If you are a civics/government teacher and have not stumbled upon the Youth Leadership Initiative, go to their site now and register! YLI has an extensive collection of engaging lesson plans, runs an annual eCongress, and runs mock elections.
In this post I will highlight a lesson entitled "Selecting a President Part 1: Primaries and Caucuses". What I love about this lesson (one part of many) is that it breaks down primary vs. caucus into simple terms for students: deciding which kind of pizza the teacher will buy for the class. It may seem over simplistic, but any lesson that can tie a civics concept to a real-life (for 8th graders!) example deserves special kudos. Full notes and graphic organizers are included that cover all of the details of primaries and causcuses for various learning levels. One of my favorite elements of most YLI lessons is that they include a handful of political cartoons, with analysis questions, with most lessons. Here is a short blurb on the lesson right from YLI.
"The road to the White House in recent election cycles has become more time consuming and more expensive than ever before. In the first of two lesson plans highlighting the presidential selection process, students will explore the importance of presidential primaries and party caucuses, and debate the pros and cons of each. This lesson may be used as a stand alone plan or in conjunction with Selecting a President Part 2: The Nominating Convention and the General Election."
I have used both part 1 and 2 of this lesson in my classroom, and it has engaged students. I always include as a follow-up, a Youtube video called "Primary Elections Explained". This does a nice job of summarizeing this very import an part of the political process.
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