Elections in the United States

Ms. Munson
educjpmunson@gmail.com

Grade: 8
Overall Goal: Students will demonstrate computational thinking and problem solving by using
online resources like YouTube, National Archives and ScratchEd to develop an essay that
discusses how citizens in the United States get involved in the political process. Using ScratchEd,
students will get an overview of political debate and discourse. The students will be able to
identify the ways in which politics are applicable at the state, local and national levels.

Standards Learning Objective Assessment

8.2.8 Explain ways that citizens
can participate in the election
process (political parties,
campaigns and elections) at the
national, state, and local levels.
Students will be able to deconstruct Students will submit
the process of elections by an essay that
differentiating between local, state, evaluates the key
and national elections in the United differences between
States. the two major
parties in the United
Students will be able to identify States, as well as the
similarities and differences between causes and effects
the two major political parties. of the campaign
process on the
Students will be able to identify the decision-making of
causes and effects of the campaign American citizens.
process on elections at the local, Students will create
state, and national levels. their own dialogue
or cartoon using the
Student will be able to describe the ScratchEd link
role of citizens in the election provided or
process at the national level. comment in the
essay on how the
Students will be able to describe the ScratchEd
composition of the American characters could
electorate. present themselves
differently

Key Terms & Definitions:

 Primary election - This usually occurs in the spring before an election year in which
voters, or parties, nominate candidates.
Plurality - This is how most states choose their candidates. In a plurality system, the
candidate which receives the most votes wins
General election - This is the election in which the leading candidates from each of the
two major parties go head-to-head
Electoral College - This is used to elect the President of the United States. This was
established by the Founding Fathers as a means of insulation from mob rule. The
electoral college is comprised of the same number of senators and representatives from
each state.
Cause and Effect analysis - This is a process that takes into account the actions of a
person and the subsequent consequences. This is how we will evaluate how a
candidate's decisions affects their performance.
Electorate - All eligible citizens who may cast their vote. In our country, citizens must be
18 years old to participate in elections at the state, local, and national levels
ScratchEd Simulation - We will use this online resource to understand how political
debates work and how candidates present themselves to the public and to citizens

Lesson Introduction (Hook, Grabber):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEmOUHxessE

Students will watch a Crash Course video on how Political Parties work.

This Crash Course will prompt students to recall what they already know about political
parties. In groups of 2-3 students, the students will write what down at least 5 things they
know about the way political parties work. Then, as a class, we will organize the thoughts and
ideas that each group has come up with.

This is a chance for students to collaborate with their classmates, as well as discuss topics
they should have a relative understanding of, based on their previous exposure to social
studies, as well as their understanding of what is presented in the news.

Lesson Main:

Day 1: Students will watch Political Parties: Crash Course Government and Politics #40
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEmOUHxessE

Before watching the video, students will break into small groups and write down on a piece of
paper what they know about political parties in the United States.

After watching the video, students will update their papers with what they have learned or what
they need to correct.

As a class, we will create a concept map on the board which describes in detail the role of
political parties in elections.

Day 2: We will continue to work with the idea of political parties. Students should be familiar with
the two major parties in the United States, as well as the demographics associated with them, as
mentioned in the Crash Course video on Day 1.

We will be looking at the Constitution in-class. Students will note that political parties are not
mentioned anywhere in the document.

https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript

We will be looking at the qualifications for running for office, such as Citizenship requirements,
Age requirements, and Residency requirements. We will look at Article I and Article II of the
Constitution together as a class.

We will discuss how 8th graders and students under 18 can get involved in the process. Students
will be able to visit ScratchEd to watch a simulation of how candidates are introduced.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zStW3H1Au4w

Students will watch the simulation (Casper, Lerlene, and Mr. Alien) and come to class with their
vote on who should win.

Day 3:
https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/181962201/

We will tally the votes as a class. We will determine a winner of the debate from the simulation.

We will discuss how debates influence how people vote, and as a class we will discuss the ways
in which our fictional candidates introduced themselves. Students will have the opportunity to
see inside the Scratch simulation, and they may create their own dialogue for how they think the
debate should go.

Students will be writing an essay that answers the following questions:

 - How old is the voting population?

- What can you do to get involved in the political process?
- What are some of the difference between state, local, and national elections?

Day 4: Students will continue to go through some of the resources provided, including Crash
Course, Scratch, and the United States Constitution. As a class we can discuss who our current
governor is, as well as our districts local officials are.

Day 5: Students will get a day to work on their essays, as well as time to ask any questions or
time to get caught up on any material they may have missed or have trouble with. Essays will be
due the following class day online or on paper.

Lesson Ending:

Students will reflect on what theyve learned by submitting an essay that addresses the following
prompt:

Answer the following question in 1 page or more:

What is the makeup of the United States electorate? Who is eligible to vote? Since you are
ineligible due to your age, how can you get involved? What are some differences you have
learned about between local, state, and national elections?

Assessment Rubric:
Great Average Poor

Consistency The student submits The student The student

an essay that demonstrates addresses few to no
demonstrates their inconsistent planning parts of the prompt or
own thought and or preparation. Some does not submit an
preparation. All parts parts of the prompt essay.
of the prompt are are addressed.
addressed and all
questions are
attempted or
answered.

10 pts 8-6 pts 5-0 pts

Accuracy The students The students The essay contains

response contains response contains little to no factual
mostly factual some factual information. The
information from the information and some student demonstrates
sources provided and errors in accuracy. little to no use of
discussed in class. classroom resources.

10 pts 8-6 pts 5-0 pts

Content The student shows an The student The student does not
effort to answer the addresses either the address any part of
both factual questions factual or opinion the prompt.
of the prompt and based parts of the
offer their own prompt but not all
thoughts about ways parts.
to get involved in the
political system.

10 pts 8-6 pts 5-0 pts

The student mentions The student mentions The student either

Creativity ways to get involved ways to get involved does not mention
in the political system in the political system ways to get involved
at the middle school using various in the political system
age. The student may resources that do not or does not use any
include ideas about include ScratchEd. provided resources.
viewing the debates,
or maybe includes
their own take on the
ScratchEd simulation.

10 pts 8-6 pts 5-0 pts

Fluency/ The student submits The student submits The student does not
Presentation an essay of one page an essay on time that submit an essay on
or more on time with contains many time or submits an
few grammatical grammatical errors. essay that is mostly
errors that impede errors and is less than
the readers one page.
comprehension
8-6 pts 5-0 pts
10 pts

Resources / Artifacts:

The following Crash Course will be shown in class to introduce the lesson:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEmOUHxessE

Students will be looking at a transcript of the United States constitution which can be found here:
https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript

Students will use the following simulation to get an idea for how candidates are presented to the
public, and how public perception may be skewed. Students should recognize the image each
candidate portrays and how these images may be misleading.

I have created a tutorial for this scratch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zStW3H1Au4w

https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/181962201/

Differentiation:

1. Differentiation for ability levels

Those with high abilities will have the freedom to begin their essays sooner than those students
who may need extra assistance or time. At least one work day is accounted for in the lesson plan
for those who may need extra time, or those who want to work ahead. We will collaborate as a
class to discuss the material, as well as individually.

2. Differentiation for demographics

We will be discussing race, gender, and age as they relate to the voting population in the United
States. Students will see in the Crash Course video shown on Day 1 that people of all ages and
races and cultural backgrounds may get involved in the political system. The instructor will insure
that the classroom conversation is culturally sensitive and factually accurate.

3. Differentiation for languages
Students who struggle with the English language due as non-native speakers will not suffer any
grading penalties for grammatical errors in essays. The instructor will insure that those who are
uncomfortable speaking and writing and English are included in the discussions in a way that will
not embarrass them.

4. Differentiation for access & resources

This lesson plan requires a lot of online accessibility. For those students who have difficulties with
wifi access outside of the school, printed materials will be made available as needed, and the
instructor will have relevant discussion materials in-class in the event of slow or inaccessible
internet. Submissions for the essays will be online or on paper.

Anticipated Difficulties:

As mentioned for the differentiation of resources in section 4, the instructor may face difficulties
with slow or inaccessible internet. The students will not be required to access the materials
presented in class outside of the classroom. The students will have the ability to work ahead as
they wish to. The instructor will be available during work days and during in-class discussions for
any help needed. Students will be able to use the Scratch created by the instructor, as well as the
see inside feature. The only required material for submission for this lesson plan will be the
essay.

References:

The following Crash Course will be shown in class to introduce the lesson:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEmOUHxessE

Students will be looking at a transcript of the United States constitution which can be found here:
https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript

I have created the following YouTube video and Scratch Simulation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zStW3H1Au4w

https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/181962201/