Special Unit: Presidential Election

Washington Jesuit Academy
Social Studies­7
Middle School > Grade 7 > Social Studies > Social Studies­7 > Week 1 ­ Week 12
Special Unit: Presidential Election
Nesbitt, Dave
Essential Questions
Enduring Understandings
­How do we choose candidates and elect a president?
­How does the electoral college work?
­What platform does each party/candidate have?
­What role does money play in our elections? What role should it play?
­What role do advertisements play in our elections? How do you evaluate a political
ad?
­How do opinion poles effect the election?
­What qualities should we look for in a president?
Content
Students should understand:
­how our presidential elections work.
­the major beliefs of each political party.
­how advertisements shape public opinion.
­what the major issues of the election are.
Skills
­The steps of the election: Primary/Caucus, convention, general election, electoral
college, inauguration.
­The platform of each party.
­The history of and current political ads.
Bloom's Taxonomy
Bloom's Wheel
­Create a political poster persuading a viewer to support your candidate and their
positions.
­Research your candidate and their position on major issues.
­Debate your candidate's view on a major issue with your classmates.
­Evaluate political ads for accuracy and bias.
­Graph and evaluate poling data.
­Create a political advertisement demonstrating a persuasive argument
Assessments
Campaign Poster
Performance: Authentic Task
Presidential Debate
Oral: Debate
Presidential Advertisement
Project: Visual Arts
Students will use i­pads and i­movie to create short political ads representing their candidates view on an issue. Students will attempt to use persuasive
arguments to convince the audience to support their candidate.
Learning Activities
­Watch Presidential Debates
­Participate in a debate
­Watch historical and current political ads
­Create a poster for your candidate
­Chart poling data
­Predict the Electoral College results
­Follow the news and polls daily
­School­wide election using advisories to model the
electoral college
Modifications
Resources
Atlas Version 8.2
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