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Subject areas: politics, current events, social
studies, government, media
Estimated Time: Two 45-minute class periods and
one hour to watch the "Battle Lines '06" television program
live on Oct. 26, 2006 at 9 p.m. ET on PBS or using
a personally taped version for later viewing.
Click here
to find your local PBS station for program schedule in your
area.
Lesson Objectives:
Students will:
- Participate in a class discussion about the significance
of midterm elections
- Consider their local candidates in the upcoming midterm
elections and what election issues they think are important
- Become critical media viewers
- Analyze and compare their thoughts and beliefs about
election issues and trends with the beliefs and thoughts
of political experts as well as "likely voters"
- Re-examine their personal opinions about the important
issues in this midterm election cycle by participating
in a class discussion or completing a short written response
Correlation to National Standards
Materials:
Procedure:
Note: This lesson is conducted in three parts: a
previewing activity, critical viewing of the NewsHour Program,
"Battle Lines '06," and a post-viewing discussion.
The NewsHour's "Battle Lines '06" will be
shown live on PBS stations from 9-10 p.m. ET on Oct. 26,
2006. If live access to the program is not available, we
suggest having the teacher record a copy of the program
for class viewing later. Unlike most NewsHour segments,
it will not be available later on the Online NewsHour Web
site.
Part I: Introduction to the midterm elections
Background:
On Nov. 7, 2006 Americans will go to the polls to vote
in the midterm elections. These elections are held at the
half way point of the current president's term, thus more
focus is at the local and state level rather than the national
level.
Citizens elect members of the House of Representatives,
one-third of the Senate and in many states governors and
state representatives as well. At the local level many positions,
including mayors and county commissioners, are chosen, too.
But these local elections can have a national impact.
Election Day could change the balance of power in Congress.
Currently, the Republican Party holds the leadership in
the House and Senate.
The program you are about to watch, the NewsHour's "Battle Lines
'06," will take an in-depth look at the issues that
are shaping this year's midterm elections. It will highlight
individual races from across the nation that could impact
the balance of power in the Congress. You will hear from
political experts and other citizens about trends impacting
voters in this election cycle. As you watch this program
you will gain a greater understanding of the American political
system.
1. Introduce the midterm elections using the background
information above. For a more detailed look, check out the
Online NewsHour's in-depth coverage of the midterm elections
or the NewsHour Extra midterm elections lesson plan.
2. Distribute the "Battle Lines
'06" previewing handout to students and have them
complete the questions in class.
3. After students have finished their handouts, facilitate
a discussion about their individual answers. Note interesting
trends in the student answers.
4. Distribute "Battle Lines
'06" critical-viewing handout and instruct students
to watch the NewsHour's "Battle Lines '06," which
will be shown live on PBS stations from 9-10 p.m. ET on
Oct. 26, 2006. If students are unable to watch the program
live, show a personally recorded copy of the program to
the class.
5. Go over the questions in the critical-viewing handout
to be sure students understand each question.
Part II: Critical viewing
1. Tell students to complete the "Battle Lines
'06" critical-viewing handout while watching the
NewsHour program. This will require careful watching and
note-taking. Tell students to have additional paper available
if more notes are required.
2. Tell students to review their notes immediately after
watching the program to clarify their thoughts.
Part III: Post-viewing discussion
1. Now that students have completed their critical viewing
handouts, facilitate a discussion as a class about their
responses. Consider the following questions:
- What was the most interesting thing they learned about
the midterm elections after watching the program?
- How did their own issues compare to those mentioned
in the program? Which were the same? Which were different?
To what do they attribute this?
- Did they notice any patterns in which issues are important
to which groups, be they demographic or regionally based?
- Have students look at their previewing worksheet again;
are the issues that are important to them the same now
that they've watched the program?
- Have students venture a guess about which political
party will come out on top come November. How are they
making their decisions?
Extension Activity:
After the Nov. 7 election results are final, have students
compare their predictions with the results. Have students
analyze why they think the election turned out as it did.
Who voted? According to exit polls, did participants vote
the way the students did? Which election issues seemed to
be the most important in the end, both locally in their
own communities and nationally?
Correlation to National Standards
McRel
Compendium of K-12 Standards Addressed:
Civics
Standard 7: Understands alternative forms of representation
and how they serve the purposes of constitutional government
Standard 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
Standard 19: Understands what is meant by "the public agenda",
how it is set, and how it is influenced by public opinion
and the media
Standard 20: Understands the role of political parties,
campaigns, elections and groups involved in American politics
Language Arts
Writing
Standard 1: Uses the general skills and strategies of the
writing process
Standard 4: Gathers and uses information for research purposes
Viewing
Standard 9: Uses viewing skills and strategies to understand
and interpret visual media
Media
Standard 10: Understands the characteristics and components
of the media
Thinking and Reasoning
Standard 1: Understands and applies the basic principles
of presenting an argument
Standard 3: Effectively uses mental processes that are based
on identifying similarities and differences
Technology
Standard 1: Knows the characteristics and uses of computer
hardware and operating systems
Standard 3: Understands the relationships among science,
technology, society and the
individual
Standard 6: Understands the nature and uses of different
forms of technology
About the Author:
Annie Schleicher is a former high school teacher
and Peace Corps volunteer who served in Mongolia. She is
an associate editor for NewsHour Extra.
To find out more about opportunities to contribute to this
site, contact Leah Clapman at extra@newshour.org.
More Social Studies lesson
plans at PBS
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