Karen Cunningham

Karen Cunningham SS.6U

Alaska Content Standards Government and Citizenship B.5 Understand the importance of individuals, political opinion, media, political parties, associations, and groups in forming and carrying out public policy. B.6 Recognize the significance of diversity in the American political system. E.3 Exercise political participation by discussing public issues, building consensus, becoming involved in political parties and political campaigns, and voting; E.5 Establish, explains, and applies criteria useful in selecting political leaders.

QSM STANDARDS SS6U.01 Form opinions based on examination of evidence SS6U.06 Draws inference from a variety of factual materials SS6U.10 Understands the characteristics of political points of view (radical, liberal, moderate, conservative, and reactionary).

STANDARDS UNPACKED

KNOW  Know varying types and degrees of evidence  Develop a consensus from a variety of facts  Define meaning of radical, liberal, moderate, conservative, and reactionary as apply to political points of view

ABLE TO DO

 Learn candidates’ positions on key issues  Place candidates’ on scale from radical to reactionary by classroom consensus

MATERIALS NEEDED

Eight cut out heads of each candidate. Red, white, and blue paper, about three feet in width. Black magic markers. Yard stick.

PREASSESSMENT:

1. Quiz students orally and in writing on the definitions of radical, liberal, moderate, conservative, and reactionary as apply to polical points of view.

PROCESS

1. Students learned the definitions of key terms: radical, liberal, moderate, conservative, and reactionary. Students were assigned by issue to go to various Internet sources to find candidates’ stands on eight key issues: abortion, jobs, families and children, gun control, homeland security, crime, smoking, and drugs.

2. Students gathered pictures of candidates (some caricature) heads. They also obtained rolls of 3 foot wide paper in red, white, and blue. Magic markers were used to create a horizontal scale ranging from radical to reactionary. A vertical scale was used for each of the eight issues. Candidates’ pictures were placed on a horizontal scale, fixing them as radical to reactionary by placing their pictures on the appropriate scale level beside each issue. I used the following project during the weeks before the presidential election. They placed the candidate’s picture wherever his position on the issue fit on the scale. This made a long colorful graph regarding the election. We placed it above the lockers so students could look every day at where the candidates stood on key issues.

The students had a great time with it and learned important information about the candidates’ views on eight different issues. It was also a means to teach the characteristics of political points of view (radical, liberal, moderate, conservative, and reactionary) and how to decide where to place a politician on that scale of political positions.

ASSESSMENT

The assessment was in the finished project, individual student comprehension and participation.