ALEX Classroom Resource

  

America's Voting Patchwork

  Classroom Resource Information  

Title:

 America's Voting Patchwork

URL:

 http://americanhistory.si.edu/vote/patchwork.html

Content Source:

 Smithsonian
Type: Learning Activity

Overview:

This learning activity details the history of voting methods in the United States including manual, mechanical, and electronic balloting. Students will also learn about the purposes and functions of the Electoral College and the Electoral Commission. Included in the resource is an interactive voting exhibition.  

Content Standard(s):
Social Studies
SS2010 (2010)
Grade: 12
United States Government
7 ) Describe the process of local, state, and national elections, including the organization, role, and constituency of political parties. (Alabama)

•  Explaining campaign funding and spending
•  Evaluating the impact of reapportionment, redistricting, and voter turnout on elections
Unpacked Content
Strand: Economics, Geography, History, Civics and Government
Course Title: United States Government
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Outline the steps in chronological order of an election process, including primary elections.
  • Describe how the election process is in flux dependent on such things as voter turnout, party strategy, and the redistricting process.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • primary
  • gerrymandering
  • Electoral College
  • soft money
  • hard money
  • reapportionment
  • redistricting
  • "Get Out the Vote"
  • gubernatorial
  • caucus
  • party convention
  • political party
  • census
  • public financing
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • The process by which elections are carried out in state, local, and national elections.
  • The process by which state legislatures create and adjust congressional districts.
  • The major rules and regulations surrounding how candidates receive and spend campaign funds.
  • The methods and goals of political parties in appealing to various populations as a means of ensuring voter turnout.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Organize components of the election process into chronological order, including primary elections.
  • Analyze state maps to assess the impact of redistricting.
  • Analyze tables, graphs, and charts to assess voter turnout and impact of.
  • Compare historical maps of state district lines and Electoral College outcomes to identify differences and shifts over time.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • The election process differs amongst office and level of government as well as how campaign spending, political parties, voter turnout, and redistricting can influence the outcome.
Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SS.USG.AAS.12.7- Understand that public officials are elected to office; recognize that elections are held at the local, state, and national level.
Social Studies
SS2010 (2010)
Grade: 12
United States Government
10 ) Evaluate roles political parties play in the functioning of the political system of the United States.

•  Describing the role of third-party candidates in political elections in the United States
•  Explaining major characteristics of contemporary political parties in the United States, including the role of conventions, party leadership, formal and informal memberships, and regional strongholds
•  Describing the influence of political parties on individuals and elected officials, including the development of party machines, rise of independent voters, and disillusionment with party systems
Unpacked Content
Strand: History, Civics and Government
Course Title: United States Government
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Describe the various levels of political parties and their functions as well as their composition.
  • Evaluate the extent to which practices and beliefs of political parties influence voter behavior as well as the presence of third parties in the political process.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • plurality representation
  • proportional representation
  • independent voter
  • party machine
  • disillusionment
  • congressional campaign committee
  • platform
  • two-party system
  • party realignment
  • third party
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • How political party membership impacts the behavior of elected officials.
  • How political parties are organized in local, state, and national levels as well as the type of membership in parties.
  • How third parties impact the political process in America's two-party system.
  • How the presence of political parties in American government shape outcomes in the political process.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Differentiate between the different levels of political parties in both their organization and function.
  • Explain in mathematical concepts how plurality representation creates a two-party system as opposed to proportional representation.
  • Evaluate how political party actions over time have shaped political practices, political alignment, and voter behavior.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • The nature of the American two-party system, such as the role of third parties and regional strongholds of the two major parties, as well as how political parties operate on local, state, and national levels, greatly affects elections.
Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SS.USG.AAS.12.10- Define political party and describe its job; identify and contrast the major political parties in the United States--Republican, Democratic, and/or nonaffiliated parties (Independent).
Tags: democracy, Electoral College, Electoral Commission, voting
License Type: Custom Permission Type
See Terms: https://www.si.edu/termsofuse/
For full descriptions of license types and a guide to usage, visit :
https://creativecommons.org/licenses
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  This resource provided by:  
Author: Ginger Boyd