Course:
Exploring Careers: STEM
Standard:
5.00 Research and Information Fluency: use of application
software.
Essential
Question:
How can technology, media and software applications be used to
gather information?
Essential
Skills:



Information Literacy
Media Literacy
Information, Communication, and Technology
Integration:



Social Studies,
English, and
Science with Business.
Days:
Upon successful completion of these projects, students will increase their knowledge of
use of the Internet to gather, various application software. The students will enhance
their ability to use data facts from primary and secondary sources to understand the
election process, analyze the role of political parties, the importance of voting and
predicting the outcome of past and future elections.
Resources:
 http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/elections.php


http://www.pbs.org/elections/glossary/index.html
http://australianpolitics.com/usa/elections/
1
Teacher Notes:
American Elections
Our United States American government system for presidential, congressional and
state governor elections. These elections are called General elections and are held on
the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
Elections are for positions for President, House district, Senate, Governor, State
legislature.
Presidential Elections
The president and vice president are elected to four-year terms in even-number years
evenly divisible by 4 (e.g. 1992, 1996, 2000, etc.) The 22nd amendment to the
Constitution limits presidents to no more than two terms.
Senate Elections
Senators are elected to six-year terms in even-numbered years. These terms are
staggered so that the terms of approximately one-third of all Senators expire every two
years. There is no limit on the number of terms a person may serve in the Senate.
House of Representatives Elections
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives are elected to two-year terms in evennumbers years. There is no limit on the number of terms a person may serve in the
House.
Note: There are four non-voting delegates to Congress from the District of Columbia,
Guam, the Virgin Islands and America Samoa. They are also elected to two-year terms
in even-numbered years, but Puerto Rico's non-voting resident commissioner in
Congress is elected to a four-year term in the same years as presidential elections are
held.
Gubernatorial Elections
Governors may serve either a two- or four-year term. Each state specifies the terms of
office for its governor. In most states, governors are elected in even-numbered years,
but in several states gubernatorial elections are held in odd-numbered years. The
number of terms a governor may serve also varies from state to state. Many states
allow governors to serve an unlimited number of terms.
2
Content Instructions
Election Term Vocabulary
 Distribute the Election Term Vocabulary
Handout.
1.
 Election Term
Vocabulary
Handout.
 Facilitate a class discussion about the United
States election process.
 You may have students to create a Multimedia
Presentation PowerPoint to demonstrate their
knowledge.
Who Helps the President
 Distribute the Who Helps the President
Activity?
2.
 Have students to use the Internet to research the
names and others departments that follow the
Cabinet finding the various departments and
secretaries who head each department.
Elections and the Political Process
 Distribute the Elections and the Political
Process Handout.
3.
 Who Helps the
President?
Activity
 Facilitate a class discussion about the United
States election process.
 You may have students to create a Multimedia
Presentation PowerPoint to demonstrate their
knowledge.
Political Cartoon

4.

Prior to this activity gather various political
magazines, newspapers and other resources
that contain political cartoons or use the
Internet.
Have students to create a poster explaining
their interpretation of each cartoons
 Elections and
the Political
Process
Handout
 Multimedia
Presentations
Software
 Various
magazines and
newspapers
 Internet
3
Candidates of the Past Activity
5.
 Distribute the Candidates of the Past Activity.
 Have students to create a presentation detailing
three candidates that have been nominated in the
past for president of the United States.
The Purpose of a Newsletter


6.



Facilitate a discussion with the class about the
major purposes of a newsletter while viewing
the Newsletter PowerPoint presentation.
Discuss the features and characteristic of a
newsletter and how they are use in the political
environment.
Distribute the In the New Activity.
Divide students into partners to create and
design a newsletter to report about the
candidates that have been nominated for
election reporters of the eighteenth century.
Students may use as a resource
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/elections.php
Have the students to Use the Team Evaluation
Scale Rubric to grade each other.
 Candidates of
the Past Activity
 Internet
 Multimedia
Presentations
Software
 Newsletter
PowerPoint
presentation
 In the News
Activity
 Internet
 Resource:
http://www.presi
dency.ucsb.edu/
elections.php
 Team Evaluation
Scale Rubric
If You Were Running for President

7.
Have students to create a flyer to promote
themselves if they were campaigning as a
candidate for President of the United States.
Introduction to Spreadsheets
8.

Distribute the Election Term Vocabulary
Handout.

Show the PowerPoint presentation
Introduction to Spreadsheet PowerPoint
Presentation.
Have students take notes on the Parts of a
Spreadsheet Activity during the presentation
and discussion.

 Introductions to
Spreadsheet
PowerPoint
Presentation
 Parts of a
Spreadsheet
Activity
4
Spreadsheet Formulas and Basic Functions
9.
10.
11.

Distribute the Spreadsheet Formulas and
Basic Functions Activity
 Have students to follow the directions to
complete the activity.
2008 Election Outcome

Distribute the 2008 Election Outcome
Activity
 Have students to follow the steps to complete
the activity to create a spreadsheet.
Total Votes per State


Distribute the Total Votes per State Activity
Have students to follow the steps to complete
the activity to create a spreadsheet.
1996 Presidential Election

12.
13.
Distribute the 1996 Presidential Election
Activity
 Have students to follow the steps to complete
the activity to create a spreadsheet and enter
formulas
Election Fundraiser


Distribute the Election Fundraiser Activity
Have students to follow the steps to complete
the activity to create a spreadsheet and enter
functions
Types of Charts

14.

Show the PowerPoint presentation
Introductions to Charts and Graphs Charts
PowerPoint Presentation.
Have students take notes on the Introductions
to Charts and Graphs graphic organizer
during the presentation and discussion.
 Spreadsheet
Formulas and
Basic Functions
Activity
 2008 Election
Outcome
Activity
 Spreadsheet
Software
 Total Votes per
State Activity
 Spreadsheet
Software
 1996
Presidential
Election Activity
 Spreadsheet
Software
 Election
Fundraiser
Activity
 Spreadsheet
Software
 Introductions to
Charts and
Graphs Charts
PowerPoint
Presentation
 Introduction to
Charts and
Graphs Graphic
Organizer
5
Creating a Chart


Distribute the Creating a Chart Activity
Have students to use the Elections Data
15.
Spreadsheet file to follow the steps to
complete the activity to create a spreadsheet,
enter formulas and create a bar chart.
 Note: Answers will vary.
Learning Spreadsheet Charts

16.

Use the Elections Data Spreadsheet to
create various charts and graphs.
o bar graph
o line graph
o area graph
o pie graph
o column graph
Note: Answers will vary
 Creating a Chart
Activity
 Election Data
Spreadsheet
Data File
 Spreadsheet
Software
 Election Data
Spreadsheet
Data File
 Spreadsheet
Software
 Introductions to
Charts and
Graphs Charts
PowerPoint
Presentation
6