Choose for Yourself Game Based Learning

Subject: Social Studies/Language Arts Grade: 5 Prepared by: Sharon Price

Overview and Purpose: It is an election year and although grade 5 students are too young to participate in electing our countrys president, due to media, conversations at home, on the playground and throughout the community, they are impacted. The purpose of this lesson is to help the students learn to think for themselves and choose a leader based on issues rather than external influences.
Idaho Content Standards:

Goal 4.3: Build an understanding that all people in the United States have rights and assume responsibilities. 5.SS.4.3.1 Name the President and Vice President of the United States and the United States senators and congressional representatives from Idaho. 5.SS.4.3.2 Identify some of the personal responsibilities and basic rights of individual freedoms that belong to American citizens. (455.01a)

5.SS.4.3.3Describe ways in which citizens participate in public life. (455.01b) 5.SS.4.4.3 Discuss the concepts of popular consent, respect for the individual, equality of opportunity, and personal liberty. (447.01a)

Objectives: Students will be able to: Evaluate two candidates perspectives in a political debate. Choose a candidate based on his or her perspective and personal choices. Apply this knowledge in a mock election. Demonstrate an understanding of privacy laws after making a vote. Show support, in writing, on how they decided on their chosen candidate. Materials Needed: Computer Access to the internet Poll booth (private area)

 Access to the icivics website This site can be used to support many related American Government concepts. Resources: (websites, videos, books, etc.) Project site: http://www.icivics.org/games Information: This activity takes place after we have discussed: The process of electing political leaders. The laws and rights of privacy of voters. What political parties are? Verification: Be actively involved throughout the activity: Observe that the students are able to make their own decisions during the debate. They should choose their own topics to be debated and make their own independent decisions. Monitor that they are not discussing their selection choices with others as this could be considered bullying and/or coercion. Ensure that they have complete privacy when casting their vote in the class election. Activity: After discussing the voters rights to privacy and stressing its importance and the importance of respecting it, explain that the students will now demonstrate their understanding by participating in a mock election. Explain that we will be using a civics activity on the computer to keep it more unbiased (hopefully), and not a popularity contest as it might be if we used an actual class election. Explain some similarities and differences to the real elections. For example; They dont have background information on the candidates. They are not party influenced. It is just an election based on issues. Explain the process of the activity (write this on the board in the computer lab). 1 We will go to the computer lab so that each student can work independently at a computer. 2 Log in to icivics. Select New Game 3 Go to Cast Your Vote. 4 Read/listen to the prompts to get started. Go slow Think 5 Read each topic. 6 Choose the issue. 7 Choose the argument you most prefer or agree with. Read them both carefully 8 Choose the importance of this issue to you or your family.

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It might be something that youve heard your parents talk about as it concerns them more than you. Cast a vote. Self evaluate what influenced your vote in the Debate Review. Go through a couple of times to test other issues. Go to the poll booth and cast a vote in the class poll. Go back to the computer and write a one page summary of how you decided on the chosen candidate. You do not have to disclose who you voted for in the class poll, just what influenced you. Was it something that they said? Most agreed upon responses? Or Why you didnt choose the other person? (As this is the case in many elections) Was it something they said? Least amount of agreed on topics? Return to class. Tally votes. Class discussion: Would background information have influenced them? Should candidates be chosen based only on their stance on issues? Are privacy laws for the voter really that important? Should parties have a heavy influence on voter decision? Relate all of this to current elections.