Introduction: It is an election year. You and your team have been asked by your political party to help them elect the next President of the United States. Your candidate can succeed and lead our nation to new strength and a brighter future. The Task: Your mission is to choose a presidential candidate from one of the two major national political parties. You and your team will be responsible for managing and running your party’s campaign. You will post all the campaign materials that you create on the student Blog pages, attached to your teacher’s Web page. Your entries should be accompanied with appropriate illustrations, photos, etc. The more persuasive and convincing your candidate is, the greater their potential is for becoming elected!
The Process: As a group, you must choose a candidate, and a party to be affiliated with. You must choose either the Democratic or Republican party. Your campaign team will consist of three (or possibly four) people. Each will have a job and all positions are necessary to complete the project.
After you’ve chosen your candidate you are ready to get to work on the campaign. Each member will choose a position in the candidate's campaign. If your team has four people, two will need to work together to fulfill the requirements of one of the campaign jobs. Your campaign team will consist of three people. Each will have a job and all positions are necessary to complete the project.
The Campaign Manager -- This is the person who is most directly responsible for the success or failure of a campaign. It is your job to ensure that everyone else does his/hers. If there are any problems, you need to solve them. The political life of your candidate is at stake. Maybe even your appointment to a high level cabinet position!
As campaign manager, you are responsible for writing a biography for your candidate. You will need to create a narrative about your candidate’s characteristics and qualifications for public office. Make sure you begin with the General Resources for the entire campaign team before you start looking in your resources. The biography should include:
- Who your candidate is. Where is he/she from?
- Where your candidate went to college. What did he/she study?
- What your candidate did after college. Did he/she work? What did he/she do?
- What your candidate has done to prepare him/herself for the awesome role as President of the United States. Did he/she serve in Congress? Was he/she a Governor or Mayor? What other political positions has this person held?
- A statement about the candidate's family life. Is he/she married? Any children?
Of course, your biography should also include proper grammar and punctuation.
The Policy Writer -- The political platform is the cornerstone of any great campaign. Your candidate must find a happy medium between the platform of the party and what the American public is looking for in a candidate. Character only goes so far. Where your candidate stands on the issues could attract people to your campaign, or drive them away in herds.
You will write a political platform for your candidate. The platform will include your candidate's positions on five key issues: Education, the Environment, Health Care, and two issues of your choice. The two optional issues need to be approved BEFORE the platform is written.
Your candidate must take a stand on these issues. The American public does not approve of candidates that have no opinion! Your platform does not always have to follow party guidelines, but it should not vary too greatly from it either. If your candidate takes severe shifts from the party platform, it would be unlikely that he/she would gain the nomination of their party. Make sure you begin with the General Resources for the entire campaign team before you start looking in your resources. You will need to coordinate your efforts with the other members of the campaign team. They may need to use some of your information for their portion of the project.
The Speechwriter -- Every candidate needs some eloquent person to compose his or her public addresses. This is an important role in the campaign. If the candidate, your candidate, says the wrong thing at the wrong time, the campaign may be over. Wouldn't you like to be the presidential speechwriter?
You will compose a political speech for your candidate. The speech needs to include, but is not limited to, the following:
- A brief introduction of your candidate for those that don't know him/her. This will need to be coordinated with the Campaign Manager.
- A brief statement of what your candidate believes. This will need to be coordinated with the Policy Writer.
- What plans your candidate has for the future. Are there any special projects your candidate is interested in? Would your candidate support any specific legislation related to his/her special interest?
- Where does your candidate see the future of America? Would your candidate do anything to help the United States get there?
- Closing remarks to sum up the speech.
DO NOT MAKE PROMISES THAT YOUR CANDIDATE CANNOT DELIVER! Do not promise to end taxes or the IRS. Do not promise to give every American a free car. There are many nonprofit organizations that research the campaign promises of elected officials. Your candidate does not want to be branded as a liar! If this happens, he/she will probably not be elected and you have just lost your hope of being a presidential speech writer!
Make sure you begin with the General Resources for the entire campaign team before you start looking in your resources. You will need to coordinate your efforts with the other members of the campaign team. They may need to use some of your information for their portion of the project.
Resources:
General Resources--
Barack Obama: This is the official website of the Obama campaign.
John McCain: This is the official website of the McCain campaign.
Political Parties in the United States: This is an article that explains some of the history behind the two-party system in the United States.
Campaigning: Here are some ideas about a variety of concerns that impact a successful political campaign today. Good starting resource.
Presidential Character: An analysis of four character types and how each performs in the office of the president.
Life of the Campaign Trail : A CNN report about the hardships of campaigning.
CNN's Election 2008: If you're looking for information on the current Presidential election, this would be the place to look.
For the Campaign Manager--
Biographies of Candidates and Elected Officials by State: This is a Project Vote Smart site. They have links to basic biographies of any public officials in every state, including those who are currently running for office.
Biographies of Past Presidents: This is the White House's official link to presidential biographies.
More Biographies of Past Presidents: This site is parof the American President series from CSPAN and PBS. These biographies are brief, but contain good information.
Life Before They Were President: This site gives biographical information about all of the US Presidents before they became President.
For the Policy Writer--
Democratic National Committee (DNC): This is the Official Democratic Party Website.
Democratic Party Platform: Here is official information about all the major issues that are included in the Democratic Party Platform.
Republican National Committee (RNC): This is the Official Republican Party Website.
Republican Party Platform: Here is official information about all the major issues that are included in the Republican Party Platform.
For the Speechwriter--
Ronald Reagan This site has links to some of Ronald Reagan's most famous speeches.
Jimmy Carter This site has links to some of the best speeches of President Jimmy Carter.
John F. Kennedy This is part of the JFK Presidential Library. There is an extensive list of speeches here. Some are in text form, other can be heard in audio form.
Conclusion: The smooth transfer of power that occurs through the electoral process every four years in the United States is a model for democracy. In participating in this project, you have had the opportunity to understand the issues and processes that are involved in our presidential elections.
Now, you and your team may go online and participate in a voting project that will track voter opinion for this year’s presidential election. Follow this link to cast your vote:
Reflection: In order to evaluate what you learned from this project, each group member will write a two paragraph post on what they learned during this process. Your post will include the following:
- How was my role important in the overall campaign of the candidate?
- What was the most vital part of my job?
- Was it necessary to coordinate and cooperate with my team members? Why? How was this accomplished?
- What five things did you learn about the role of President during this project that you did not already know? Why are these five things important to know?
- How would you describe this project to someone outside of this school?
- How do you think this project will make you a better voter when you are an adult?
Evaluation: Students will earn both an individual grade and a group grade. Group grades are based upon teamwork, cooperation, and overall effectiveness of the campaign. Individual grades will be based upon the quality of work done in completion of the project requirements. Grading rubrics for each component of the project are as follows:
Individual RUBRIC
Biography
Biography addresses all the necessary elements. Clear and well organized. Candidate is appealing. Exemplary(16-20 points)
Biography addresses some of the necessary elements. Follows a good organizational pattern. Accomplished(11-15 points)
Biography contains some good ideas, but does not present sufficient material to make the candidate seem appealing. Developing(6-10 points)
Biography is poorly organized and difficult to understand. Does not do a good job of introducing the candidate. Beginning(0-5 points)
Platform
Platform was well written for all five issues. All positions are well researched. The platform seems both convincing and realistic. Exemplary(16-20 points)
Platform was organized and shows good research. All issues are covered, but the positions are not necessarily convincing. Accomplished(11-15 points)
Platform shows some organization and evidence of research. Issues were mentioned, but positions were not clear. Developing(6-10 points)
Platform was poorly organized and/or researched. Did not cover the required 5 issues. Beginning(0-5 points)
Speech
Speech is well written, well organized, convincing, and easy to understand. Exemplary(16-20 points)
Speech addresses all the required elements. Accomplished(11-15 points)
Speech needs more organization. Addresses most of the required elements. Developing(6-10 points)
Speech is difficult to understand, lacks organization, and does not address the required elements. Beginning(0-5 points)
Mechanics
Few or no errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Well organized. Extremely effective visuals. Exemplary(16-20 points)
Few errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Good organization. Good visuals. Accomplished(11-15 points)
More than a few errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Poorly organized. Minimal or ineffective visuals. Developing(6-10 points)
Many errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Lacks organization. No visuals, or unattractive appearance. Beginning(0-5 points)
Final Reflection
All questions answered in a complete and thoughtful manner. Few or no errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Exemplary(16-20 points)
Many questions answered. Answers were well written. Few errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Accomplished(11-15 points)
Some questions answered. More than a few errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Developing(6-10 points)
Few questions answered, or answers not complete. Many errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Beginning(0-5 points)
Group RUBRIC
Completed tasks on time
Completed all of the assignments by the due date. Exemplary(16-20 points)
Completed most of the assignments by the due date. Accomplished(11-15 points)
Completed few of the assignments by the due date. Developing(6-10 points)
Did not complete the assignments by the due date. Beginning(0-5 points)
Teamwork
Teamwork greatly evident. Worked well together. Provided constant feedback. Maintained a good attitude throughout the process. Exemplary(16-20 points)
Teamwork evident. Group stayed on task and encouraged one another. Accomplished(11-15 points)
Teamwork evident, but cooperation not consistent. Developing(6-10 points)
Teamwork not evident. No cooperation among team members. Beginning(0-5 points)
Time management
No class time was wasted. Effectively used the time available. Exemplary(16-20 points)
Most of the class time was used effectively. Little time was wasted. Accomplished(11-15 points)
Used some of class time effectively. Developing(6-10 points)
Did not use class time effectively. Focus was not on projects. Beginning(0-5 points)
Use of resources
Made excellent use of all the resources provided. Exemplary(16-20 points)
Used many of the resources provided. Accomplished(11-15 points)
Used some of the resources provided. Developing(6-10 points)
Did not use the resources provided. Beginning(0-5 points)
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