etc.).
- Define "rule of law" and explain how it protects individual rights of citizens.
Sixth Grade
- Apply spatial and ecological perspectives to people, places, and environment using social studies tools (e.g., timelines, maps, globes, resources, graphs, a compass, technology, primary and secondary sources, charts, etc.). (C, H, E)
- Interpret special purpose maps (e.g., climate, vegetation, population).
- Analyze information using social studies tools (e.g., graphs, maps, charts, tables, political cartoons, etc.).
- Analyze civic life, politics, and government in the Western Hemisphere. (C, H)
- Describe the essential characteristics of democracy, socialism, and communism, as found in the countries of the Western Hemisphere.
- Trace the evolution of political organizations in the Western Hemisphere (e.g., Organization of American States, etc.).
- Assess the interactions of nations over time in the Western Hemisphere (e.g., political conflicts, commerce, transportation, immigration, etc.)
Seventh Grade
- Apply spatial and ecological perspectives to people, places, and environment using social studies tools (e.g., timelines, maps, globes, primary and secondary resources, political cartoons, charts, graphs, a compass, technology, etc.). (H, G, E)
- Analyze information using social studies tools (e.g. graphs, maps, charts, tables, political cartoons, etc.).
- Analyze civic life, politics, and government. (C, H)
- Describe the essential characteristics of and need for government as found in the countries of the Eastern Hemisphere (e.g., monarchy, dictatorship, republic, dynasty, etc.).
Eighth Grade
- Analyze spatial and ecological relationships between, people, places, and environments using social studies tools (e.g., timelines, maps, globes, primary and secondary resources, charts, political cartoons, graphs, a compass, technology, etc.). (C, H, G, E)
- Interpret special purpose maps (e.g., historical, population, etc.).
- Identify how the government established by the Constitution embodies the purposes, values, and principles of American democracy. (C, H)
- Explain how and why powers are distributed and shared between national and state governments.
- Analyze the ideals, principles, and practices of citizens in a democratic society.
- Assess the importance of certain traits of character in a democracy (e.g., civility, persistence, nationalism, integrity, courage, common good, loyalty, honesty, fairness, justice, equality, responsibility, freedom, diversity, compassion, authority, etc.).
- Explain how political parties provide opportunities for citizens to participate in government.
- Determine origins and resolutions of political conflict in the United States.
National Educational Technology Standards (NETS):
- Apply strategies for identifying and solving routine hardware and software problems that occur during everyday use. (1)
TerraNova:
26 Historical and Cultural Perspectives (Level 11-21/22)
Demonstrate an understanding of concepts and process skills related to the study of time, continuity, and societal change throughout history.
Demonstrate an understanding of concepts and process skills related to the study of the contributions, influences, and interactions of various cultures.
Construct answers and create solutions or products using inquiry skills and knowledge related to historical and cultural perspectives.
Authors of "Election 2000":
Sheila Bailey, Winona Junior High School, Winona, MS
sheilabailey@hotmail.com
Frances Green, Booneville Middle School, Booneville, MS
fgreen33@hotmail.com
Veronica Helms, Winona Junior High School, Winona, MS
veronicahelms@hotmail.com
Marilyn Linton, Houlka Attendance Center, Houlka, MS
mlinton@chickasaw.k12.ms.us
Tim West, Tupelo Middle School, Tupelo, MS
westwt@tupelo.k12.ms.us
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