September, 2012

Fun Friday: Selling the Election

Posted on: September 28th, 2012 No Comments

 

USA TodayThe election season is full of political ads. USA TODAY's Political Ad Tracker "takes a closer look at ads from candidates, parties and outside groups and allows you to rate whether an ad is believable and how it impacts your views on the candidates and issues in the 2012 campaign."  It's a great tool to remind students that part of our job as citizens is to see beyond the marketing and the propoganda and stick to the fact.  For a quick "Fun Friday Activity", ask students to review the featured ad on the Political Ad tracker and respond to the following questions:

1.  What is the main issue that this ad addresses?

2.  In which states should these ads be aired? Why?

3.  What are your feelings about this ad? Would they affect your voting decisions?

As an extension activity, students can follow political ads they see throughout the week and document their answers in their journal.

Have you discussed political ads with your students? Share some of the ways you've helped them decipher fact from fiction in political ads in the comments below!

Better Know Your Candidate!

Posted on: September 26th, 2012 No Comments

 

In the past week, we've seen Romney's tax returns, assessed Obama's response to the Crisis in Libya, and heard from a plethora of pundits about the pros and cons of each candidate. But can your students define the core values of each party?

What does it mean to be a Republican or a Democrat? Introduce students to the party platforms with this simple activity. Visit the websites for both the Democratic and the Republican Party as well as Romney and Obama's campaigns.  After reviewing each party's platform positions on key areas: Economy, Foreign Policy, Health Care Policy, Immigration Policy, Energy Policy, students will research mainstream and alternative press outlets to identify at least one example of each candidate discussing these positions in the campaign.  Are they accurately conveying the facts? Are there examples where one of the candidates has gone against their party's official platform? In order to identify as a Democrat or Republican, is it required that you agree with all of the views, or just some of them?

Do We Still Need the Electoral College?

Posted on: September 24th, 2012 No Comments

 

The Electoral College was established as 'a compromise between election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens'. Over the years, the value of the Electoral College in the voting process has become a highly debated topic.  According to the national archives, in the past 200 years, over 700 proposals for changing the electoral college have been submitted to Congress.

In this election, in part due to the makeup of the Electoral College, conventional wisdom says that the outcome will be dependent on just a few states -with Ohio playing the largest role in determining our next President.

Our Play the Election debate question of the day:  Do we still need the Electoral College, or should we elect our President based solely on popular vote? Or, should our Congress be empowered to elect our President?

To help students gain a more in-depth understanding of the electoral college, try this extension activity.  After reviewing the pros and cons based on information provided by the National Archives and other fact-based websites, have students write an editorial article for the local newspaper about their perspective on the effectiveness of the Electoral College. Their goal is to state their opinion, and use specific evidence from their Election Map site, and the National Archives details on the Electoral College for support.

Learn more about the Electoral College via the in-depth, standards-aligned lesson plans available in Play the Election.

Fun Friday: Rock the Vote’s History of Voting

Posted on: September 21st, 2012 No Comments

 

To help students understand the importance of exercising our individual right to vote.  Check out Rockthevote.com's video on the History of Voting -- a sharp and hard-hitting animation rooted in a youth pop cultural aesthetic, narrated by celebrities including artist John Legend and Glee's Darren Criss - this video speaks to what is exciting and important about America's voting history.

This video may serve as an activator for a discussion on voting rights, the electoral college, and the campaigns.  Check out this and other resources in the activities section of Play the Election.

Students – Help us Blog the Election!

Posted on: September 18th, 2012 No Comments

 

Education BlogStudents in grades 8-12 - we want to hear from you! The Rand McNally blogging team is looking for a few responsible, politically-minded students to provide insight and analysis on the campaigns and upcoming election.  For the six weeks leading up to the election, each student blogger will submit a weekly blog entry covering a wide array of topics (we’ll suggest some – but sometimes we’ll leave it up to you to write about the topics that you think are most important.)

We’re looking for leadership from our student community to model fact-based debate and inspire thought-provoking discussion.  If you think one or more of your students are up for the challenge, please submit the following information to bwhalen@randmcnally.com. (NOTE:  Only submissions submitted by the student’s teacher will be accepted.  No applications sent directly from students will be considered.)

  1. Name, Grade, School, Play the Election Classroom Name. Student must be a member of a class that is registered on Play the Election.
  2. Political Affiliation (DEM, GOP, Undecided, Independent, etc)
  3. One Paragraph on why you should be selected as a Play the Election Student blogger.

Call for Student Bloggers will be open until Wednesday, September 26th, 2012.  Finalists will be notified by Friday, September 28th. Blogging will begin the first week in October and continue through the election.