So You Want to be President?

You think to yourself, "What do I know about elections? ...How will the election of 2008 help me to know what to do? .....Which past president do I know a lot about? What can I learn from his successes or failures? ......What do I need to learn in order to be an effective leader?.... Why do I want to be president? How will I convince the American public that I can lead them well?" You decide to find out all you can about the electoral process, current events, and presidents of the past before you make your entry into the presidential ring.
You will need to do some research and talk to advisors within your team before making the big decision. Complete all of the activities in Part One in a timely and effective manner. When you are ready, click on Part Two: What Can We Learn From Past Presidents?

Part One: What do I know about the government and elections? (See due dates list)

1. What is the definition of citizenship? Explore two questions you have about citizenship. Write about your questions and answers in your Presidential Journal.

2. With your group, watch Election to understand the process. Take the online quiz.

3. Read about the Electoral Process. Find three interesting points about this process and the History of Voting. Enter these in your Presidential Journal.

4. Review the meaning of democracy. Write a short essay on the meaning of democracy and its importance to you. Rough draft in Presidential Journal/Final draft on computer.

5. What is the document that is the basic "Law of the Land?" In your Presidential Journal, describe three points of this document that you find most interesting at this time.

6. Review the three branches of government. Write a short paragraph in your journal about each of the branches of government.

8. What are the qualities people want in a U.S. President? Design a question sheet and conduct a survey to find out the most desired qualities people are looking for in a presidential candidate. Report your findings to your team using a computer generated mathematical representation (i.e. graph, chart). Include mathematical language in a short write up which describes your findings and all relevant data. What does the typical desired candidate possess?

You have heard about the presidential hopefuls, read about their campaigns, and watched them on television. Now it is time to see how their campaigns might help you with yours. Click on the pictures below. Read the articles and follow the directions on the pages. Create a Reading Response for each article in your Presidential Journals.

Political Parties	It's Official!
Raising Money	Volunteers
Campaigning	Primaries
How to Pick a Running Mate	Democratic Convention Republican Convention Conventions
Debates	Countdown to November
Use these links as well as articles and books you have read to determine what you believe are important points and the key issues surrounding these candidates. Produce a poster using Inspiration software as well as other creative tools to organize your thoughts. Use Citation Maker to cite your resources. 2004 John Kerry George W. Bush 2008?
For up to the minute presidential news coverage, check on these sites by clicking on the pictures:

9. Enter information on the game, If You Were President. Print out your information. Save this in your Presidential Journal.

You know so much now!!!!! So, do you want to be president? ....You have a bit more to learn before making the final decision. Could George Washington's or Abraham Lincoln's experiences help you? What could be learned from John Kennedy or Harry Truman? Certainly knowing how Teddy Roosevelt led the country might help. What about the first ladies' advice? Other advisors? Find out in Part Two..

Resources include photos from Scholastic.com as well as logos from online news sources.