Red States & Blue States: Election 2016

Hello colleagues, We have been discussing teaching the presidential election in our community, and several members have recommended online resources. Thank you!

I've started a discussion in the College and Career Standards Community about my lesson on the electoral college with my beginning ESL class. The lesson includes having students work in a small group to do some online research and then presenting to their classmates. They will also evaluate themselves using a teacher-designed rubric. Those who are interested can find the discussion here.

It would be great to hear how others are drawing upon the election for instruction this year.

Cheers, Susan Finn Miller

Moderator, Assessment CoP

Comments

Hello colleagues, I taught my lesson on the electoral college this week in my beginning ESL class. We drew from The National Archives and Records Administration government website which includes maps of previous elections as well as a feature that allows individuals to predict the outcome of this election in each of the 50 states plus Washington DC. There are several similar websites, but this one is pretty cool.

Students now have a pretty good understanding of how our US presidential election system works. While listening to the results of the election on November 8, they will be able to understand how states are determined to be red or blue and what the significance of 270 electoral votes is.

Comments welcome!

Cheers, Susan Finn Miller

Moderator, Assessment CoP