Researchers go beyond the surface of an election issue to craft an objective report on the history of the issue, factors surrounding the issue, and factors in a candidate' biography that may influence a candidate's position on the issue. Individuals then share their findings with the class.

Concepts

presidential campaigns, presidential candidates, presidential elections, critical thinking, social issues, the united states government, the united states

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Additional Tags

social studies

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Instructional Ideas

• Consider assigning researchers to a candidate who is ideologically opposed to their own opinion on an issue
• Create an assignment sheet that clearly delineates the requirements, expectations, and due dates
• If given as a long-term project, break the assignment into sections and have the sections due at different times

Classroom Considerations

• Requires extra prep time to prepare the list of topics for the research project
• ProCon is a non-partisan site that presents information on the issues and candidates in the election

Pros

• Links are provided to sites that include objective information about the issue

Cons

• No rubric is included for the project