Lesson One

Essential Question

• Why should people learn more about candidates for office?

Instructional Strategies

Strategy 1: Gathering Information
Think/Pair/Share

Ask students to independently analyze the political cartoon below with the National Archives Cartoon Analysis worksheet.

After analyzing the cartoon independently, students should pair to discuss their answers. A class debriefing should follow with a discussion of political races and initial reasons why people should take time out of their busy lives to learn more about candidates for office.

Check for Understanding: What other analogies could be used to describe the relationship that voters have with political elections? Explain why you chose the analogy. Rubric 2 – This response gives a valid analogy with an accurate and relevant explanation for choosing that analogy. 1 – This response gives a valid analogy with an inaccurate, irrelevant, or no explanation for choosing that analogy.

Strategy 2: Extending & Refining
ABC Graffiti

Use the ABC Graffiti strategy to brainstorm responses to the assigned questions.

•  “Why should people take time out of their busy lives to learn more about candidates for office?”
• “What might happen if people don’t take time out of their busy lives to learn more about candidates for office?”

Once students have written terms for each column, have each group agree on the best 3 terms. Ask the group to circle the top 3 and share them with the class.
As students are sharing with each other, listeners can add, delete, or modify their original lists.

Check for Understanding: Why is learning about candidates a responsibility of citizenship? Explain your answer. Rubric 2 – This response gives a valid reason with an accurate and relevant explanation. 1 – This response gives a valid reason with an inaccurate, irrelevant, or no explanation.

Strategy 3: Extending & Refining
Research: Conducting a Survey or Public Opinion Poll

One poll that could be showcased to help students understand the nature and uses of public opinion polls is entitled, Americans Speak Out About the 2000 Campaign. 

Have students work in small groups to collect data regarding the amount of time spent and the methods used to learn about candidates running for office. Following are the general steps required for valid surveys or public opinion polls:

The class should discuss their findings and compile individual results to test the validity of individual polls.

Check for Understanding: What could be done to encourage more people to take time to learn about candidates? Explain your answer. Rubric 2 – This response gives a valid method with an accurate and relevant explanation. 1 – This response gives a valid method with an inaccurate, irrelevant, or no explanation.

Strategy 4: Application
Persuasive Writing

Using the information and statistics gathered throughout the lesson, students should write some form of persuasive text to convince people to learn more about candidates for office.

Check for Understanding: Why is it important for citizens to stay informed about candidates? Explain your answer. Rubric 2 – This response gives a valid reason with an accurate and relevant explanation. 1 – This response gives a valid reason with an inaccurate, irrelevant, or no explanation.