2012 Presidential Race President Obama vs. Governor Romney Unit One

2. 2012 Presidential RacePresident Obama vs. Governor RomneyUnit One Ms. Myers September 5-19 2012 8th Grade English

3. Common Core Standards • Common Core Anchor Standards, 6-12Reading
1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.
3. Analyze how and why individuals, events and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.
6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.
7. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse formats and media, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.
10. Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently. • Writing
1. Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization and analysis of content.
4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to task, purpose and audience.
5. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting or trying a new approach.
6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.
7. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on specific questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
8. Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, then integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.
9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection and research.

4. Common Core Standards Continued • Writing
1. Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization and analysis of content.
4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to task, purpose and audience.
5. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting or trying a new approach.
6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.
7. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on specific questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
8. Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, then integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.
9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection and research.

5. Common Core Continued Speaking and Listening
1. Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
2. Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively and orally.
3. Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning and use of evidence and oratory.
4. Present information, findings and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development and style are appropriate to task, purpose and audience.
5. Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of presentations.
6. Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and communicative tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate • .McREL Standards • Civics 1. Understands ideas about civic life, politics and government.
13. Understands the character of American political and social conflict and factors that tend to prevent or lower its intensity.
14. Understands issues concerning the disparities between ideals and reality in American political and social life.
20. Understands the roles of political parties, campaigns, elections and associations and groups in American politics.
28. Understands how participation in civic and political life can help citizens attain individual and public goals.
29. Understands the importance of political leadership, public service and a knowledgeable citizenry in American constitutional democracy.

6. Goals • Goals • To engage students in the democratic process by making them active participants in Election 2012. • To encourage students to think critically about information, point of view, and sources by making them campaign message-makers. • To help students become better readers, writers, group members, presenters and thinkers, aligned with the Common Core State Standards.

7. Unit One • Mini-Unit 1: Who Are the candidates?
Project: Candidate Profiles • Students research one candidate and retool his campaign to appeal to younger voters by creating brochures, slide shows, biographies or Facebook pages or other social media strategies to introduce him.

8. Unit One—Day One • Mini-Unit 1: The Candidates
Essential Question: Who Are the Candidates?
Project: Candidate Research Team Presentations • Overview: For this first mini-unit, students become candidate researchers (and opposition researchers). Their task is to learn as much as they can about the candidates so they can create an accurate candidate profile that will appeal to youth voters. • K/W/L Activity: In this opening activity, use a K/W/L chart to take stock of what the class already knows about the candidates and what it wants to know. Complete a K/W/L for each candidate. For the “L” column, you may want to read an introductory article about the candidates, or have students return to the column at some later point in this unit. • KWl chart handout

9. Team Research—Day One • Campaign Research Team: Next, break the class into small groups to research the two major candidates. If you plan to carry this unit through to the end and will be holding a mock election in your school, you may want to consider having students stay with one candidate throughout the whole unit. That way, students will both deepen their knowledge of the candidate through successive activities and, in a sense, recreate the energy of a true campaign race. • Working in small groups, students are now members of a candidate’s campaign team. Their primary job is to craft a new candidate profile directed at the youth vote. The following handout might be helpful for students to keep track of their research and sources on areas such as the candidate’s background, experience and appeal to youth. • Research team handout—everyone in group will fill out the chart and come to the next class prepared for discussion and grade. • To start their research, students should visit the Times Topics pages on Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, as well as two useful Times infographics loaded with photos and videos: the Interactive Timeline of Barack Obama’s Life and Career and the Interactive Timeline of Mitt Romney’s Life and Career. • Another source that might be particularly helpful for students, especially those without a great deal of background knowledge, is The New York Times Upfront Magazine’s article “What’s at Stake.” • For more advanced research, students could explore the entire Times for both current and past content by using the advanced search option. • In addition, students may want to read the official candidate profiles on the campaign Web sites: Barack Obama profile and Mitt Romney profile.

10. Group Work—Six to Seven Members • Collect and record quotations that describe your assigned candidate: adjectives, descriptive phrases, slogans, political stances, and other descriptive text. For each one, note who is describing the candidate this way (a journalist, an opponent, the candidate him or herself, etc.). • As a group, reflect on the quotations and descriptions, and try to find evidence that they have resonated with voters, influenced opponents’ strategies or are otherwise powerful. (For example, they might find a speech in which the candidate addresses how he or she has been characterized, as when Al Gore, accepting the Democratic nomination for president, said, “I know I won’t always be the most exciting politician,” or when Christine O’Donnell, while running to represent Delaware in the Senate, appeared in a campaign commercial declaring, “I’m not a witch.”) • Create a brief title, like “The Decider,” “The Businessman” or “The Diplomat,” the group believes best embodies their assigned candidate. (They might create two titles: one to be used by the campaign and supporters, and one to be used by opponents.) • Reflect on information about this candidate that doesn’t seem to fit with the descriptions they found and created. List specific divergent positions, personality traits and actions. • Write an alternate tag line for this candidate that embodies his or her less-often-mentioned stances or characteristics. • If time allows, groups can also interview or poll members of the school community to find out how they would describe or characterize their assigned candidate. • Groups create scripts for two radio advertisements: one that promotes their assigned candidate and one that opposes his or her candidacy. Each advertisement should include a defining tag line and at least three fact-based reasons why it accurately describes the candidate about things like the candidate’s voting record, speech excerpts, professional accomplishments, important endorsements and so on.

11. GROUP WORK JOBS: • Supervisor/Administrator—This person collects the data, edits the work, compiles the data to give to presentation team, fact checker; he/she will represent the candidate (spokesperson may or may not be this position)—the ones that writes and creates one of the following: • Television commercial • Internet Site for candidate • Radio advertisement • Panel Discussion or talk show type format (questions and answers) • Candidate brochures to be handed out • Facebook page with advertising ideas (how much does this ad cost?) • Administrative Assistant • Take minutes (notes of what is said) • Gathers phone numbers, emails addresses, compiles Google Doc (interactive website where all members can work exclusively at home); must have a gmail account. This position is responsible for contacting absent students or contacting them to check on their progress and make notations for progress. A small booklet of minutes and information will be turned in—dates, discussions, what worked well and what didn’t. Also include notes on each student contributions.

12. GROUP WORK JOBS • Accountant(s): • Collects data on prices for 15-30 second advertising on television and radio, Facebook advertisements—contact them for ad pricing—still pictures or commercials, broadcasting a 20-30 panel discussion—call local stations to get an idea about pricing. Be polite, respectful and have questions ready. Use Excel Spreadsheet or make a power point to show results. This group also works taking and recording polls taken in the community. • Researcher and Writer(s): • Collects data and researches the candidate to write either a television or radio script, layouts the format and writes questions for the candidate to answer in a panel discussion. They will create a brochure or flyer to pass out, and to write the final speech for the class debate. and will also be written by this group. MAKE SURE YOU WRITE DOWN OR CITE THE SOURCE AND IF IT IRIMARY OR SECONDARY. Here are the categories: • Medicaid • Health Care • Job Unemployment and Creations • Energy Efficient Fuels • Climate Change • War in Iraq • National Debt • Unemployment • Women’s Rights • Foreign Policy (How we communicate and partnership with the rest of the world • Education • CITE YOUR SOURCES—ARE THEY PRIMARY OR SECONDARY (Write down where you received the information and check for facts against other sites). How reliable is the information?

13. Taglines for Candidate • Collect and record quotations that describe your assigned candidate: adjectives, descriptive phrases, slogans, political stances, and other descriptive text. For each one, note who is describing the candidate this way (a journalist, an opponent, the candidate him or herself, etc.). • As a group, reflect on the quotations and descriptions, and try to find evidence that they have resonated with voters, influenced opponents’ strategies or are otherwise powerful. (For example, they might find a speech in which the candidate addresses how he or she has been characterized, as when Al Gore, accepting the Democratic nomination for president, said, “I know I won’t always be the most exciting politician,” or when Christine O’Donnell, while running to represent Delaware in the Senate, appeared in a campaign commercial declaring, “I’m not a witch.”) In 1999, O’Donnell admits being involved with witchcraft. • Create a brief title, like “The Decider,” “The Businessman” or “The Diplomat,” the group believes best embodies their assigned candidate. (They might create two titles: one to be used by the campaign and supporters, and one to be used by opponents.) • Reflect on information about this candidate that doesn’t seem to fit with the descriptions they found and created. List specific divergent positions, personality traits and actions. • Write an alternate tag line for this candidate that embodies his or her less-often-mentioned stances or characteristics. • If time allows, groups can also interview or poll members of the school community to find out how they would describe or characterize their assigned candidate. • Groups create scripts for two radio advertisements: one that promotes their assigned candidate and one that opposes his or her candidacy. Each advertisement should include a defining tag line and at least three fact-based reasons why it accurately describes the candidate about things like the candidate’s voting record, speech excerpts, professional accomplishments, important endorsements and so on.

14. EXTENSIONS • Next, ask students if they know of any contemporary or historical politicians who became negatively defined after making a political blunder – or positively defined in a fixed way. If they don’t offer them on their own, introduce a handful of the political blunders chronicled on Daily Kos. Choose several of these moments and show students the included clips and descriptors. • You might choose the infamous “Dean scream,” the moment that John Kerry opened himself up to being known as a “flip-flopper,” George H. W. Bush’s amazed reaction to seeing a supermarket scanner or Michael Dukakis’s appearance riding in a tank. Ask students to come up with brief titles or tag lines that might emerge after a candidate makes a political gaffe like this. • Alternatively, show students photographs of past political leaders and candidates with whom they are familiar and have them share the first phrase that comes to mind. Did these phrases originate with the leaders themselves, like Sen. John McCain’s “maverick,” or stem from others’ characterizations?

15. 2012 Presidential Election Unit Overview—EXTRA CREDIT 25 PTS • Overall Theme • What if the voting age were lowered to 13? How would the candidates try to appeal to younger voters? How would the issues change as more teenagers gained the right to vote? Would young people get more engaged in our democratic system? • Four Essential Questions, One Per “Mini-Unit”Who are the candidates? • What are the issues? • How are the candidates trying to win the election? • Who do you think should win the election? • Rationale and Overview • In this unit, we’re putting teenagers front and center by having them consider these basic essential questions — questions central to any election — through the lens of a hypothetical situation in which the voting age has been lowered to 13.Each section of the unit builds on the one before to ask students to look critically at the 2012 candidates, issues and campaign strategies, but each also offers separate warm-up activities, research tasks and final projects. Teachers can add or subtract pieces or further scaffold to fit their individual classes, time frames and curricular demands. • The unit begins with students forming a research team assigned to one candidate, working for a retooled presidential campaign suddenly hyper-aware of the newly important youth vote. They design candidate profiles, conduct opposition research, create issues-based campaign materials, analyze the competing presidential campaign strategies and write their own campaign speeches • .After students have completely immersed themselves in campaign research, they take a step back to write their own editorial about who they think should be the next president of the United States. • The unit concludes as the class stages a mock election for the school community using the materials they generated over the course of the unit.

16. EXTRA CREDIT—DUE BY SEPTEMBER 21How Would the Presidential Campaigns Change if the Voting Age Were 13? • Are you following the presidential race? How well do you think the two candidates have spoken to young voters so far? • If people 13-17 years old could vote, how do you think President Obama and Mitt Romney would change their campaigns? • What issues do you think teenagers would want them to highlight? How do you think the two political parties would, or should, attempt to appeal to young people in general? • This is a special Student Opinion question: • As always, we invite anyone 13-25, from the United States or around the world, to write in, but answering this question by 5 p.m. Eastern on Sept. 21 also enters you into a contest. The winners — those whose posts that we find most interesting, articulate and thoughtful — will be eligible to be featured here and elsewhere on NYTimes.com. • Hand in a copy of what you will blog (in advance), go to the NY Times page—link and post before September 21

17. Extra Credit Blog RULES • Here are some rules for this contest: • Please keep your responses to 250 words.As always for this blog, please omit your last name, but, to be considered for the contest, please include your age and hometown. • When you post your comment, please do so with an e-mail address you’ll remember to check the week of Sept. 24. • We’ll be contacting winners that way to let them know of next steps. • Thank you for participating. You might also want to read two recent Times articles by Susan Saulny that focus on young voters. • In “Stung by Recession, Young Voters Shed Image as Obama Brigade,” she profiles a “new corps of men and women have come of voting age with views shaped largely by the recession.” • In “Young in G.O.P. Erase the Lines on Social Issues” she writes about how many of the youngest leaders of the Republican Party are embracing views on some social issues, like same-sex marriage and abortion, that are at odds with traditional conservative ideology.Teachers: We’ll leave this question open to comment through November, and we invite you to bring all your classes to answer it, but please remember that if you’d like your students to be considered for our contest, please have them post responses by Sept. 21. • YOU MUST HAND IN YOUR 250 WORD ESSAY BEFORE POSTING and only post at school when I am present. Bring your essay on a jump or flash drive.

18. Blog Examples • I feel that the presidential candidates would change their campaigns to appeal to the to the young voters, by focusing on solving issues that young people see the most, like censorship and corporal punishment. The youth today are affected most by censorship and corporal punishment. Another political issue to deal with is illegal immigration and the financial influence on all the students. To advertise their ideas, I think that the President Obama and Mr. Romney should use Facebook, Twitter, and media more often due to the growth of technology in the present day. To appeal to the young people, I feel that they should create a youth panel where the young voters can feel like they have some representation in the government. The candidates could attempt to attract the young audience by coming and giving speeches at parks, town halls, and universities. By making the youth feel wanted, then if one day that the young were to be elected, although we are not too sharp with politics, we could get through.13
Brockport, NY— Neil

19. In my opinion, the two presidential candidates have not been good at reaching out to the next generation of voters and attacking issues that concern us. However this is not necessarily bad since we cannot yet vote, and the candidates realize this. If the voting age was lowered to 13, I think the candidates would have so much more to tackle. They would still have to take stances on the adult topics that they are already involved in, but now would have to reach out to the younger community to get votes. Their stances would have to be simple and clear since teens may not be able to comprehend certain phrases. To me, the presidential campaign would become a race to see who could “dumb down” their stances enough. Some issues they would have to address would concern schools and driving ages. They should also focus more on secondary and post-secondary education. An issue that would capture teens’ attention would be for a candidate to be in favor of legalizing marijuana. In my opinion, however, it wouldn’t be a good idea to put the fate of our country in a substantially younger generation’s hands. Age 16
Atlanta, Georgia— Lucy

20. At thirteen years old, the majority of adolescents have yet to develop their own political standpoint. Most of the votes would simply be a re-representation of their parents’ opinions. Also, we must acknowledge that most 13-17 year olds wouldn’t even show up to vote, unless pressured to do so by their parents or peers. More negative aspects of a lower voting age would be the fact that young people don’t have the best judgment, because their brains are not yet fully developed. Local laws may be passed that are not in the people’s best interest. However, there would be benefits from this law. It important that people become involved in politics at a young age. The future of our country does lie in our hands-and ballots. It would spark more nationalism in young people, something that has been declining in our country for years. It would make them feel as though they have a voice. The presidential candidates would have to completely change their campaign styles. They would need to appeal to both adults and adolescents, using their funds to focus on things like education and environmental issues, as well as medicaideand Social Security.
In conclusion, a change in voting age would be too big of a responsibility for adolescents. Also, it would take up too much funds from politicians, when there is a much lower chance that they would vote. — Emily and Brianna

21. History and Civics Standards
1. Understands ideas about civic life, politics, and government.
9. Understands the importance of Americans sharing and supporting certain values, beliefs, and principles of American constitutional democracy.
11. Understand the role of diversity in American life and the importance of shared values, political beliefs, and civic beliefs in an increasingly diverse American society.
13. Understands the character of American political and social conflict and factors that tend to prevent or lower its intensity.
14. Understands issues concerning the disparities between ideas and reality in American political and social life.
17. Understands issues concerning the relationship between state and local governments and the national government and issues pertaining to representation at all three levels of government.
20. Understands the roles of political parties, campaigns, elections, and associations and groups in American politics.
21. Understands the formation and implementation of public policy.
27. Understands how certain character traits enhance citizens’ ability to fulfill personal and civic responsibilities.
29. Understand the importance of political leadership, public service, and a knowledgeable citizenry in American constitutional democracy.

22. Language Arts 
1. Demonstrates competence in the general skills and strategies of the writing process.
4. Gathers and uses information for research purposes.
7. Demonstrates competence in the general skills and strategies for reading a variety of informational texts. Behavioral Studies 
4. Understand conflict, cooperation, and interdependence among individuals, groups and institutions.
43. Understands the roles of marketing and the impact of marketing on the individual, business and society.
44. Understand how external factors and competition influence or dictate marketing decisions.
46. Understands characteristics of a market and strategies used to deal with a diversified marketplace. Life Skills: Thinking and Reasoning 
1. Understands and applies the basic principles of presenting an argument.
3. Effectively uses mental processes that are based on identifying similarities and differences.
6. Applies decision-making techniques. Life Skills: Working with Others
1. Contributes to the overall effort of a group.
4. Displays effective interpersonal communication skills.

23. First Presidential Debate October 3, 2012 Topic: Domestic policy Air Time: 9:00-10:30 p.m. Eastern Time Location: University of Denver in Denver, Colorado Sponsor: Commission on Presidential Debates Participants: President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney Moderator: Jim Lehrer (Host of NewsHour on PBS) The debate will focus on domestic policy and be divided into six time segments of approximately 15 minutes each on topics to be selected by the moderator and announced several weeks before the debate. The moderator will open each segment with a question, after which each candidate will have two minutes to respond. The moderator will use the balance of the time in the segment for a discussion of the topic. This is a mandatory assignment to watch all of the debates and answer questions from the handout.

24. October 11, 2012 Vice Presidential Topic: Foreign and domestic policy Air Time: 9:00-10:30 p.m. Eastern Time Location: Centre College in Danville, Kentucky Sponsor: Commission on Presidential Debates Participants: Vice President Joe Biden and Congressman Paul Ryan Moderator: Martha Raddatz (ABC News Chief Foreign Correspondent) The debate will cover both foreign and domestic topics and be divided into nine time segments of approximately 10 minutes each. The moderator will ask an opening question, after which each candidate will have two minutes to respond. The moderator will use the balance of the time in the segment for a discussion of the question.

25. October 16, 2012 Topic: Town meeting format including foreign and domestic policy Air Time: 9:00-10:30 p.m. Eastern Time Location: Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York Sponsor: Commission on Presidential Debates Participants: President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney Moderator: Candy Crowley (CNN Chief Political Correspondent) The second presidential debate will take the form of a town meeting, in which citizens will ask questions of the candidates on foreign and domestic issues. Candidates each will have two minutes to respond, and an additional minute for the moderator to facilitate a discussion. The town meeting participants will be undecided voters selected by the Gallup Organization.

26. October 22, 2012 Topic: Foreign Policy Air Time: 9:00-10:30 p.m. Eastern Time Location: Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida Sponsor: Commission on Presidential Debates Participants: President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney Moderator: Bob Schieffer (Host of Face the Nation on CBS) The format for the debate will be identical to the first presidential debate and will focus on foreign policy

27. Cited Sources • http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/27/how-would-the-presidential-campaigns-change-if-the-voting-age-wer-13/#more-114872 • http://www2.mcrel.org/compendium/SubjectTopics.asp?SubjectID=7 • http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/o/barack_obama/index.html • http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/r/mitt_romney/background/index.html • http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/05/weekinreview/05schwartz.html • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGGAgljengs • http://www.2012presidentialelectionnews.com/2012-debate-schedule/2012-presidential-debate-schedule/