Lesson+4

I am certain that after the dust of centuries has passed over our cities, we, too, will be remembered not for victories or defeats in battle or in politics, but for our contribution to the human spirit. Patriotism is easy to understand in America; it means looking out for yourself by looking out for your country.
 * John F. Kennedy **
 * Calvin Coolidge **

WHO WOULD YOU VOTE FOR? Would it be Kennedy, FDR, or Obama? In this project the class will choose a presidential campaign to study. We will look at the issues that faced the US and internationally during these campaigns. After we have chosen the election we are going to look into then the fun. Each student will pick a position from; presidential candidate and running mate, to Electoral College, to voter. If you choose a voter you will be given information on your age and career and what your salary is. Once the positions have been chosen the fun will begin. The responsibility of the presidential candidates and their running mates will have to organize how they will run their campaigns and how they will tackle the issues of the time. The other classmates will decide which issues are important to them. Each student will come up with five questions to ask the candidates about important issues during this time. The key to this will be researching the campaign issues. (newspapers will be a good starting point to) The trick when asking questions will be that not question asked can be asked a second time. Each presidential candidate and running mate will answer the questions asked by the students. After the question answer section the class will vote on who they want as president.

HOW YOU WILL EARN POINTS
 * Participation is key you must actively participate in this class project.
 * For the candidates you must understand the issues and answer the questions with detail. To aid in this you will be allowed to have note cards that have answerers on them. The best way to succeed is to understand some of the main issues and talk to the “voters” see what they care about. Your grade will be based on how well you can answer the questions, and how well you were prepared. The candidate that is voted into office will earn extra credit.
 * For the voters they will turn in their questions and will earn points based on how relevant, original, the question may not be simply answered with a yes or no answer. These students will also be required to write a one page paper explaining why they voted the way that they did.


 * This project will take two weeks to complete and will be at the end of the government unit. This project will count as a final exam after a unit and will be worth 10% of you grade. **


 * Research to start you out….. **
 * [] **
 * [] **
 * [] **

If students would like to earn extra credit they will be able to complete one out of the two options. First create a campaign poster that shows the issues of the era. These will be created on the computer and put up the posters on the projection behind the candidates during the question and answer. The second option is to write a brief two to three page paper on how the US would be different if the other candidates won the election. This will require a little research and a lot of creativity. This project has many possibilities and the only requirement is that you write in a way that supports the predictions that you state. Have some facts to back it up.