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LESSON
PLAN: The
Electoral College
By
Lara Maupin, former social studies teacher and student government adviser at Thomas
Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia Subjects:
government/civics, current events Time:
This lesson is intended to take one - two class periods. Lesson
Objectives: - Students
will understand how the Electoral College system works.
- Students
will analyze and debate the pros and cons of the Electoral College system.
Overview:
- In this lesson,
your students will examine how the Electoral College works in order to better
understand how Americans elect their president. This issue has become especially
timely since the 2000 election when George W. Bush became president after winning
the most electoral votes but losing the popular vote. In 2004, the election is
once again a close one. This lesson is particularly relevant in a government or
civics class but may be used in any social studies class in which current events
will be discussed.
Updated
Materials: Text
Article - NewsHour Extra story on how the Electoral College forces campaigns
to focus on certain states Video
- the.Vote story on campaign strategy and the Electoral College Correlation
to National Standards
Materials
Needed - HANDOUT
- TEACHER
KEY
- Computers
with Internet access or printed copies of articles from the Web sites given below.
Procedures
for Teachers 1.
Introduction / Background
Explain to your students that while in November
Americans will cast their ballots for president, there is actually a system called
the Electoral College that determines who will win the election. Often ignored,
Americans had a lesson on the workings of the Electoral College after the 2000
election, in which Al Gore won the popular vote but George W. Bush became president.
Ask your students what they remember about the 2000 election. Explain that George
Bush won because he had 5 more electoral votes than Al Gore. (You may also want
to discuss the contested results in Florida and the Supreme Court case that ultimately
determined the outcome of the election.) Explain
that each state and the District of Columbia are given a share of the electoral
vote based on population. Electors are chosen by the states to actually cast the
official votes for president. Because of how the system is set up, it is possible
for one candidate to win the popular vote and another to win the electoral vote.
After the 2000 election, a majority of Americans favored abolishing the system.
However, no proposals to do so were seriously considered. Why? Tell your students
they will now try to answer that very question. 2.
Handout: The Electoral College
Give your students the Handout
and ask them to use the following online resources (or printouts from these Web
sites or of these stories that you provide) in order to complete it. Students
may work individually or in small groups. FEC:
The Electoral College
http://www.fec.gov/pages/ecmenu2.htm National
Archives: U.S. Electoral College
http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/electoral_college/ Online
NewsHour: Electoral College
November 23, 2000
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/election/july-dec00/ec_11-23.html
December 18, 2000
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/july-dec00/EC_12-18.html
Online NewsHour Extra: How the Electoral College Works
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/july-dec00/electorsbox.html 3.
Group Activity: Debate
After students have completed their handouts, have
them debate the pros and cons of the Electoral College. First, have students meet
in small groups to discuss and debate. What do they think about the system? Do
they think it is fair? What do they think of the 2000 election results? Would
they like to see the system changed? Why or why not? Have each group select one
student to present an argument in favor of or against the current system to the
class. The group as a whole should help that student to prepare his or her argument.
Selected students then present to the class as a whole. End with a class discussion.
What can your students conclude? Why does the system continue? Extensions
- Have your students
learn more about the results of one of the following 19th century presidential
elections: 1800, 1824, 1836, 1872, 1876, or 1888. Students share their findings.
Discuss. What surprised them? What did they learn about the American system of
electing the president from these elections? What can they conclude from these
elections? What relevance do they have today?
-
Refer students to Online NewsHour's Electoral College Map. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/vote2008/
Students can examine past election results, create election strategies, and predict
the next election results. Correlation
to National Standards McRel
Compendium of K-12 Standards Addressed: Civics
Standard 8: Understands the central ideas of American constitutional government
and how this form of government has shaped the character of American society
Benchmark 4: Understands the concept of popular sovereignty as a central
idea of American constitutional government (e.g., the people as the ultimate source
of the power to create, alter, or abolish governments)
Benchmark 7: Understands
how the design of the institutions of government and the federal system works
to channel and limit governmental power in order to serve the purposes of American
constitutional government Civics
Standard 20: Understands the roles of political parties, campaigns, elections,
and associations and groups in American politics
Benchmark 1: Knows the
origins and development of the two party system in the United States, and understands
the role of third parties National
Council for the Social Studies Thematic Strands:
Individuals, Groups,
and Institutions
Power, Authority, and Governance
Civic Ideals and Practices
About
the Author Author Lara Maupin has a Master’s Degree in Secondary Social
Studies Education from George Washington University and a Bachelor’s Degree
in Anthropology and Philosophy from Mount Holyoke College. To
find out more about opportunities to contribute to this site, contact Leah Clapman
at extra@newshour.org. | 
