User-Created Content
By swifta
On October 13, 2018
Lesson Plan: Project-Based Learning: Elections Simulation
States' Rights and Determining the System of Primaries or Caucuses
Frank Fahrenkopf, co-Chair of the Commission on Presidential Debates, discusses political parties and States' rights in determining their state's system of Primary or Caucuses.
Description
This project promotes student inquiry through a simulation of the election process designed to be completed over a six week time period. It is recommended to introduce this project prior to teaching the unit on Elections. This project presents multiple concepts, terms, and events students will need to master to show competency on the AP American Government and Politics exam. Regardless if you introduced this project before or after you covered the Elections unit it will help students communicate their understanding of key concepts. Each step of the simulation is enhanced with videos from C-SPAN's digital collection to increase student understanding. Teachers can utilize the suggested resources in each step to scaffold learning appropriately for every student. The resources provided can help students determine the proper role of government in a democracy by becoming candidates, voters, journalists, members of interest groups, and members of political parties. Through a series of tasks, in which students explore how to become a candidate in the general election, students learn about public opinion, political ideology, polls, campaign finance, and voter characteristics. They also learn the relationships between interest groups, political parties, and the media as they attempt to navigate and influence the campaign.
Procedures
Introduction
In this simulation, all students will campaign and participate in a presidential primary election.
Show the following clip to students and engage in class discussion to help them understand how candidates are selected to compete in the primary elections:
Video Clip 1: Primaries and Caucuses
Additional Resources:
Bell Ringer: Open Primary Elections
Bell Ringer: History and Significance of the New Hampshire Primary
Task 1: Campaign Advertisements
Each student is required to create a campaign ad to support their own platform. As they approach this task, students should research examples of party platforms on the RNC and DNC websites, and consider the following items:
- Which platforms will you use to reach voters?
- Which geographical areas will you focus on?
- What issues will you be addressing in your ads?
Students can produce print media, social media, or a video clip. One item is required but multiple advertisements using different forms of communication is encouraged.
Video clips 2 and 3 provide historical examples of campaign ads.
In this task, it is important that students identify their voting base so they can consider peoples' needs and values in order to conduct an effective campaign.
Video Clip 2: 1984 Ronald Reagan Campaign Ad
Video Clip 3: 1992 Bill Clinton Campaign Ad
Additional Resources:
Bell Ringer: Front Porch Campaigning
Bell Ringer: Political Polling
Bell Ringer: Impact of Political Campaign Ads
Bell Ringer: Analyzing Political Advertisements
Bell Ringer: Big Data and Politics
Bell Ringer: Attack Ads in Presidential Campaigns
Bell Ringer: Presidential Campaign Fundraising Regulations
Lesson Plan: Evaluating Historical Presidential Campaign Ads
Task 2: Primary Debates
Prepare for a class debate!
As a class, view the following video to provide students with an example of a primary debate:
Video Clip 4: 2016 Democratic Primary Debate
Explain that the class will engage in a debate as you teach your Elections unit.
As a class, brainstorm a list of issues that students will be interested in researching and debating. This should be done a few weeks prior to your scheduled class debate to allow students time to research these topics and plan their responses. Be sure to select at least five topics that relate to the federal government to allow a variety of issues to be discussed.
Develop questions based on the issues students selected. You will need to adjust the number of questions to fit class time requirements as well as the number of students in your class.
During the primary debate, ensure each student has an opportunity to present their ideas to address the predetermined questions. After everyone has participated in the debate, ask each student to cast their vote for the candidate they wish to support. Each student is instructed to vote for someone other than themselves. This can be monitored by having each student show you their vote on a notecard, creating a google document that records the vote and displays the name of the person who cast the ballot or by accessing an online poll.
Additional Resources:
Bell Ringer: Audience Participation at Debates
Bell Ringer: Electoral College
Bell Ringer: National Popular Vote
Task 3: Selecting a Vice President
The student who wins the primary election is allowed to select a vice president for their platform and prepare for the presidential election. The candidate should explain the reasons the vice presidential candidate was selected.
This process works best when allowing two classes to compete against each other. Modification of the primary election can be made to accommodate the number of classes who wish to participate in this simulation. View the following video clip for context on the process of selecting and announcing a vice president.
Video Clip 5: Selecting a Vice President
Additional Resources:
Video Clip: Tim Kaine Accepts Democratic Party's Vice Presidential Nomination
Video Clip: 2008 Governor Palin Vice Presidential Acceptance Speech
Video Clip: Governor Mike Pence Acceptance Speech
Video Clip: Potential Republican Vice Presidential Candidates
Video Clip: Potential Democratic Vice Presidental Candidates
Task 4 - Role of the Media
The presidential and vice-presidential candidates should work to campaign and prepare for the debate.
The other students will become a journalist and each person will write an article for one of the candidates. The goal of the article is to report on the presidential candidate's stance on political issues. Video clip 6 features Arizona Republican Senator Jeff Flake, emphasizing the importance of the truth and the dangers of assaults on the press. The video clip helps explain the importance of the media.
The students' campaign article can be written from a nonpartisan perspective, show bias towards a political party, or can be a form of yellow journalism. Students have the freedom to choose but should use their words to attack political ideology and not bully students.
Video Clip 6: Freedom of the Press
Additional Resources:
Bell Ringer: The History of Partisanship in the Press
Bell Ringer: How Journalists Respond to Accusations of Fake News
Bell Ringer: Adversarial Press
Bell Ringer: Standards of Journalism and Modern Press Coverage
Bell Ringer: The Press and the Presidency
Lesson Plan: Landmark Supreme Court Case- New York Times v. United States (1971)
Task 5 - Role of Interest Groups
The presidential and vice-presidential candidates should work to campaign and prepare for the debate.
The other students will become a leader of an interest group and will lobby for their cause. Video clip 7 provides an example of how interests groups select presidential candidates to support.
Each student should develop an advertisement and a 500-word position paper justifying why the president should support your cause. Students can work from the perspective of a current interest group or create their own. An agenda should be established, and lobbying goals should be communicated, including what policies they wish to influence.
Video Clip 7: Interest Group Endorsements
Additional Resources:
Bell Ringer: Special Interest Lobbying
Bell Ringer: The Role and Regulation of Lobbyists
Bell Ringer: The Iron Triangle and its Role in Policy Making
Task 6: Debate Questions
Students who did not win the primary election determine 10 issues that are important to them that they would like the presidential candidates to discuss.
Have the class view video clip 8 to provide information on how questions for Presidential debates are prepared. This resource will help the students frame questions for the debate.
Video Clip 8: Debate Questions
Additional Resources:
Task 7 - Presidential Debate
The final debate between the remaining candidates should be conducted and address the 10 issues the class identified previously. Each party should be provided with the same amount of time to provide their perspectives.
Resources:
Video Clip: 3rd Presidential Debate - Why should you be elected as president?
Video Clip: History of Final Presidential Debates
Video Clip: Presidential Candidates' Debate Preparation
Lesson Plan: Presidential Debate Analysis
Video Clip: Former First Lady Michelle Obama on Voting and Voter Turnout
Task 8 - Election Day
Following the final debate, the class casts their vote for president and vice president.
Assign three students with differing political ideologies to tally the votes for each of the candidates.
The winning candidates should give a short victory speech, and the losing candidates should deliver a short concession speech.
RESOURCES
Bell Ringer: Comparing Trump & Obama Victory Speeches
Video Clip: Sec. Hillary Clinton Presidential Concession Speech
Video Clip: Gov. Mitt Romney's Concession Speech
Video Clip: Sen. John McCain's Concession Speech
For additional lessons on the process of the Electoral College, see below:
Lesson: Should the Electoral College Be Reformed?
Academic Support for Project Based Learning
Engagement first, is an important concept to develop in project-based learning because it creates a reason for a student to read the text, pay attention to lectures, and find answers to their questions (Grant, 2011; Hallock, 2018; Larmer & Mergendoller, 2010; Parker et al., 2011).
Worksheets
Additional Resources
- iCivics: Cast Your Vote
What issues do you want to ask candidates about? In Cast Your Vote, you choose the questions in a debate, rate their responses, and vote for the candidate of your choice.
- Lesson Plans
The Center for Civic Education has additional lesson plans to teach Presidential elections
- FactCheck.org - A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center
Vocabulary
- 10th Amendment
- Campaign
- Campaign Advertisment
- Caucus
- Convention
- Debate
- Delegate
- Electoral College
- Journalism
- Lobbying
- Political Advertisement
- President
- Press
- Primary
- Proliferation