President by Design
A Research Project
Objective:
Your mission is to create a presidential candidate for your political party and help him or her to become the next President of the United States.
- You will need to know about our government.
- You need to find the best person for the job.
- The more persuasive and convincing your candidate is, the greater his or her potential is for being elected!
Your Campaign Team:
- The Campaign Manager - directly responsible for the success or failure of a campaign; oversees other members of the team to ensure everyone is doing his/her job; problem solve
- The Policy Writer - develops a political platform; looks at the issues; decides how to find a happy medium between the party's platform and what the American public is looking for in a candidate
- The Speech Writer - composes speeches and public addresses for the candidate
- The Advertising Executive - develops a great advertising campaign; makes sure the candidate is recognizable to the American public
The Basics
1. What does the President do anyway?
- Either visit the following website or find another which helps you understand what the President does.
- http://pbskids.org/democracy/be-president/
- Write a bibliography card for the website you use.
- Create a list of what the President does.
- Create a list of the top ten character traits or abilities for a candidate to possess.
2. How is our government set up?
- Either use the following website or find another which explains the BRANCHES OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT.
- http://bensguide.gpo.gov/index.php/m-branches-intro
- Write a bibliography card for the website you use.
- Create a diagram to show the three BRANCHES OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT.
3. What is the process of being elected President?
- Create a chart explaining what you learn about the ELECTION PROCESS at the following websites.
- https://kids.usa.gov/president/index.shtml; http://pbskids.org/zoom/fromyou/elections/elections101.html
- Write a bibliography card for each website you use.
Submit these first three assignments to my Google Classroom.
- Be sure to include each of your team members' names, your class period, and the date.
- Check my Google Classroom for the due date; information is also written on the "Need to Know" board in class!
Your Candidate
Team Goals:
- Invent a candidate. This person should be fictitious, but he or she should be real enough to actually have a shot at being elected by the American people. You may want to check out some past candidates at the following website: http://www.timeforkids.com/minisite/election-2012
- Write a bibliography card if you use this website.
Choose a party affiliation. You must choose either DEMOCRAT or REPUBLICAN based upon positions and principles.
Become familiar with the party platforms by visiting one or both of the following websites.
Democrat: http://www.democrats.org/about/our_party
Republican: http://whitehouse12.com/republican-party-platform/
Write a bibliography card for the website you use.
Campaign Team Job Descriptions
Campaign Manager:
- Supervise and assist your campaign team.
- Oversee and coordinate the final group Google slide show presentation.
- Write a biography of candidate.
- See sample biographies of presidents at the following website: https://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/Presidents
- Write a bibliography card if you consult this site.
Policy Writer:
- Write a platform for your candidate which includes his or her views on EDUCATION, ENVIRONMENT, HEALTH CARE, and MILITARY.
- Research what other candidates' views on these issues are.
- Write a bibliography card for the site you use.
Decide how to best present your platform for your group's Google slide show.
Speech Writer:
- You will compose a political speech for your candidate which includes a brief introduction of who your candidate is (background), a brief statement of what your candidate believes, plans the candidate has for the future, and closing remarks.
- Consult with the Campaign Manager!
- Do NOT make promises your candidate cannot deliver! Do not promise to end taxes or to have Fridays off from school! You don't want your candidate to be branded a liar.
- Coordinate with the Policy Writer!
- See sample speeches at the following sites: http://www.trumanlibrary.org/educ/1948.htm; http://global.christianpost.com/news/obama-presidential-acceptance-speech-2012-live-stream-where-to-watch-online-84540/; http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/04/john-mccain-republican-co_n_124061.html
- Write bibliography cards for any and all sites you use!
Advertising Executive:
- Create an advertising campaign.
- Consult the following sites for inspiration: http://www.campaignbuttons-etc.com/; http://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/scriptorium/americavotes/
- Write a bibliography card for each site you consult!
You must include the following advertising items: a commercial, a print ad, a yard sign, a button, and a bumper sticker.
Coordinate with your team members.
The Final Product
A Google Slide Show which includes the following items:
- A slide which states the project name, date, and team members' names
- A slide of the list you created of what the President does and the top ten character traits or abilities for a candidate to possess which you compiled
- A slide of the diagram you created which shows the three BRANCHES OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT
- A slide of the chart you made which explains what you learned about the ELECTION PROCESS
- A slide which names your candidate and the party affiliation
- A slide with the biography written by the CAMPAIGN MANAGER
- A slide with your candidate's platform created by the POLICY WRITER
- A slide with your candidate's speech written by the SPEECH WRITER
- A slide with the advertising items which have been created by the ADVERTISING EXECUTIVE
- A BIBLIOGRAPHY slide which lists all of the websites utilized for the project (Use the handout from me which explains how to create your BIBLIOGRAPHY slide.)
Use CREATIVITY in designing your presentation!
Incorporate clipart, different fonts, etc. to make your presentation visually appealing!
Assessment
You will be graded in the following ways:
- Daily grade on the group's list of what a president does and the list of character traits and abilities, the group's diagram of the BRANCHES OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT, and the group's chart of the ELECTION PROCESS
- Individual daily grade for each of the campaign team's contributions which includes bibliography cards for each of the websites consulted (Your grade will be assessed on the work you yourself complete.)
- Test grade for the final product
Credit for this project goes to:
Lori Mathys, classroom teacher, Chesterfield Elementary, Rockwood School District