Political Party Lesson Plan

Subject: Social Studies

Grade: 8
Time: 45 minutes
Outcome: Assess the impact of citizens willingness and ability to actively engage in the Canadian
political processes.
Indicator(s):
Investigate the political involvement of community members, including why people choose to
vote or not vote, and why people choose to join or not join a political party.
Activities:
Set: Brief explanation as to what a political party is through a prezi presentation (5 minutes)
Jigsaw.
- Students will get into groups of 3.
- Each individual in the group will be assigned a different political party through slips of papers
handed out.
- Each student will find their parties based on party signs that will be hung in each corner of the
room.
- They will read through party notes that have been placed under the party signs and complete a
short worksheet. (10 minutes)
- They will come back and explain to the group what their party represents. (15 minutes)
Students will come back to their regular seats and an explanation of constituencies will be given
using a prezi presentation. (5 minutes)
Closure: Video that discusses why we vote! (5 minutes)
Resources:
Projector
Lab Top
Political Party Slide Show
Political Party Worksheet
Political Party Information
Link to Prezi: http://prezi.com/qfebbmezwrsi/saskatchewan-election-2011/
Link to Video: http://www.youtube.com/user/StudentVote?blend=10&ob=videomustangbase#p/u/216/78FvDpxL0Lk
Adaptations:
Hands on jig-saw activity.
Use of visual aids such as slide show and party signs.
Large font on worksheet and slide show.
Evaluation:
Students will be able to explain what a political party is.
Students will be able to compare and contrast the political party platforms.
Students will know what a constituency is and which constituency they live in.
Students will understand the reasons to vote.

POLITICAL PARTY WORKSHEET

Name:

1. What is the name of your party?

___________________________________________________________
2. What are your party colours?
___________________________________________________________
3. What does your party plan on doing to help the environment?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
4. What does your party plan on doing to help senior citizens?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
5. What does your party plan on doing to help families?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
6. What does your party plan on doing to help youth?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
7. List two other things about your party that you find interesting.
-

Highlights of the Saskatchewan Party platform include:

Saskatchewan Advantage Scholarship providing $2,000 over four

years to new high school graduates for tuition costs;
Saskatchewan Advantage Grant for Education matching 10 per cent
of RESP contributions up to $250 per child per year;
Increasing the Seniors Income Plan by nearly $1,000 annually;
Seniors in Personal Care Home Benefit a $3,000 annual benefit to
low income seniors living in personal care homes;
Expanding the Active Families Benefit and the PST exemption on
children's clothing up to age 18;
First Time Homebuyers Tax Credit saving first-time homebuyers
$1,100;
Reducing surgical wait times to no more than three months by 2014;
Student loan forgiveness to attract doctors, nurses and nurse
practitioners to practice in rural communities;
Increasing benefits and access to the Saskatchewan Assured Income
for Disability (SAID) program;
Develop a 25 year Saskatchewan Water Security Plan to
ensure water resources in the province are protected and
managed for the long term benefit of Saskatchewan people.
Increased funding for provincial parks and community rinks;
Continued investment in improving Saskatchewan highways; and
Balanced budgets and further debt reduction of over $200 million on
top of the $3 billion in debt reduction in the Saskatchewan Party's first
term

Highlights of NDP platform include:

More doctors from our own medical school, double the provinces
primary healthcare clinics and Community Access Hospitals
750 additional long-term care beds and more affordable assisted
living units for seniors
Free childrens dental care program

NDP will make life more affordable for families, including

Next-generation rent control and affordable housing

Fully funded freeze on tuition fees at universities and SIAST

institutions for four years

10,000 early learning and childcare spaces with a subsidized cap on

fees
NDP will make sure everyone benefits from the economy and plans for the
future by:

Reviewing potash royalties to ensure Saskatchewan people get their

fair share of revenues
Eliminating the Small Business Tax
Mandating 50% of the electricity grid by 2025 to come from clean,
renewable energy
Environmental Protection By:

Adjusting land-use legislation to better protect wetlands and other

ecologically sensitive regions, and strengthening actionable
environmental impact assessment legislation.
Reinstating the protection for the 3.5 million acres of habitat that
were removed from protection under the current government

Highlights of Green Party platform include:

A New Energy Policy A GPS government, acting for Saskatchewan people, will
gain control of our oil and gas reserves, oppose nuclear power, uranium mining
and refining, and phase out electrical power from burning coal.
Climate Change A GPS government will support the Kyoto Protocol through
energy conservation, demand management, wind, solar, biomass, geothermal,
and small hydro.
Agriculture and Food A GPS government will support ecological agriculture,
marketing boards, co-ops, food security, and local processing and
distribution.A GPS government will end subsidies to corporate agribusiness and
support a move to organic agriculture.
Electoral Reform A GPS government will Introduce proportional
representation, limit campaign contributions to individuals, and limit size of
individual contributions to political parties.
Taxation for Social Justice A GPS government will re-introduce a progressive
tax system based on ability to pay, increase resource royalties, restore grants
to municipalities, reduce property taxes, and move to eliminate user fees for
public services.
A New and Different Health Policy A GPS government will follow policies
based on prevention of illness, support for the five principles of Medicare, and
the right of all to healthy food, clean water, clean air, good housing and a just
standard of living.
A New Approach to Resource Development A GPS government will place an
emphasis on local and Canadian ownership and control, sustainable
development, sharing with Aboriginal communities, and ending subsidies to
large transnational corporations.
Education Policy A GPS government will restore provincial funding to school
districts, support and fund pre-school programs, restore funding to postsecondary institutions, and reduce tuition for higher education to levels of
the past, the lowest in Canada.