TL-Oct-2012

=October 2012 Technology Liaisons Meeting=

=Teaching and Learning the Presidential Election 2012=

With the candidates gearing up for the debates and campaign strategies to secure their positions, here is the opportunity to engage our students in meaningful activities that educate and inform them of our most important constitutional right. Our October Technology Liaison Meeting is intended to provide teachers with the tools and resources that can make this election a special time in their lives.

We will also have Denise MacDevette from Tech4Learning.com Denise will focus on meeting Common Core Standards with Creativity Software, software upgrades and web-based solutions. Also joining us will be Wayne Brooke from TurningTechnologies.com. Wayne will share some exciting news about Turning Technologies response solutions that are now available on the FAMIS portal.

Agenda:
Welcomes and Introductions Concerns and Solutions forum Vendor Presentations

Bay Ridge Meeting Back Channel Staten Island Meeting Back Channel
 * Denise MacDevette from Tech4Learning.com
 * Wayne Brooke from TurningTechnologies.com.

Election 2012 Lunch
 * The Big Idea
 * Looking for lessons that engage
 * Looking for good resources
 * Sharing of ideas and plans in a google doc
 * Common core standards
 * Creating a lesson plan
 * Timeline
 * Mapping your plan
 * Subject and content
 * Where are the standards
 * Bay Ridge Election 2012 Back channel
 * Staten Island Election 2012 Back channel
 * Creating an activity
 * Google Election Doc
 * Sample activity creation
 * Sharing your sample activity.

=Resources:= =Election 2012: Teaching Ideas and Resources= By [|SARAH KAVANAGH], [|HOLLY EPSTEIN OJALVO] and [|KATHERINE SCHULTEN] Richard Perry/The New York Times Waiting for Mitt Romney this summer in Newark, Ohio … [|Go to related interactive feature »] ======Civics====== Teaching ideas based on New York Times content. //**Update:** September, 2012// Here are some suggestions for teaching and learning about the 2012 election season, followed by selected New York Times features and Learning Network lesson plans. Bookmark this page: we’ll be adding activity ideas and resources as the march to the White House proceeds, and will link from here to //all// the election resources we publish. Meanwhile, we’d love to hear from you! Please share how you’re approaching the election with students in the comment box below.
 * [|See all in Civics »]
 * [|See all lesson plans »]
 * New:** [|Election 2012 Unit], special [|Student Opinion Contest] and [|Our List of Free Election Web Sites]

Student Opinion Contest – running until Sept. 21
To enter, students 13 – 25 years old just have to answer the question, [|How Would the Presidential Campaigns Change If the Voting Age Were 13?] — a question which is also at the heart of our Election Unit. Winners will have a chance to have their thoughts published both on The Learning Network and elsewhere on NYTimes.com.

Our List of Free Web Sites for Teaching Election 2012
Read our roundup of what we think are the [|best free election-related Web sites] for teachers and students. We’ll be updating this post regularly.

[|Our Election 2012 Unit]
We’ve designed our [|Election 2012 Unit] to put teenagers front and center of this election. Students become the researchers, speechwriters and strategists of the competing campaign teams, and in the process they look critically at the candidates, issues and tactics used in this election.

Within each of four mini-units, teachers will find warm-up activities, research tasks, final projects, and handouts, and they can add or subtract pieces or further scaffold to fit their individual classes, time frames and curricular demands.
 * [|Mini-Unit 1: Who are the candidates?]**

Project: Candidate Profiles //Students research one candidate and retool his campaign to appeal to younger voters by creating brochures, slide shows, biographies or Facebook pages or other social media strategies to introduce him.//
 * [|Mini-Unit 2: What are the issues?]**

Projects: Issue-Based Campaign Materials and Debate //Students survey each other on the issues that matter to them, then research one or more of these issues in order to create campaign materials like buttons, advertising, brochures or posters around it. They then debate the issues, either from the candidates’ point of view or their own.//
 * [|Mini-Unit 3: How are the candidates trying to win the election?]**

Projects: Argumentative Essay and Campaign Speech //Students critique campaign ads to analyze how the candidates this year are attempting to appeal to voters, then focus on one campaign strategy to write an essay answering the question, “Which candidate is running the better campaign?” They then write campaign speeches for the candidate they have researched.//
 * [|Mini-Unit 4: What Do You Think?]**

Projects: Student Editorial and Mock Election //Students conduct a one-question interview on views about the election so far, then write an editorial in which they tell why they think one of the candidates should be elected. They then use the materials they have created and what they have learned so far to run a mock election.//

Ten More Ideas for Teaching the Election
In addition to our Election Unit, we also have ten more suggestions for how you can teach the election in your classroom. Some of these ideas are incorporated within the unit described above.

1. Create Candidate Profiles
Where do the [|presidential candidates] stand on issues? How are they [|represented and defined in the media], and how accurate are those portrayals? What factors, including personal characteristics like [|hairstyles] and [|dress] as well as campaign [|theme songs], contribute to the candidates’ images? Create a [|class wiki profiling the presidential candidates].

2. Do Election Math
Look at the campaign season through a [|mathematical lens] by following the [|delegate count], and then use the data to make projections or by examining the role that money plays in politics by investigating whether there is a correlation between [|campaign donations] and poll numbers. Or, using the [|electoral map], map out various routes to the White House by examining [|states populations], the number of electoral votes each state has and how many electoral votes a candidate needs to win the presidency. Then determine which combinations of states could yield a victory. [|Create infographics] that effectively tell the story of the election thus far. Also, look into what happens if the Republican convention ends up being [|brokered].

3. Explore the Art of Political Speechwriting and Delivery
Examine a [|presidential candidate’s stump speech], looking specifically at word choice and how it relates to meaning and effectiveness. Then [|write an original stump speech] for a presidential candidate that uses similar oratorical approaches as the presidential candidates themselves use in their stump speeches. Finally, [|create an interactive version of your speech] that provides explanatory annotations about the rhetorical moves you are making and their intended effect.

4. Play Campaign News Games
Play [|campaign bingo] or conduct a [|scavenger hunt] by finding particular pieces of campaign news in an online or print edition of the Times.

5. Explore the Issues
Choose one issue of interest and examine each of the [|candidates’ stances on the issue]. Create an issue booklet or Web site that maps out and describes – and perhaps even compares – each candidate’s views, platform and history on this issue. You might even include how, if at all, the candidate has evolved on the issue over time. Additionally, students can work to [|develop their own position on this issue] and write a letter to the editor or create a video that offers their personal take on the topic.

6. Examine Debate Strategies
Watch excerpts from the [|presidential debates], paying particular attention to candidates’ rhetorical moves and [|commonly heard themes or phrases]. Then [|mine the debates] for examples of issue- and character-based arguments as well as [|spin]. After analyzing candidates’ approaches to debating, discuss which debate moves were the most and least effective. Hold either a mock debate in which students take on the roles of presidential candidates or a mock post-debate [|“spin room”] session, with students playing candidate staffers. During debates, they can take advantage of the “second screen” phenomenon and monitor Facebook, Twitter and other social media to see what viewers are saying in real time. They can also try live-”tweeting” or live-blogging a debate, focusing on key phrases and moments, or pulling together a narrative of Twitter posts using a tool like [|Storify].

7. Investigate Polling and Projection Data
Examine the [|results of a recent poll] or a selection of recent polls, particularly ones that have [|accompanying graphics]. Hunt for [|trends in the polling data]. What trends exist across different groups? What opportunities do these polls point to for each of the candidates? What polling results are surprising? Write [|letters to the editor], or letters of advice to the political party of presidential candidate of your choice, focusing on the one or two trends in the polling data that you think are the most significant. Alternatively, examine one of Nate Silver’s data analyses on his blog, [|FiveThirtyEight], and then discuss his analysis. On what factors does Mr. Silver base his predictions? Has he been right in the past?

8. Create a Youth Campaign
Reflect on your [|political ideology], your stance on [|important campaign issues] and your [|political party affiliation]. Draw on your political identity and ideology to develop a [|campaign] designed to [|get teenagers not yet eligible to vote involved] in the election. For example, they might get involved in a campaign like [|“Why Tuesday?”] or [|“#16tovote,”] or they might participate in a rally or other event.

9. Investigate Young Voters’ Role
Consider what young voters are saying [|a selection of opinion pieces written by young people] about the upcoming elections and how their level of involvement so far [|compares with youth involvement in the 2008 election]. Then conduct [|a series of interviews] to better understand how young voters in your community are approaching the 2012 race. Create a short documentary that tells the story of how young people in your community are approaching the election.

10. Follow Campaign News
Follow [|news of the presidential campaign] on a digital or timeline, Facebook page or Twitter feed [|over time], and engage in class discussion [|along the way]. Along with adding breaking news, add [|weekly photographs] to your feed to help tell the story of the campaign and provide material for analysis. Fact-check statements made by politicians on the class page whenever they hear something questionable. On Twitter, they can use the hashtag #asknyt to submit candidate comments made during debates that they think merit some scrutiny.

Teaching Resources
The [|Politics] section includes, along with daily news stories, the political news blog [|The Caucus] and the data analysis blog [|FiveThirtyEight], as well as [|candidate profiles], [|primary results by state], [|political polls] and more. Visit the politics [|video channel] for videos that capture specific elements of the campaign in footage and explanation. The Learning Network’s [|civics] section contains lesson plans pertaining to the presidency and government, including numerous activities related to past elections as well as the current election season. In addition, you can read about our list of [|free Web sites for teaching the election]. Selected lesson plans and other resources are below. [|Follow the Money: Understanding ‘Super PAC’ Spending in Politics] [|The United States of Numeracy: The Math of a Presidential Campaign] [|The Vice President as a Teenager: A Lesson à la ‘Saturday Night Live’] [|On the Stump: Examining the Form and Function of Campaign Speeches] [|Character vs. Characterization: Examining How Candidates and Politicians Are Defined] [|First Contest of the Year: Following the Iowa Caucuses] [|10 Ways to Teach About Election Day] [|Student Opinion Question | How Would the Presidential Campaigns Change if the Voting Age Were 13?] [|Student Opinion Question | Does Mitt Romney’s High School Bullying Matter?] [|Student Opinion Question | What if Your Parent Ran for President?] [|Student Opinion Question | Which Republican Candidate Will Win the Presidential Nomination?] [|6 Q’s About the News | Romney Chooses His Running Mate] [|6 Q’s About the News | Three Key States, Split Evenly] [|6 Q’s About the News | Vice-Presidential Speculation] [|6 Q’s About the News | What a Poll Can Tell You About the National Mood] [|6 Q’s About the News | The Republican Primary Map After Super Tuesday] [|When It Counts: Getting Involved in Election Issues] [|Party Like It’s 1992 or ’84 or ’76 or ’68: Creating a Party Timeline] [|The Political Is Personal: Exploring Your Own Personal Political Philosophy] [|When the Personal Becomes Presidential: Reflecting on the Qualities Of a Good Leader] [|Are We There Yet?: Analyzing the Public Perception of Politicians] [|Character Study: Considering the Morals of Leading Politicians] [|We the People?: Acting Out the Roles of Campaign Representatives and Superdelegates] [|One Year Later: Grading President Obama] [|Presidential Report Card: Examining the Nation’s Response to the First 100 Days of the Obama Presidency] [|Promises and Priorities: Analyzing President Obama’s Priorities During His First 100 Days] [|Hope in a Capsule: Considering the Events Surrounding the Inauguration of the 44th President] [|Perks and Perils: Considering Life as a “White House Kid”] [|An Oath to the Ages: Watching and Analyzing Barack Obama’s Inaugural Speech] [|A Tale of Two Leaders: Comparing the U.S. Economic Challenges in 1933 and Today] [|From the Post Office to the Oval Office: Considering How a Letter Reaches the President’s Desk] [|Taking a Peek in the Cabinet: Discussing the Positions that Make Up a Presidential Cabinet] [|History in the Making: Discovering the Social History of the United States] [|In Our Own Words] [|And the Winner Is …: Discussing the Results of the 2008 Presidential Election] [|Raw Endorsement: Exploring the Role that New York Times Endorsements Have Played in Presidential Elections Throughout History] [|What to Watch for on Election Night: Evaluating Battleground States On the Map] [|A Long Division?: Interviewing Community Members on Their Personal Views of Presidential Candidates] [|There’s Something Funny About These Candidates: Learning About the Power of Caricature] [|The Science of Politics:Evaluating the Presidential Candidates’ Policies on Science, Technology and Health Issues] [|Fight Night: Considering Negative Campaign Tactics] [|The Vice Voice: Investigating the Role and Duties of the Vice President of the United States] [|Strengthening Your Funny Bone: Analyzing Election Humor] [|Free Speech: Sharing Opinions and Feedback about Barack Obama’s Speech on Race] [|Scandalous?: Examining the Controversy of 2008 Times Coverage of John McCain] [|A Show of Support: Discussing the Results of 2008’s Super Tuesday] [|Si, Se Puede!: Looking at the Growing Influence of Hispanic and Latino Communities in U.S. Politics] [|The Primary Issue: Conducting Thorough Inquiries into the 2008 Election] [|Where Do They Stand?: Researching the Positions of Candidates] [|Taking Them on Faith?: Learning About the Importance of Presidential Candidates’ Religious Beliefs] [|Future Voters of America: Forming Your Own Opinions on Controversial Issues] [|Election 2008] [|America’s First Ladies] [|Voting in the U.S.A.] [|Women’s Suffrage] [|The U.S. Congress] [|United States Presidents] [|The Electoral Process]
 * 2012 Election: Lesson Plans**
 * The 2012 Election: Other Resources**
 * Elections in General**
 * President Obama’s Election and First Term**
 * The 2008 Presidential Election**
 * Related Student Crosswords**