U.S. Presidential Elections - Discussion and Writing Topics

These discussion and writing resources extend students' learning about how U.S. presidents are elected and elections in general. This product includes: 16 discussion topics on task cards that can also be used for writing tasks, and the same 16 topics on individual lined pages for writing assignments. All the activities revolve around 24 essential vocabulary words that will help students understand how the American presidential election process works.

✓ Please note:

* A Google Drive™ version with the vocabulary, reading, and writing activities is available HERE.

* These 2 resources are included in the U.S. Election Activities product, which offers 6 additional resources for learning about the presidential and other elections; you can find out more HERE.

Resource at a Glance:

★ What will students learn?

* How an American president is elected.

* 24 vocabulary words about elections in America and the election process in the United States. (You can see the words in the More Info section below.)

★ Who is it for?

All students, including English Language Learners at an intermediate level of language proficiency, who are learning about how elections in the United States work.

★ How does it help teachers?

* You can use the 16 illustrated task cards that offer background information about a specific aspect of electing an American president or the election process to provide your students with speaking or writing practice.

* Use the 16 writing prompts — 1 per page and accompanied by an illustration and key words — to evaluate how well students can respond to various types of prompts about the election process in the U.S.

* The included assessment rubric lets you quickly and easily evaluate your students’ written work.

* Students can do the speaking task in pairs or small groups so you have flexibility when implementing the activity.

* Students can do the writing task on their own, in a pair, or in a small group, depending on your preference and amount of time available.

* The writing task can be done in class, as homework, in a center, as a filler, and/or use with early finishers.

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What you get in this product:

★ Table of Contents for quick reference (1 page)

★ A Notes to the Teacher section with explanatory information (1 page)

★ A list of the ELA Common Core standards addressed by this product (1 page)

★ A cover page for the task cards, with 5 suggestions for using the task cards and 5 suggestions for using the writing prompts (1 page)

★ 16 discussion topics on task cards, 4 topics per page, with images and key words and phrases included (4 pages)

★ 16 topics (the same as those above) with images and key words and phrases included, on individual pages for use as writing tasks (16 pages)

★ Lined page for additional writing in response to the prompts (1 page)

★ Evaluation rubric for assessing students' work (1 page)

More Info:

These are the key words and phrases used in this resource: ballot, candidate, caucus, convention, delegate, election, inauguration, platform, political party, president, primary, register, representative, senator, vote, and Washington, D.C.

All the speaking and writing topics include images that illustrate the topics plus key words and phrases in the form of relevant vocabulary words to support students as they work. A separate lined page is included for students who need more space when writing their responses to the topics. An assessment rubric is also provided so you can easily evaluate your students' writing. Also included in this product is a page that offers 5 suggestions for using the Discussion resource and 5 suggestions for using the Writing resource. A list of the ELA Common Core standards that this product addresses is provided on a separate page for teachers who work in states that use the CCSS.

These discussion and writing topics are written in easy-to-understand language so English Language Learners as well as students reading below grade level can understand them, although some students may still need additional support from you or their classmates for some of the topics. The first three topics were specifically written so ELLs at lower levels of language proficiency can comprehend and respond to them.

Help your students develop their speaking and writing skills with these engaging election resources!

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Common Core Standards © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved. Any claims of correlation or alignment to the CCSS Standards are solely those of The ESL Nexus and have not been evaluated or endorsed by the NGA. The ESL Nexus is the sole creator of this product and does not claim endorsement or association with the creators of the CCSS standards.

© 2015 Google Inc. All rights reserved. Google Drive is a trademark of Google Inc. The ESL Nexus is the sole creator of this product and does not claim endorsement or association with Google, Inc.

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