Procedures

• WARM-UP:

  Brainstorm answers to the following question:

  • What is the purpose of having presidential debates?

• INTRODUCTION:

  As a class or individually, have students view the following video clip to provide an overview of the importance and structure of the 2020 presidential debates.

  Video Clip: Moderators for Presidential Debates (6:09)

  • Why was the Commission on Presidential Debates created?

  • Why aren’t moderators chosen by the candidates?

  • How is the role of a moderator different from a candidate doing an interview?

  • Why does the Commission only use one moderator for each debate?

  • How does the moderator use questions to structure each debate?

• EXPLORATION:

  After providing students with an overview of how presidential debates work, have the students view video clips of specific questions during the debate. For each question, students should use the handout for each debate to provide the following information.

  • Summarize each candidate’s answer or response.

  • What examples and support does each candidate use to make his/her argument?

  • How well does the candidates answer the question?

• PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES:

  Handouts and clips from each debate will be added to this lesson as they air on C-SPAN. Once they are added, teachers can choose which debates and specific clips the students will analyze.

• First Presidential Debate- September 29, 2020

  Handout: First Presidential Debate (Google Doc)

  Questions/Topics:

  • Video Clip: First 2020 Presidential Debate: Question on the Supreme Court (4:28)

  • Video Clip: First 2020 Presidential Debate: Question on COVID-19 (5:55)

  • Video Clip: First 2020 Presidential Debate: Question on the Economy (5:27)

  • Video Clip: First 2020 Presidential Debate: Question on Race and Violence (4:56)

  • Video Clip: First 2020 Presidential Debate: Question on Trump and Biden Records (5:37)

  • Video Clip: First 2020 Presidential Debate: Question on the Integrity of the Election (4:45)

• Vice-Presidential Debate- October 7, 2020

  Handout: Vice-Presidential Debate (Google Doc)

  Questions/Topics:

  • Video Clip: 2020 Vice Presidential Debate: Question on COVID-19 (8:26)

  • Video Clip: 2020 Vice Presidential Debate: Question on Presidential Candidate Health Records (4:35)

  • Video Clip: 2020 Vice Presidential Debate: Question on the Economic Recovery (9:23)

  • Video Clip: 2020 Vice Presidential Debate: Question on Climate Change (5:47)

  • Video Clip: 2020 Vice Presidential Debate: Question on Foreign Policy (8:41)

  • Video Clip: 2020 Vice Presidential Debate: Question on Race Relations (11:56)

  • Video Clip: 2020 Vice Presidential Debate: Question on the Transfer of Power (5:24)

  • Video Clip: 2020 Vice Presidential Debate: Student Question on Civility in Politics (4:48)

• Second Presidential Debate- October 15, 2020 (Canceled)

• Final Presidential Debate- October 22, 2020

  Handout: Final Presidential Debate (Google Doc)

  Questions/Topics:

  • Video Clip: Final 2020 Presidential Debate: Question on COVID-19 (4:39)

  • Video Clip: Final 2020 Presidential Debate: Question on Reopening the Economy (6:18)

  • Video Clip: Final 2020 Presidential Debate: Question on Foreign Election Interference (7:21)

  • Video Clip: Final 2020 Presidential Debate: Question on Foreign Conflicts of Interest (7:21)

  • Video Clip: Final 2020 Presidential Debate: Question on Health Care (5:06)

  • Video Clip: Final 2020 Presidential Debate: Questions on Economic Recovery Plans and Minimum Wage (5:51)

  • Video Clip: Final 2020 Presidential Debate: Questions on Immigration (6:00)

  • Video Clip: Final 2020 Presidential Debate: Question on Race in America (7:48)

  • Video Clip: Final 2020 Presidential Debate: Question on Climate Change (8:24)

  • Video Clip: Final 2020 Presidential Debate: Question on National Unity (3:00)

• APPLICATION AND CONCLUSION:

  After viewing the clips from the debate, have the students use the handout from the debate to determine which candidate was more persuasive in delivering his/her message. In their response students should use examples from the video clips to examine the following:

  • Clarity of their answers.

  • Use of details and examples to support their points.

  • Their speaking style and tone during their responses.

  In addition to having students provide written responses to this prompt, this can also be used to engage students in a live class discussion (in-person/virtual) or with a discussion board.

• EXIT SLIP:

  As an exit slip, answer the following question:

  • How effective do you think debates are at persuading voters?

• EXTENSION/ALTERNATIVE ACTIVITIES:

  Rethinking Debates- Based on what you saw during the clips, how would you rethink or change presidential debates? How would you adjust the rules, format, structure or moderation to improve them?

  Logical Fallacies- Using the logical fallacies explained on the Purdue Online Writing Lab website, identify and explain how these logical fallacies were represented in the debates.

  Evaluating the Moderator- Based on the debate you watched, how well did the moderator do at facilitating the debate? In your response, address the following: quality of questions, follow-up questions, fairness, pace and timing of the debate.

  Modes of Persuasion: Logos, Ethos & Pathos- Choose one of the video clips from debates. Analyze how the candidates’ responses use Ethos, Pathos and Logos (Nature of Writing Website).

  • Use examples from the speech to explain how the speaker uses these modes of persuasion.

  • Evaluate how effective the speaker is in using each of these.

• ADDITIONAL PROMPTS:

  • Based on the video clips that you viewed, which candidate (if any) would you support? Explain your answer with evidence from the videos.

  • Are presidential debates still necessary? Explain your answer.

  • How important is style and tone in winning debates?

  • Evaluate how both candidates answered the moderators’ questions.