The Lesson Plan I selected is
titled “The Electoral College” and revolves around the creation, purpose and
necessity of the Electoral College. The plan is designed for high school (9 -
-12) Government/Civics and Politics subject areas. I chose this because there is a great
misunderstanding about why the Electoral College was created and does it still
serve the desired purpose. In addition, it can create debate in the classroom
and because there are a vast amount of outside resources available. The lesson can be found at
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/teachers/lessonplans/socialstudies/Vote2004/electoral_college.html
The purpose of the lesson is to
show why the Electoral College was first established under the Constitution and
to have my students analyze whether it is still a viable system. It is my goal
to open up my class the varying points of view and to create debate. As I stated in a previous discussion, I want
my students to be able to present their opinions and defend their position
supported by facts.
The day before the lesson, I will
take a vote in all six of my classes on the students’ preference of vanilla or
chocolate ice cream. The next day, after the lesson, I will reveal the results
of the vote, the popular vote and how the vote would turn out using the
Electoral College system. I will first
asses my student’s prior knowledge by asking them if they know where the
Electoral College is located, to determine if they know that it is not a place.
Then we will use the recommended material to build on and expand their prior
knowledge. We will start with a short video and then we will read Article II
and the 12th amendment of the Constitution for the exact wording of
the plan. We will then explore how the territories of the United States vote in
presidential elections yet do not have any electoral votes. The students will
also be required to do independent research and reading to establish their
views and opinions and finally to present them to the class.
