In this episode, we talk about the three motivating factors of congressional decisions: constituency, interest groups, and political parties. We'll break down how each of these factors motivates certain actions like case work, public opinion polls, and logrolling.
In this episode, Craig Benzine talks about the importance of elections. He isn't going to focus on presidential elections, but instead those of the strongest part of our government: congressional elections. Craig will talk about the frequency of elections in the Senate and House, typical characteristics of a candidate, and the motivating factors that our congresspeople follow to get re-elected.
In this interactive game from iCivics, students will learn what it takes to become an informed voter. Students will know where they stand on important issues and discover what they need to know about candidates. Students will learn about the importance of local elections, watch candidates discuss important issues in Town Hall debates, identify issues that matter to them and rate candidates' stances, and collect their own notes on candidates within the game. This game can be played during a lesson taught on the election process for reinforcement or after as an assessment. It can be played as a whole group or individually.
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This is a free interactive game from iCivics. In this game, students are challenged to manage their own presidential campaigns. Students will have a campaign manager to guide them through the campaign process. They will build arguments to support timely issues that are relevant to them, strategically raise funds to support their campaign, keep campaign momentum through targeted media campaigns and personal appearances, and poll local voters to see what issues resonate. This game can be used during a lesson on the election process as a learning activity or after as an assessment.
This informational site focuses on the history of the various methods of voting including paper ballot, machine ballot, and electronic voting systems used today. Students explore the range of voting technologies using the online exhibition from the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.
This learning activity details the history of voting methods in the United States including manual, mechanical, and electronic balloting. Students will also learn about the purposes and functions of the Electoral College and the Electoral Commission. Included in the resource is an interactive voting exhibition.
In this learning activity, students investigate youth voting practices and consider the ways youth voting habits may influence their own decision to vote. Students compare ways voting rights have changed through the years including women, African Americans, age, and non-property owners. The activity addresses the cornerstone of democracy, that voting is the most direct way for citizens to participate in government. Click on the Download PDF or DOC button for additional resources including a video, a New York State voting ballot, graphs, and articles.
