ACTIVITY You Re the Campaign Manager

60-Second Presidents

ACTIVITY – You’re the Campaign Manager

Overview:

Students explore how individual candidates’ “brands” are built around a few easily identifiable strengths. These strengths may or may not be particularly relevant to a successful presidency, but are very relevant to a successful campaign. Based on what they learn, they develop campaign posters that reflect and build on a president’s personality.

Goals:

 Students understand that easily identifiable traits and strengths are the cornerstones of a successful presidential candidacy.  Students create campaign posters which reflect their understanding of an individual president’s personality

Materials:

 Computer with access to Internet  4 large sheets of poster paper  Markers, art supplies

Steps:

1. Together with your students, watch and discuss the videos on the following presidents:

 George Washington (Washington’s strengths were his military service and rectitude)  Grover Cleveland (22nd President) (Cleveland built his campaign around his reputation for honesty)  Theodore Roosevelt (Roosevelt’s strength’s were manliness, strength, and an interest in the natural world)  John F. Kennedy (Kennedy’s strongest points were his youth and vigor)

2. After watching each video, ask the class to list the qualities that helped the individual president to win the presidency.

3. Break your class into small groups, and assign each group one of the presidents discussed. Provide time for additional research, starting with PBS LearningMedia’s U.S. Presidency Collection. Ask each group to create a campaign poster based on their president’s personality.

Specifically:

 Create a slogan that relates to the president’s personality (if desired, provide or have students find a list of presidential campaign slogans – but make it clear that their slogan should be unique)  Find or create an image that reflect that president’s personality  Print or design words that reflect that president’s personality

4. Have each group present and explain their poster and how it builds on their president’s personality.