Do YOU – the average voter – understand the American election process

Do YOU – the average voter – understand the American election process?

A WebQuest for 12^th Grade (Participation in Government)

Designed by

Elizabeth Choma

Social Studies Department

A. Philip Randolph Campus High School @ City College of New York

Butterfly Chad

INTRODUCTION:

You are presently about to or have already reached the legal age of responsibility, and if asked, “What does that mean to you?” answers would very likely include, “I can drive, or I can get a credit card, I can buy lottery tickets, get married, fight for my country! Hopefully you would say, “I can VOTE”.

Only 24% of the eligible American voters vote in Presidential elections and even less in local elections. Therefore it is understandable why the youth of this country are not eager to even register or much more vote. And if you do not vote, you never develop an understanding of the American political system or the political process. If we do vote who influences our decisions, media, family, school? Do you know how to be analytical about a candidate? How do we get the youth to VOTE???

TASK:

Your teacher has asked you to help her prepare for a voter registration campaign for your school. She wants you to prepare a PowerPoint presentation that you will present to the entire student body in an assembly at the end of the month. In preparation for this presentation, she wants you to first write a mini-paper about how the election process works. Essential questions to be answered in this paper are:

· How can someone register to vote?

· How do you understand a ballot?

· How do you analyze the issues that on are the ballot?

· How do you understand what the candidate’s platform is?

· How do you vote?

· What is the Electoral College?

· How do we keep in touch with the elected official once they have been elected?

Second, she wants to prepare a 10 slide PowerPoint presentation, with information taken from this mini-report, and focus on motivating students and citizens to register to vote. The PowerPoint presentation is not only for the students but could be used in community settings, such as churches, at retirement homes, community centers and in personal homes. What new policies for voter registration can you come up with?

You will present your final PowerPoint presentation to the entire student body in an assembly where you hope to get the message out about the voting process and hopefully people will also register to vote.

PROCESS:

Follow these specific steps:

You will work in groups of four. Your teacher will assist group members in determining each person’s role. Each person in the group will play a role as follows:

· Researcher who will compile all the research

· Oral presenter who will present the findings of the group

· PowerPoint Designer who will be responsible for putting together the presentation

· Mini Report Writer who will write/edit Mini Report of the group.

You will complete the worksheets on the six components of the PPA:

Worksheet #1 – Identifying the Problem

Worksheet #2 – Gathering Evidence

Worksheet #3 – Determining Causes

Worksheet #4 – Evaluate Present Policies

Worksheet #5 – Developing New Policies

Worksheet #6 – Choose the Best Solution

You will read the information explaining each component of the PPA so that you will understand each part of what you need to do.

Use the Public Policy Analyst to assist you in researching for your presentation.

1. Define the problem

2. Gather evidence

3. Identify causes

4. Evaluate a policy

5. Develop solutions

6. Select the best solution

You will read and summarize the Internet resources (see resource section below) which will give you information on this topic and which you will include in your PowerPoint presentation and written mini-report.

Oral Presentation and PowerPoint – Based on your research, your group will present its findings to the class discussing how you came to choose the policy you finally chose and why. As part of your oral presentation, you will include and audio-visual component in the form of a brochure, display board, power point presentation, or role-playing scene related to your topic. Be prepared to answer any questions your classmates might have on your presentation or the topic you discussed.

Written Mini-Report – This should include all the work you have done on your PPA including the worksheets for each step, the paper itself with your research, and a listing of your sources (whether those provided by the teacher or any additional sources you have discovered on your own).

· Cover Page – This will include the name of your topic, the names of the students in your group, the American History-Participation in Government class, and the date.

· The Mini Report – This will include an outline, the research (set forth in an organized manner-see resources below), the worksheets, and a page listing the sources you referred to. The actual mini-report should include between four to six pages of information.

RESOURCES:

http://www.fec.gov/votregis/pdf/nvra.pdf

http://bensguide.gpo.gov/9-12/election/index.html

http://www.fec.gov/index.shtml

http://fpc.state.gov/c9809.htm

http://www.fairvote.org/

http://www.vote-smart.org/index.htm

http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/

http://pbskids.org/democracy/presforaday/index.html

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040921/nytu122_1.html

EVALUATION:

This is rubric that will be used to assess your completed work. Use it to make sure you have completed all the steps and can receive the full amount of points.

Criteria

Points

	4	3	2	1
PPA Policy Worksheets Steps 1-6	All questions were answered completely and rationales for the answers were clearly stated.	All questions were answered completely, but rationales for the all the answers were not clearly stated.	Not all questions were answered completely, or greater than 2 rationales for the all answers were not clearly stated.	All questions were not answered completely.	____
Power Point Presentation	- Clear and full presentation of material (10 slides) - Shows sophisticated control of elements of power point program - Demonstrates full control of language conventions	- Clear presentation of material (10 slides) - Shows control of elements of power point program - Demonstrates control of language conventions with very few mistakes	- Basic presentation of material (less than 4,5 slides) - Basic control of elements of power point program - Some errors in language conventions get in way of presentation	- Insufficient and/or unclear presentation of material - Little control of power point program - Significant errors in language conventions which get in way of presentation	____
Process: Teamwork	It is evident that a mutual effort and cohesive unit created the final product.	The team worked well together, but could have utilized each other's skills to a better degree.	The team had problems working together. Little collaboration occurred.	The final product is not the result of a collaborative effort. The group showed no evidence of collaboration.	____
Process: Originality	The ideas expressed by the body of work demonstrate a high degree of originality.	The ideas expressed by the body of work are mostly original. The group may have improved upon a previous idea.	The ideas expressed by the body of work demonstrate a low degree of originality.	There were no original ideas expressed in this project.
Mini-Report	-Illustrates strong evidence and causes of a social problem that is clear, creative and in depth. -Demonstrates high level of professional appearance	-Illustrates supportive evidence and causes of a social problem that is clear, creative. Demonstrates aspects of professional appearance	-Illustrates some evidence and causes of a social problem that is clear, -Little demonstration of professional appearance	-Little or no or unclear evidence and causes of a social problem -Unprofessional presentation
Oral Report	Based on PowerPoint presentation the research is clear and well articulated.	The PowerPoint presentation is clear but the research could be more thorough.	The PowerPoint presentation is not clear and needs more research.	The PowerPoint presentation is not clear and has no research.
				Total---->

STANDARDS:

SOCIAL STUDIES STANDARDS:
5: Civics, Citizenship, and Government

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS STANDARDS

1: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding.

3: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation.

CONCLUSION:

Having conducted all of your research you are now an expert in using the PPA. You have used this information when conducting research and gathering information. You have used this information to determine causes and evaluate current policies. You have developed original ideas that can be effectively used to realistically address this social problem of getting people to vote and to understand the electoral process.

INTRODUCTION:

Oral Report