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Another great lesson plan from the Dirksen Congressional Center's Congress in the Classroom workshop. Designed for students in grades 8-12.

During The Dirksen Congressional Center's annual Congress in the Classroom® workshop participants are asked to introduce the lesson plans, resources, and techniques that have proven successful in teaching about Congress in their classrooms.A 2008 participant, Jan Loyd, Cabot Junior High South, Cabot, AR, presented a lesson entitled, "Elect Me! Creating a Campaign Platform and Advertisement." Students will be a candidate for an election as a United States Representative or Senator in the upcoming election. They will need to decide which party fits their political views best. Next, they will plan and present a 3-5 minute campaign commercial about them as a candidate, their platform, and why the voters should vote for them.

Lincoln classroom

Excellent lesson plan for gr. 9-12 where students take on role of political analyst. Designed for 2004 election but could easily be modified for 2008. Another great lesson plan from HotChalk.

comprehensive lesson plan for gr. 9-12 including assessment, discussion questions, etc. Overview Students take on the role of a political analyst, forecasting the electoral vote count for the 2004 presidential election. In order to make a prediction, students are introduced to campaign issues, the Electoral College, the role of swing states, and the importance of political participation. The lesson plan includes a fun, interactive classroom competition where students make electoral predictions and compare with the actual results following the November 2nd voting deadline.

If you are interested in registering for the Congress in the Classroom® 2009 workshop, you can complete an online registration form found at: http://www.dirksencenter.org/programs_CiCapplication.htm.

List of links specifically examined for use in ELL/ESL classrooms

The time frame for the unit is 8 weeks, although it may not take you as long, depending on how many class hours you devote to it. I suggest that you divide the project into a Democrat and Republican team using two classes, but it could be done within one class. Classroom teachers will need access to computers for the project.

eLECTIONS is a nonpartisan election simulation game developed by Cable in the Classroom, in partnership with CNN, C-SPAN and The History Channel, and available, free, online. Refreshed and updated for 2008, it takes advantage of broadband technology - with its capacity to deliver video, audio, excellent interactivity, design and content - to support active, meaningful and memorable learning.

excellent example of using Wordle to analyze inaugural poems.

Excellent blog post with lesson example for a powerful use of using Wordle in an English classroom. Students explore words from several different inaugural poems to predict the themes and symbols developed in the poems. World is a great tool for exploring the ways that writers use words.

Lessons for exploring and interpreting one form of political communication Topics and standards covered include political communication, mass media, political parties and campaigns.