Planning
a Presidential Campaign
Created by: Joy Crisler
Introduction Task Process Evaluation Conclusion Teacher Page
Introduction
You have just
been hired as a campaign manager for a presidential candidate. You and your staff will have to plan a
campaign that will guarantee your candidate’s election. In return, you will gain fame and fortune.
Introduction Task Process Evaluation Conclusion Teacher Page
Task
Your staff will create an itinerary for a two-week presidential campaign road trip. You will also present your reasons for the destinations on the road trip in a PowerPoint presentation. Your staff will be required to create and present a design for campaign buttons and posters as well as write and present an advertisement promoting your candidate.
Introduction Task Process Evaluation Conclusion Teacher Page
Process
There are 4
staff members on this campaign. Two
members (Travelers) will be in charge of creating the itinerary and PowerPoint
presentation. The other two members
(Advertisers) will be responsible for creating the design for the campaign
buttons, posters, and advertisement.
Travelers:
Step 1
You must have
a good idea of how the Electoral College system works in order to begin
planning your presidential campaign road trip.
To help, answer the following questions using the resources listed
below.
·
What is the Electoral College system?
·
What state has the most electoral votes?
·
Which state has the least electoral votes?
·
How many total electoral votes are there?
·
How many electoral votes are needed to be elected?
·
Using the total number of electoral votes needed to be
elected, name the minimum number of states needed to be elected.
·
Describe how the popular vote influences the Electoral College
vote.
Resources
· Federal Election
Commission Click on Elections and Voting, then The Electoral College www.fec.gov/
· Electoral College
Calculator www.archives.gov/federal_register/electoral_college/
· Interactive Electoral Map www.uselectionatlas.org/USPRESIDENT/
Step 2
Now that you
have researched the Electoral College system, now it is time to begin planning
your campaign trip. To begin, choose the
ten states that you feel are most valuable to your candidate to campaign
in. Label these states on a map. Before creating your itinerary, you need to
consider the shortest routes (think about transportation needs and the cost of
the trip). Your teacher will provide you with a blank
map and a handout for your itinerary.
Step 3
Now, create a
brief (3-5 slide) PowerPoint presentation to include information you have
learned about the electoral college, the states your candidate will be
traveling to, as well as why those states were chosen. Rehearse your presentation, you will share it
with the class.
Advertisers
Step
1
In order to
begin your propaganda campaign to get your candidate elected, you have some
things to consider. Those things include
voter registration, voter turnout, and public opinions. The key question to consider is how are we
going to get people excited about voting? To help you consider these points,
answer the following questions. The
resources listed below the questions will help you find some answers.
·
Looking at statistics for the 2000
election, choose three states. Then
compare the number of registered voters to actual turnout. Do the same for the
·
Now look at Voter Registration and Turnout
by Age, Gender, and Race 1998. Which age
group produced the most voters? Did more
males or females vote? Which racial
groups had the highest voter turnout?
The lowest?
Resources
·
Federal Election Commission, Elections and
Voting, Voter Registration and Turnout Statistics www.fec.gov
·
National Voter Turnout in Federal
Elections: 1960-2000 www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0781453.html
·
Voting and Registration in the Election of
November 2000 www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/p20-542.pdf
Step
2
Now you should
have a pretty good idea of the groups that your candidate needs to appeal to in
order to win this election. Using you
knowledge, it is time to begin creating advertising tools.
A.
Creating your campaign button.
1.
You may create your campaign button by
cutting from construction paper or cardboard. You may even use fabric or
glitter on the button.
2.
Items that can be included on the button are a
slogan or pictures.
3.
Be sure to be creative-you want to get the
voter’s attention!
B.
Creating your campaign poster.
1.
You may create your campaign poster on a
whole or half sheet of poster paper.
2.
The campaign poster needs to be
catchy. Use a good color scheme, the name
of your candidate (your choice), and a catchy slogan.
C.
Creating your radio advertisement.
1.
You will need to write an advertisement for
your candidate that will be played on the radio stations. Be sure to include your candidate’s
strengths. Also, be sure to remember
that you are trying to encourage the public to come out and vote on Election
Day. Make sure that your candidate
sounds worthy of the effort.
2.
Both partners are to present this radio
commercial to the class. Be
convincing-it is up to you and your group members to make sure your candidate
is elected.
Introduction Task Process Evaluation Conclusion Teacher Page
Evaluation
|
|
CATEGORY |
4 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
|
|
All topics
are addressed and all questions are accurately answered with at least 2
sentences about each. |
All topics
are addressed and most questions answered accurately with at least 2
sentences about each. |
All
topics are addressed, but some answers are inaccurate. |
One or
more topics were not addressed. |
|
|
Map is
labeled correctly with at least ten states high in electoral votes. |
Map is
labeled correctly with ten states but some (1-2) are not high in electoral
votes. |
Map is
labeled, but with errors, or has 3-5 states that are not high in electoral
votes. |
Map has
many errors (more than 5) and directions were not followed. |
|
|
Demonstrates
careful planning by making effective use of time as well as being cost
efficient. |
Demonstrates
careful planning, but might have some travel plans that are not as cost or
time efficient. |
Demonstrates
errors in planning trip. Trip does not make the most of time or money. |
Does not
demonstrate careful planning. Travel plans are unreasonable. |
|
|
Includes
all information gathered in research, trip itinerary, and a clear rationale
behind states that were chosen and the order that they will be traveled to. |
Includes
some information gathered in research, itinerary, and a good rationale behind
states that were chosen and order that they will be traveled to. |
Includes
some information gathered in research, itinerary, and a poor rationale behind
states that were chosen and order that they will be traveled to. |
Does not
include any information gathered in research, or the itinerary, or the
rationale behind states that were chosen and order that they will be traveled
to. |
|
|
No
grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors. |
Almost no
grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors |
A few
grammatical spelling or punctuation errors. |
Many
grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors. |
|
|
CATEGORY |
4 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
|
|
All
topics are addressed and all questions are accurately answered with at least
2 sentences about each. |
All
topics are addressed and most questions answered accurately with at least 2
sentences about each. |
All
topics are addressed, but some answers are inaccurate. |
One
or more topics were not addressed. |
|
|
The button
is exceptionally attractive in terms of design, layout, and neatness. |
The button
is attractive in terms of design, layout and neatness. |
The button
is acceptably attractive though it may be a bit messy. |
The button
is distractingly messy or very poorly designed. It is not attractive. |
|
|
The poster
includes all required elements as well as additional information. |
All
required elements are included on the poster. |
All but 1
of the required elements are included on the poster. |
Several
required elements were missing. |
|
|
Several of
the graphics used on the poster reflect an exceptional degree of student
creativity in their creation and/or display. |
One or two
of the graphics used on the poster reflect student creativity in their
creation and/or display. |
The
graphics are made by the student, but are based on the designs or ideas of
others. |
No
graphics made by the student are included. |
|
|
Ad clearly
identifies candidate's strengths and strongly encourages the public to vote.
Ad is presented with confidence. |
Ad
identifies candidate's strengths and encourages the public to vote. Ad is
presented with confidence. |
Ad does
not clearly identify candidate's strengths and/or does not encourage the
public to vote. Ad is not presented with confidence. |
Ad shows
little effort, directions were not followed, and presentation was poor and
unrehearsed. |
|
|
No
grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors in work. |
Almost no
grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors in work. |
A few
grammatical spelling or punctuation errors in work. |
Many
grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors in work. |
Introduction Task Process Evaluation Conclusion Teacher Page
Conclusion
Election Day is finally here! Hopefully your candidate is on the way to victory, thanks to the efforts of this campaign staff. By now, you should have a better understanding of how the Electoral College system works as well as an understanding of the work that has to go into a presidential campaign.
Back to Student Page
Introduction Task Process Evaluation Conclusion Teacher Page
Teacher
Page
Subject
Area: Social Studies
Grade
Level: High School
Learner
Information: This WebQuest is designed for high school students
studying either Government or the Constitution in an American History class.
Standards:
Curriculum:
Grade 12 ASCOS
Standard 7: Describe the purposes, organization, and functions
of American government as outlined in the Constitution.
Standard 11: Assess the impact of special interest groups
on the American political system.
Standard 12: Analyze political participation by Americans.
Technology:
Technology Standards
for Grades 9-12
30. Explain uses, advantages, and options of
multimedia authoring.
31. Identify a variety of media formats.
Apply appropriate techniques for
producing multimedia products.
Examples: brochures, newspapers, slide presentations,
web pages, digital or video presentations
35. Demonstrate proficiency in presenting
digital information.
Practice presentation skills for
audience (use of microphone, posture, delivery skills)
Deliver presentation using projection
device
36. Use appropriate online resources for
research.
Examples: online databases, electronic card catalog,
AVL, search engines
37. Apply appropriate techniques for information
retrieval.
Boolean operators
Examples: AND, OR, NOT, +, -
Key words
38. Identify useful information from a
search.
a. Evaluate for accuracy, appropriateness
and relevance
b. Evaluate for comprehensive and bias
c. Compare information from at least two
sources
39. Take notes and paraphrase from a search.
40. Record information necessary for
citation.
41. Utilize technology for solving problems and
making data-driven decisions.
Teacher
Notes: Some students may require knowledge of using PowerPoint software
before the project can be completed. Also, a link/copy of the handouts needed for this
activity can be found below.