AP US Government
Interest Group Project
For this assignment, you will be assigned a specific interest group to research. Please save
your presentations to a flash drive or on in dropbox.
For your assigned interest group, research the following topics and
create a PPT:
1) What current issues is your group concerned with? Searching the “home” website
under tabs labeled “politics”, issues, or legislation, will help you find information on what
issue(s) your interest group has been involved with most recently.
o What are some examples of some recent legislation your group supported or
opposed?
o What actions does your group take to try to influence policy and the public
agenda? Give specific examples: (example- use of the media, lawsuits (litigation), direct
lobbying, public information contributions, etc.)
Which parts of the government does your group target? (Executive branch
departments and congressional committees)
2) What is the group’s political ideology?
o Does it favor one political party over the other? If so, does it have a history of
supporting certain political candidates?
o What is it doing to support their favored candidates? Make the connection
between their political ideology, the legislation they support, and the party they
support. If you believe your interest group is neutral, say so. Many interest
groups are neutral. If so, then….
o Discuss the issues that your group is concerned with and then do the
following: Find and summarize one news articles relevant to your interest
group. You can use “Google news” to find such articles. Use the information to
show how your group is trying to influence policy.
3) Assess your group.
o How effective is it in achieving its agenda? Use specific
examples demonstrating their effectiveness or lack thereof.
o
List of Interest Groups:
1. AARP- American Association of Retired People
2. ACLU- American Civil Liberties Union
3. AFL-CIO- American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations
4. ABA- American Bar Association
5. Business Roundtable
6. The Christian Coalition
7. AMA- American Medical Association
8. NAACP- National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
9. NEA - National Education Association
10.NOW- National Organization for Women
11.NRA- National Rifle Association
12.Sierra Club
13.US Chamber of Commerce
14.VFW- Veterans of Foreign Wars
Rubric for Evaluation
Item Description
Points
Earned/Possible
#1: identifying the group/its history
______/20
#2: Current issues/how the group
achieves their goals
______/20
#3: political ideology/connection to
politics
______/20
#4:assessment of your interest group
______/20
#5: overall quality: directions were
______/20
followed, quality of presentation was
excellent, well-planned, strong evidence
of preparation
TOTAL:
___/100
Teacher Comments