Electing a President

from EducationWorld.com

Candidates are crisscrossing the country in a quest for the votes that will put their name on the presidential ballot in November. Capitalize on this "teachable moment" with five lessons that teach about the process and engage students in learning about it.

As the grueling primary process begins, Election Day seems a long way away. But, before we know it, voters will be lining up at the polls to cast their ballots in the next presidential election.

Although Election Day will get most of the attention, the primaries leading up to Election Day also offer many opporutunities for teaching about the American political process and citizens' roles and responsibilities. For example, are your students aware that primaries are a relatively new political development? A century ago, ordinary citizens had little say in the process of choosing each party's presidential candidate; choosing the candidate was more of a backroom process, carried out by party leaders and political insiders.

To help you teach about the development of our current election system, we offer a list of special resources that explain how primaries and caucuses work.

FIVE LESSONS FOR TEACHING ABOUT PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARIES

This week, Education World provides five lessons to help you teach about the presidential election process. The lessons include a special emphasis on the presidential primaries. Scroll down for a complete lesson plans. (Appropriate grade levels for each lesson appear in parentheses.)

1. Primary and Caucus Calendar
Create a calendar of upcoming primaries and caucuses. (Grades 3-12)

2. Getting to Know the Candidates: Analyzing Campaign Ads
Learn about candidates' positions by analyzing their campaign ads. (Grades 3-12)

3. How Does the Primary Process Work?
Learn how the primary and caucus process works. Work sheet included. (Grades 3-12)

4. Presidential Eligibility
Could Britney Spears be elected president? Roger Clemens? Learn who can and who can't run for president. (Grades 3-12)

5. The Presidential Campaign Game
Experience the political process and learn what it takes to manage a political campaign. (Grades 9-12)

MORE ELECTION RESOURCES

• Make Classroom Connections to This Year's Elections 
• Election WebQuest 
• Election Day: Classroom Activities 
• Election Day: Ten More Classroom Activities 
• Elections and Our Government -- In Words a Third Grader Can Understand 
• More Election Day Resources from the Web 
• U.S. Presidents on the Internet 
• Use Editorial Cartoons to Teach About Elections Past and Present 
• America's Freedom Documents
• Why Teach Current Events? 

1. Primary and Caucus Calendar

Subjects

• Educational Technology
• Mathematics
• Social Studies

Grade Levels

• 3-5
• 6-8
• 9-12

Objectives
Students will

• read a chart and translate the information into calendar format;
• learn to save and edit Word documents (optional); and,
• use information on the calendar to answer questions about upcoming primaries and caucuses.

Keywords
election, primary, primaries, caucus, caucuses, president, candidate, Democrat, Republican, convention, delegates

Materials Needed

• calendar template  (Word, 280K)
• 2004 Presidential Primary Dates (students can access this document online or you might provide printed copies of it)
• U.S. outline map 1; or U.S outline map 2 (optional)

Procedure

In this lesson, students read a chart that shows the dates, state by state, of this year's primaries and caucuses. They translate information on the chart into calendar format so they can see at a glance the dates of those primaries and caucuses. They use a calendar template (Word, 280K) to complete that task.

Note: This lesson works well in a classroom or computer lab. In a lab setting, where every student has his ir her own computer, students can access the primary resource document on the Web. Also, the calendar template (Word, 280K) is an editable template, which means students can download a copy of the template (a Word document) and type the month, dates, and primary/caucus information into it. Or you can print copies of the template and have students fill them in by hand.

Arrange students into pairs or groups of three. Provide each pair or group with the 2004 Presidential Primary Dates from the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Students can access the document online, or you can print a copy for each pair/group to use as they complete the activity.

Review with students the format of the 2004 Presidential Primary Dates document. Students quickly will see that the states and U.S. territories are listed in alphabetical order; the dates of primaries and caucuses for each state are listed in the first two columns on the chart. To determine which primaries/caucuses are being held on which day, readers must hunt through the entire list. An easier way to see when each primary event is being held would be to transfer the information to a calendar. That is the students's job: to create a calendar of upcoming primaries and caucuses that can be seen at a glance.

Point out that some primary and caucus dates have an R (for Republican) or D (for Democrat) in parentheses after the date. That's because some states hold primaries or caucuses for each party on separate dates.

Below you will find separate instructions for those who will use the calendar templates in the computer lab and those who will use printed copies in the classroom

If students are using the Word document calendar-page template in the computer lab. . .

• Provide each pair or group of students with a disk with the calendar template on it, or have each student download the template from http://www.educationworld.com/tools_templates
  /sevendaycalendar.doc and save it to a disk. Remind students to name the file appropriately -- for example, januaryprimaries or februaryprimaries.
• If students are working in pairs, have one student create calendars for January, February, and March primaries/caucuses and the other student create calendars for April, May, and June.
• If students are working in groups of three, have the first student create calendars for January and February, the second student create calendars for March and April, and the third student create calendars for May and June.
• Students type the name of the month at the top of the calendar page and type the dates for that month in the correct squares on the calendar.
• Then they use the 2004 Presidential Primary Dates document to create the calendar for the month. They type the names of the states in the correct spaces on the calendar to indicate the dates on which primaries/caucuses will be held in those states. (They type an (R) or (D) next to the state name if the primary or caucus scheduled for that date is for only one of the two parties.)

If students are using printed calendar pages. . .

• 
  Provide each pair or group of students with six blank calendar pages.
• If students are working in pairs, have one student create calendars for January, February, and March primaries/caucuses and the other student create calendars for April, May, and June.
• If students are working in groups of three, have the first student create calendars for January and February, the second student create calendars for March and April, and the third student create calendars for May and June.
• Students write the month at the top of the calendar page. They write the dates for that month in the correct squares on the calendar.
• Then they use the 2004 Presidential Primary Dates document to create the calendar for the month. They write the names of the states in the correct spaces on the calendar to indicate the dates on which primaries/caucuses will be held in those states. (They write an (R) or (D) next to the state name if the primary or caucus scheduled for that date is for only one of the two parties.)

When the calendars are completed, students will be able to see at a glance which primaries and caucuses are coming up.

Extension Activities

• On U.S. outline map 1 or U.S outline map 2 mark the dates for primaries or caucuses on the map.
• Color the states in which primaries are held in January one color, color the states where primaries are held in February a different color, and so on. . . Create a color key to go with the map.
• Copy the U.S. outline map onto a transparency. Cover a bulletin board with white paper. Project the map on the paper. Trace the outline of the map to create a large U.S. map that students can use for a variety of purposes.
• Students might:
   
  • record results of primaries and caucuses by writing them on the state.
  • follow new reports of primary results in each state in newspapers from that state, download from that source a photo or headline that reports the results of the primary in that state, and post the photo/headline on the state.
  • post pictures of the candidates around the map, and then string yarn from each state to the picture of the candidate who was victorious. -- post around the map newspaper headlines that report primary results, and extend yarn from each headline to the appropriate state.

Assessment
Students use their calendars to correctly answer at least 8 of 10 questions on a quiz. Following are a few examples of the questions you might ask:

• On which date will Louisiana hold its primary election? (March 9)
• Which states are holding primaries or caucuses on May 11? (Nebraska and West Virginia)
• How many states are holding primaries or caucuses on March 9? (five)

2. Getting to Know the Candidates: Analyzing Campaign Ads

Subjects

• Language Arts
• Educational Technology
• Social Studies

Grade Levels

• 3-5
• 6-8
• 9-12

Objectives
Students will:

• learn about the role advertising plays in presidential campaigns; and,
• analyze one candidate's campaign ads (provided in text format) for such elements as major issues and themes, postivitity or negativity, fact and opinion, and the power of the ad to sell voters on their candidacy.

Keywords
campaign, advertisements, ads, medial literacy, president, election

Materials Needed

• access to the Web page Campaign Communications 2004 (or printed pages from the site)

Procedure

This lesson requires Internet access or printed pages from the Internet site Campaign Communications 2004. In the lesson, students review the candidates' campaign ads to learn what each candidate's main issues/themes seem to be.

This activity makes a good cooperative group activity; it can be completed in pairs or in small groups. It also could be completed by individual students.
Assign a candidate to each student/group or have students draw the name of a candidate from a hat. That will be the candidate whose campaign ads the students will review. The ads are available online -- in text format -- at Campaign Communications 2004. Decide in advance what you want students to analyze as they review the ads. Have them set up a chart with columns to fill in as they review the ads. Below are a few column headings they might use. If you are working on some special election or media literacy emphasis, you might want to include that among the ad elements/questions you ask students to consider as they review the ads.

Possible Column Headings

• What theme(s) or issue(s) does this ad highlight?
• In this ad, do you find more factual information or more opinion? (This question might be posed in two columns instead of one: What factual information do you find in the ad? What opinions do you find in the ad?)
• What is the overall tone of the ad? Is it positive or negative?
• Do you think this ad will help the candidate gain support? Why or why not?
• Does the ad make the candidate seem presidential? If so, how? If not, why not?

When students have finished reviewing the ads of their assigned candidate, ask them to select the two ads they think best make the candidate appear presidential. Students then write a paragraph for each of the two ads; in the paragraph, they explain why they selected those ads. Use students' presentations as the starting point for a discussion about the candidates and the issues.

Assessment
Students select two ads they think best convey the positions of their assigned candidate. They write a paragraph for each ad, explaining why they selected it.

3. How Does the Primary Process Work?

Subjects

• Educational Technology
• Social Studies

Grade Levels

• 3-5
• 6-8
• 9-12

Objectives
Students will

read (or listen to) the Internet resource How Does the Primary Process Work?; and,

demonstrate comprehension of the material by completing the How Does the Primary Process Work? Comprehension Activity (PDF, 17K) worksheet.

Keywords
election, primary, caucus, election, president

Materials Needed

How Does the Primary Process Work?; students can read it on the Web or you can print a copy for each student or group of students

How Does the Primary Process Work? (PDF, 17K) Comprehension Activity worksheet, one copy per student or group

Procedure

In this lesson, students learn about the presidential primary process by using the How Does the Primary Process Work? resource from Project Vote Smart. (Students can access this document online, or you can provide printed copies of this 2-page resource.)

This adaptable lesson can be used in many different ways, including the following:

• Students can do this activity on their own or in pairs.
• You can post this as a classroom computer center activity. Students access the resource online and complete the comprehension activity at some time during the week.
• You can present the activity as a listening activity. Read the resource aloud and have students complete the follow-up comprehension activity. (That approach is not recommended for lower grades.)

Click here for the How Does the Primary Process Work? Comprehension Activity (PDF, 17k).  See the Answer Key for this activity in the Assessment section below.

Additional Resource
The following resource provides some easy-to-understand background on the primary process. You might share this excellent primer as part of your introduction to the above lesson:

• The Race for the Nomination 

Assessment
Students correctly answer at least 8 of 10 questions on the comprehension activity worksheet.

ANSWER KEY: Award one point for each correct response.

1.a, 2.d, 3.b, 4.b, 5.T, 6.F, 7.T, 8.T, 9.F, 10.T.

4. Presidential Eligibility

Subjects

• Social Studies

Grade Levels

• 3-5
• 6-8
• 9-12

Objectives
Students will

• determine from a list of famous people which of those people would be eligible to run for the U.S. presidency, and
• learn about the requirements for the presidency.

Keywords
president, election

Materials Needed

• computers with Internet access or library resources

Procedure

Provide students with a list of individuals, living or dead, and ask them to determine which of those people would be eligible to run for president in the current election. Individuals might include Ricky Martin, Nathan Hale, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Pope John Paul II, Britney Spears, Albert Einstein, Mark McGwire, Steven Spielberg, Martha Stewart, Sammy Sosa, Betsy Ross, Denzel Washington, and Beatrix Potter.

After students have chosen, point out that the only requirements a presidential candidate must have are that he or she is at least 35 years old, is a natural-born citizen of the United States or was a citizen at the time the Constitution was written, and has lived in the United States at least 14 years. (Of course, when choosing the best person to lead the country, voters base their decisions on other important factors as well.) Students can check their answers at sites such as infoplease, or they can use library resources to check their answers. You might also invite them to create their own lists of possible -- and impossible -- presidential candidates.

Assessment
Students correctly discern whether specific people are eligible to run for the presidency.

5. The Presidential Campaign Game

Subjects

• Social Studies
• Language Arts

Grade Levels

• 9-12

Objectives
Students will

• identify by name the two major political parties in the United States,
• identify the chairpeople of the two major parties,
• identify the symbols of the two political parties,
• identify the political philosophies of the two political parties,
• identify the propaganda techniques used by both of the parties in campaigning,
• identify the fund raising techniques of the two parties, and
• identify and locate the local and state headquarters of the two parties.

Keywords
political party, politics, campaign, election

Materials Needed

• supplies for creating campaign information (resources for this activity can be found in the school and the community)

Procedure

Students play the Presidential Campaign Game to learn about the politics and the process of electing a president. Each group's activities include choosing a candidate, setting up a campaign committee, creating a name for a fictitious political party, creating campaign items and earning points for those items (for example, 20 points for a bumper sticker, 20 points for a campaign slogan), and evaluating candidates' speeches. The game culminates with a class election by secret ballot.

Assessment
The ultimate proof of success will be that students get involved in some way in the political process.

© Copyright 2004, from EducationWorld.com