Design a Political Party

I use this project with my Participation in Government classes to engage the students in the development and role that political parties play in the United States government system. Particularly of interest now since the 2018 midterm elections just occurred and the 2020 elections are going to arrive before we know it! This project calls for students to come together in groups of four or five and develop their own political party. Each group is charged with developing a political party name, slogan, logo, press release, party platform, and stump speech. One member of the group will also represent the party as the presidential candidate. This person will participate in a class debate positioning each of the party candidates against one another to discuss their party's positions on key policy issues. After the debate has concluded, each candidate is given time to read their stump speech before each student exercises their right to vote in a class presidential election. The class is then provided with a link to a google form to vote for the candidate they most resonated with. 

My students love this project. Their engagement is through the roof with this project and the students really get into the role of designing their own political platforms based off of their beliefs. Many of the students have shared with me that this project helped them to better understand political parties and the process of campaigning in the United States political system. New to this project are the Google Forms incorporated for class elections. In addition, the project has recently been revamped to include a pathway for teachers to discuss the process of impeachment through a simulation activity. Google forms are provided to encourage an impeachment simulation with teachers having to develop their own scenario.

The logos, ideas, and speeches these groups have shared are so creative. It really is great to see a project captivate a class in such a way where the students are able to easily apply it to their own personal lives. Below are some pictures of previous logos created by some of my students and also a preview of the project itself. If you want a copy of the materials, it is available in my store on Teacher Pay Teacher (TpT) by clicking on this link (https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Big-Apple-Social-Studies).   

Preview of the Political Party Project

Photo of a Designed Party Logo by Students

Photo of a Designed Party Logo by Students

WINTER BREAK IS COMING!!!

WINTER BREAK IS COMING!!! EVERYONE HANG ON!!!

Attention ALL teachers of social studies! WINTER BREAK IS COMING!!! In order to help us all get through the next two weeks, Big Apple Social Studies is throwing a Battle to Winter Break Sale! Everything is 15% off in the store! Great project ideas that span a few days to an entire semester! Get them while the presses are hot! Check out the link for a good laugh at what is to come. 

Teachers Thinking About All of the Parents at Home With the Children for 2 Weeks

Create Your Own Public Policy: Addressing Societal Issues Through Policy

This project is on public policy research. It is intended to be a semester-long project, but it can be adjusted to be shorter. Public policy has, and continues to shape the development of our society into its present form. This project will challenge your students to create their own public policy, or modify current policy at the national, state, county or local level of government. The policy will address a problem within society students will identify through research. Students are challenged with thinking about What pisses them off in society? as a starting point, and is a great discussion board topic to commence the project. The primary learning objective for this project is for students to acquire a detailed understanding of what tasks are associated with creating public policy, think critically and analyze the process of gathering support for implementation, and apply their knowledge as a means of finding solutions to address current issues within society.

I use this project as a college preparation research project. The students have full autonomy over the topic that they choose and must conduct thorough research to develop a detailed policy addressing the societal problem. Each student constructs and produces three working drafts with a culminating presentation and memo to a player. The memo to a player acts as a letter of support for the policy to push for its implementation. Additionally, students work in small groups and conduct two rounds of peer reviews to collaboratively work through the revision processes. At the end of the semester, students present their policies to the class, and if exceptionally constructed, are further revised and sent to the actual player for consideration to push for a meaningful impact on society. The project engages students in the process of policy development, lobbying, and implementation. 

Check this project out! My government students love the project. The project has also given my students a taste of college-level work, which many have been appreciative toward preparing them for "the big show". The project can be found on my TpT store page.