Student Expectations:

• Students will name different strategies candidates use to campaign.
• Students will be introduced to the current presidential candidates.
• Students will create their own campaign posters based on things that they would want to do as president.

Vocabulary and Definitions:

campaign: to organize a series of public events and advertisements to achieve something

candidate: a person who applies for a job or is nominated for election

slogan: a motto associated with a political party, movement, or candidate

strategy: an action plan that is designed to achieve a particular goal

Think Deeply: For older students, have a class discussion about issues in the school that students would like to change if they could become the school president. Brainstorm about what students can do to change things without having to be elected to an office.

Lesson Plan:

1. Make a list on the board of things a candidate might do during the campaign process. Examples include: decide what things they would like to do as president, come up with a slogan, make a poster, give speeches, host parades, visit voters, etc.
2. Explain that everyone who runs for political office does these things. Then, pose the question:
   
   1. Why do you think that this is important? (Answers may vary. Possibilities include: so that people will know who they are so that people will vote for them, etc.)
3. Show the students images of campaign posters with slogans for the current presidential candidates. Ask the students to identify the candidates’ slogans. Provide assistance as necessary.
4. Explain to the students that they are going to create their own presidential campaign posters.
5. Have the students turn and talk to a partner about what they would do if they became the president of the United States.
6. After the pairs have discussed, have the students complete the Design a Campaign Poster graphic organizer by drawing pictures of themselves and writing about what they would do as president. If necessary, for younger or less advanced students, write the sentences as they dictate. As an alternative, instruct the students to design a campaign poster (including a slogan) for themselves on a blank sheet of paper.
7. Hang the posters in the classroom or in the hall.

Weekly Assessment: List three strategies that political candidates use to help voters get to know them and their values.