Recommended for Seventh Grade to Twelfth Grade
Lesson Plan 4 - Analyzing Gubernatorial Debates: The 2010 Election
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Content Standard(s):
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Local/National Standards:
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NCSS Standards
Theme X: Civic Ideals and Practices Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of the ideals, principles, and practices of citizenship in a democratic republic. • Middle School - By the middle grades, students expand their ability to analyze and evaluate the relationships between ideals and practice. They are able to see themselves taking civic roles in their communities. • High School - High school students increasingly recognize the rights and responsibilities of citizens in identifying societal needs setting directions for public policies, and working to support both individual dignity and the common good. They learn by experience how to participate in community service and political activities and how to use democratic process to influence public policy. |
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Primary Learning Objective(s):
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Students will analyze gubernatorial debates based on the candidates' responses to questions in major areas of public concern.
Students will gather and assess the positions of gubernatorial candidates in preparation for voting
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Additional Learning Objective(s):
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Students will work collaboratively on a class wiki where they will post their research and analysis of the gubernatorial election debate and debate topics.
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Approximate Duration of the Lesson:
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Greater than 120 Minutes
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Materials and Equipment:
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Students will need copies of the debate analysis worksheets and pre-debate web quest worksheets provided as attachments with the lesson plan.
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Technology Resources Needed:
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Laptops/computers with Internet access, Polldaddy or Survey Gizmo free edition, wiki
Websites Necessary for this lesson:
For Students Presidential Debates Under the League of Women Voters League of Women Voters Debate Watching 101 For Teachers
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Background/Preparation:
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Teachers should review all materials prior to use.
Teachers will need a working knowledge of wikis. Teachers should have prior knowledge of the mechanics of statewide political elections. Preparation for students should include the basics of state government and instruction in working with wikis.
The teacher should create the wiki prior to the beginning of the lesson. (Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. or PBwiki). Wikispaces will allow teachers to set up ad-free wikis at no cost. The teacher will need to send each student an invitation to join the wiki via email and the student will have to accept the invitation and follow the directions to join the wiki. Students will not be able to contribute to the wiki until they have joined the group. This is the case with the wiki settings set to allow the teacher to control who contributes to the page.
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Procedures/Activities:
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There will be two debates - the first on September 16, 2010 and the second on October 19, 2010. Students will need to prepare prior to the debates for the topics that will be discussed and on state government.
Creating the wiki -Set up the wiki for student use http://www.wikispaces.com/site/for/teachers and create a page for each topic area covered on the debate worksheet that is attached above. The teacher will need to send each student an invitation to join the wiki via email and the student will have to accept the invitation and follow the directions to join the wiki. Once the basic wiki has been created by the teacher, it is ready for students to list their pieces of legislation. The teacher controls the number of people who may access the wiki through the wiki's settings. Students will need to provide email addresses to the teacher in order for them to receive an invitation to join the wiki group and once they receive the invitation, students should respond to the instructions in the email to join the wiki. Once the student has accepted the invitation to join the wiki, he or she is ready to post.
Pre-debate Activities and Preparation
Assign students to groups based on the topics matching those on the attached debate worksheet. Have students the week before the debates, gather newspaper articles and write summaries or write summaries of the newspaper articles and post them to the wiki. If you choose, have them post their summaries of the newspaper events on the wiki. Students should only look for articles on their assigned topics.
Prior to the first event, instruct students about how to analyze the debate. Discuss what to look for in debates. The resource links above contain numerous examples of this material. Examples include The History of Televised Debates, Persuasive Techniques That Candidates Use For Debating - video, and How to Watch a Debate which has some great suggestions for helping students prepare for the debate.
Also prior to the debate insert a pre-debate survey from either Poll Daddy or Survey Gizmo on the wiki so students may be polled on their opinions prior to the event. This may be done by either the teacher or a student who is technologically adept.
Have students watch the debates and while watching, complete the debate worksheet attached above.
After the debate, have each group compile their observations after discussing them within the group and add them to the wiki page assigned to their topic. Students may be assigned to compare and contrast the views of the two candidates in posts to their wiki page.
Insert a post-debate survey created with the survey software and share the results with the students. You will likely find that students will have altered their positions somewhat.
This project may be adapted to continue through the November election by adding assignments to be posted to the wiki as the election progresses.
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Attachments:**Some files will display in a new window. Others will prompt you to download.
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Assessment Strategies:
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Debate worksheet, participation grade based on wiki posts
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Lesson Plan Developed by:
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Scarlett Gaddy
Hillcrest High School 300 Patriot Pkwy Tuscaloosa, AL 35405 |
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This lesson and many other excellent lesson plans may be found on ALEX the Alabama Learning Exchange located at http://alex.state.al.us/index.php
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