Lesson Plans
What's at Stake for California?
Tuning In to the 2008 Presidential Election
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the Lesson Plan - English
Download
the Lesson Plan - Spanish
In this lesson, students will familiarize themselves with the presidential candidates' views on issues of importance to the students. Using a variety of media sources, they will assess different policies in terms of the implications for California, and they will compare and contrast media coverage, evaluating bias and balance in approach.
ESL Teachers
The following lessons target Intermediate to high-level ESL students (level 4 to level 8)
(The target group levels range from 1 through 8, with the following guidelines: 1 = beginning, 5 = intermediate, 8 =advanced.)
Campaigning For Change
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the Lesson Plan
In this lesson, students select a school issue of importance to them, the faculty and the administrative staff, and devise a proposal for mounting a campaign around the issue.
Back To Basics: The 2008 Presidential Election
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the Lesson Plan
Students are introduced to basic terminology and background information about elections and voting in the United States. They will learn about the electoral process, the 2008 presidential election and the different issues in the campaign.
Creating a Student Voter Guide
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the Lesson Plan
In this lesson students learn about key election issues through creating a California State and Local Student Voter Guide.
PBS Teachers offers election resources for teachers at elementary and secondary schools. This rich resource bank of lesson plans covers key election issues, as well as the electoral process, the political parties, the politics and economics of campaigning, and the importance of voting in local state and federal elections.
Example of Lesson Plan: The Democracy Project: The Perfect President asks students
to identify the legal requirements, previous experiences, and personality traits
that equip someone to be a successful president.
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the Lesson Plans
 Online Newshour: Vote 2008 offers
lesson plans for educators. See NewsHour
lessons and other resources such as the Vote by Issue Quiz. Do
you really know where the candidates stand? Take the new Vote by Issue
quiz to find out how GOP and Democratic presidential candidates stack
up on key election issues.
Talking about Politics through Art SPARK lesson plans
Talking about Politics through Science QUEST lesson plans
Other Election-related
Websites
Download
a Voting Timeline
The voter timeline from the "Northern California
Citizenship Project Mobilize the Immigrant
Vote 2004 - Capacity Building Series" offers
a useful resource for educators.
Visit The Easy Voter Guide Project
The
Easy Voter Guide Project is dedicated to making
elections make sense; to the ideal that all people should have access
to nonpartisan information about the why, how and what of voting and
other forms of civic involvement."
Visit http://factcheck.org/
What are the candidates really saying? Fact
Check is a project of the Annenberg
Public Policy Center. According to their website, "We monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of
TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews, and news releases." The center receives no money from business corporations, labor unions, political parties, lobbyists or individuals. Flex your critical thinking and media literacy muscles by following the "recent postings" articles
to watch how these journalists separate fact from fiction!
 Visit www.kqed.org/election
KQED's Election 2008 site carries the latest headlines, a "Select a Candidate" survey,
an opportunity to "Ask Your Lawmaker" and
a Truth-o-Meter to fact-check what the candidates say! We'll help you stay informed
so you can do your civic duty.
Visit the Open
Secrets site
Details of who's giving money to whom here at the "Open Secrets" website produced by the non-partisan and nonprofit Center for Responsive Politics. "The
Center's work is aimed at creating a more educated voter, an involved citizenry,
and a more responsive government."
 Immigration is a key election issue. Watch Golden
Gate: A Journey of Hope by Ana Cancino and decide where you stand...
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