Unpacked Content
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.
Vocabulary
- primary
- gerrymandering
- Electoral College
- soft money
- hard money
- reapportionment
- redistricting
- "Get Out the Vote"
- gubernatorial
- caucus
- party convention
- political party
- census
- public financing
