Classroom Resource

Win the White House

Subject Area

Social Studies

Grade(s)

12

Overview

This is a free interactive game from iCivics. In this game, students are challenged to manage their own presidential campaigns. Students will have a campaign manager to guide them through the campaign process. They will build arguments to support timely issues that are relevant to them, strategically raise funds to support their campaign, keep campaign momentum through targeted media campaigns and personal appearances, and poll local voters to see what issues resonate. This game can be used during a lesson on the election process as a learning activity or after as an assessment.  

You will need to create a free account in order to access some of the content on this site.

Social Studies (2010) Grade(s): 12 - United States Government

SS10.USG.7

Describe the process of local, state, and national elections, including the organization, role, and constituency of political parties. (Alabama)

Unpacked Content

UP:SS10.USG.7

Vocabulary

  • primary
  • gerrymandering
  • Electoral College
  • soft money
  • hard money
  • reapportionment
  • redistricting
  • "Get Out the Vote"
  • gubernatorial
  • caucus
  • party convention
  • political party
  • census
  • public financing

Knowledge

Students know:
  • The process by which elections are carried out in state, local, and national elections.
  • The process by which state legislatures create and adjust congressional districts.
  • The major rules and regulations surrounding how candidates receive and spend campaign funds.
  • The methods and goals of political parties in appealing to various populations as a means of ensuring voter turnout.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Organize components of the election process into chronological order, including primary elections.
  • Analyze state maps to assess the impact of redistricting.
  • Analyze tables, graphs, and charts to assess voter turnout and impact of.
  • Compare historical maps of state district lines and Electoral College outcomes to identify differences and shifts over time.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • The election process differs amongst office and level of government as well as how campaign spending, political parties, voter turnout, and redistricting can influence the outcome.
Social Studies (2010) Grade(s): 12 - United States Government

SS10.USG.8

Describe functions and the development of special interest groups and campaign contributions by political action committees and their impact on state and national elections. (Alabama)

Unpacked Content

UP:SS10.USG.8

Vocabulary

  • political action committee (PAC)
  • Buckley v. Valeo
  • Citizens United v. Federal Election
  • Commission (italicize)
  • Federal Election Commission
  • contribution limit
  • hard money
  • soft money
  • Federal Elections Campaign Act of 1971
  • public financing
  • special interest group

Knowledge

Students know:
  • How special interest groups impact state and national elections through various means, such as endorsements and political advertising.
  • Key Supreme Court decisions and laws that frame the current campaign spending and finance practices.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Analyze an excerpt of a Supreme Court decision and identify their constitutional reasoning in reaching their decision.
  • Analyze table or chart of contributions or expenditures to demonstrate how money is distributed amongst candidates, their outcome on the election process, or trends over time.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • The historical issue of campaign spending and finance, as well as Supreme Court decisions and Federal law, shape the current practices of special interest groups in their efforts to impact state and national elections.
Social Studies (2010) Grade(s): 12 - United States Government

SS10.USG.10

Evaluate roles political parties play in the functioning of the political system of the United States.

Unpacked Content

UP:SS10.USG.10

Vocabulary

  • plurality representation
  • proportional representation
  • independent voter
  • party machine
  • disillusionment
  • congressional campaign committee
  • platform
  • two-party system
  • party realignment
  • third party

Knowledge

Students know:
  • How political party membership impacts the behavior of elected officials.
  • How political parties are organized in local, state, and national levels as well as the type of membership in parties.
  • How third parties impact the political process in America's two-party system.
  • How the presence of political parties in American government shape outcomes in the political process.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Differentiate between the different levels of political parties in both their organization and function.
  • Explain in mathematical concepts how plurality representation creates a two-party system as opposed to proportional representation.
  • Evaluate how political party actions over time have shaped political practices, political alignment, and voter behavior.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • The nature of the American two-party system, such as the role of third parties and regional strongholds of the two major parties, as well as how political parties operate on local, state, and national levels, greatly affects elections.
Link to Resource
https://www.icivics.org/node/67038/resource?referer=curriculum/play/all&page_ti…

CR Resource Type

Interactive/Game

Resource Provider

Other

Resource Provider other

iCivics
Accessibility

Accessibility

Audio resources: includes a transcript or subtitles
Graphics: includes alt tags or long descriptions
Video resources: includes closed captioning or subtitles
License

License Type

CUSTOM

Custom License Type (URL)

https://www.icivics.org/terms-use

Comments or Notes

iCivics is a free resource for teachers. Teachers will need to register for a free account to access additional resources.  They can create a class to assign resources to students. This interactive game can be played in a whole group or individually. Includes the following support tools for English Language Learners:  Spanish translation, voiceover, and glossary.

Approved Date

ALSDE LOGO

This site may contain links to other websites or content belonging to or originating from third parties or links to websites and features in banners or other advertising. Such external links are not investigated, monitored, or checked for accuracy, adequacy, validity, reliability, availability, or completeness by us. WE DO NOT WARRANT, ENDORSE, GUARANTEE, OR ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY OR RELIABILITY OF ANY INFORMATION OFFERED BY THIRD-PARTY WEBSITES LINKED THROUGH THIS SITE.
Alabama Learning Exchange © 2002-2023 by Alabama State Department of Education is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International

Design by Adaptive Theme