SUBJECT: Government
GRADE: High School
TECHNOLOGY: Internet Research
BY: Brian Elliff

POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS

Purpose:
Primary - To gain an understanding of varying opinions and political views throughout the nation during a presidential campaign.
Secondary - To integrate technology into a lesson.

Standard:
"The student will describe campaigns for national, state, and local elective office, including the influence of media coverage..." VA SOL 12.11

Process:
The teacher will pass out the Student Information Sheet and go over the instructions (see attached sheet). The teacher will then set up a time to go to a computer lab that has access to the World Wide Web in order to allow the students ample time to research their articles. While in the lab the students use search engines such as Lycos (http://www.lycos.com) and Yahoo (http://www.yahoo.com). If the students seem to be having trouble finding sources or working on the internet, the teacher will encourage the students to help each other out (possibly working in pairs).
The students will then work on the project in groups. The teacher should help the students in analyzing articles by giving examples of opinion pieces and articles found in newspapers, and discussing topics such as bias and making inferences about regional concerns based on issues addressed.

Evaluation:
The students will prepare and present a project with the standards discussed in the Student Instruction Worksheet (attached). Grading will be based on presentation skills, content, how well the student followed the instruction, logic and defense of argument, and whether the goal of the assignment was realized.

Campaign Research Project - Student Instruction Sheet

The purpose of this project is to gain an understanding of varying opinions and political views throughout the nation. In particular, we will focus on how the candidates in this election are presented in the media - often a reflection of the majority opinion of the region.

You will break up into groups of 4-5 students (of your choice) and choose a topic of interest that is being debated in the current presidential election. The issue should be one in which both the candidates and the public are divided. Some examples are the death penalty, tax increases, abortion, the balanced budget, etc. In order to make this project interesting, you should choose a topic that is of personal interest to you and the group as a whole. You should have the topic approved by the teacher before you begin.

Each student will be expected to research articles from media sources in at least 5 different regions. By different regions I mean areas with different economic, demographic, and historical attributes. For example, a study of the Richmond Times-Dispatch and the Daily Press will not suffice, but a articles from the Chicago Sun and the New York Times would be appropriate. Editorials and letters to the editor are appropriate, but bias in these pieces should be acknowledged.

In order to find articles across the nation I will provide time for you to access the Internet, where you will be expected to find newspapers and magazines online (i.e. http://www.washingtonpost.com). There will be ample newspaper sources on the web to access, therefore you will not need to call across the nation for copies of Newspapers. As a group you will be required to find at least 10 articles from at least 5 media sources. I am also requiring that you find a minimum of two articles from each source (from different days). You should get a copy of each article to turn in with your report. This can be done by printing the WEB page that the article is found on.

Finally, you will summarize your findings in a presentation for the class. The presentation should reflect your findings in your research. What can you tell about the different opinions of constituents from all over? What side do people fall on the issue in different areas? Is this reflected in the polls taken in the area?
This project should be entertaining and enlightening for the class, and should last approximately 20 minutes. You could make a video, perform a skit, or use your imagination to come up with your own ideas.

You will be graded on

A. Content
B. Presentation skills (including creativity)
C. How well you followed the instruction,
A. The logic and defense of your argument