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A Lesson on Election Choices Export Lesson as PDF | Save As Favorite
A Lesson on Election Choices Grade: Grade 5
Subject: English Language Arts
Created by: Laura Gajentan
Lesson Length: 2 hours
Keywords/Tags: Reading, Writing, Government
Lesson Description: The goal of this lesson is to introduce some aspects of a Presidential Election, It brings up some new words for the students and talks about the two main parties. It gives the students an opportunity to use their reading, writing and comprehension skills to complete the activities that follow the reading.
Common Core Standards Covered with This Lesson
  • CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.4: Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic or subject area.
  • CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.2b: Develop the topic with facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples related to the topic.
  • CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.2d: Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
  • CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
 
     
     
 
Lesson Content: Reading
Instructions: Please read the following reading passage as many times as needed (aloud and silent) before starting to go through other lesson pages. Understanding the content of this passage is very important since the lesson activities will be all about this content. Feel free to print the passage if needed.

Election Choices

A convention is a very big meeting. Many organizations have conventions. Every four years there is a national election in the United States. The summer before the election, there are two conventions. One convention is for the Democrats. The other is for the Republicans. They choose leaders for the next four years. They hope the people they choose will win the election.

At the 2008 Democratic convention, there was a big change. Never before had the Democrats chosen an African-American as their candidate for President. They did. It was not a surprise, though. Barack Obama had been running for President all year. He had won primaries. A primary is an election in a state. The people of the state vote for the person they want to be President. Then at the convention their representatives vote for that person.

At the convention, there was a problem. Many people had voted in primaries for Hillary Clinton. They wanted her to be the first woman President. It was not because she was a woman that people voted for her. They thought she would do a good job. She was a Senator. She had met many world leaders. She was a leader, herself. More Democrats thought that Barack Obama would be a great President. So they chose him. She was disappointed, but Hillary Clinton helped him. She gave many speeches telling people why they should vote for him. She said, “He is the person who can change our country. ” “Yes, we can” was their slogan. It meant that people could change what was happening in the United States.

At the Republican convention, they had to make a choice. They chose John McCain. Then they surprised everyone. They chose a woman as Vice President. People wondered if they did this to get more votes. The woman was Sarah Palin. She made many speeches. She got some people to vote for the Republican party. Some people thought she was the opposite of Barack Obama. Some people thought it was a good idea for the Republicans to choose her. Other people thought it wasn’t. They said that she would only get votes from one group of people.

Barack Obama won the national election. He got votes from many different groups. More people voted than in the last election. It was important to them. After the election, he met with Hillary Clinton. He asked her to be Secretary of State. That is a very important job. The Secretary of State meets with world leaders. The Secretary of State helps solve problems with other countries.
 
     
     
 
Task 1: Vocabulary Activity (40 points)
Instructions: Please complete the following vocabulary activity by choosing the correct meaning of each word selected from the passage and use of each word correctly in a sentence.
Vocabulary Questions
Word/Phrase: Secretary of State | Tier: 3 | Points: 10
Q1 "After the election, he met with Hillary Clinton. He asked her to be Secretary of State.", what does the phrase "Secretary of State" mean?
A. Someone who answers phone calls.
B. Someone who helps the President. *
C. Someone who is the secretary for their state only.
D. Someone who must be a woman.
Which one of the sentences below uses the phrase "Secretary of State" correctly?
A. The Secretary of the States helps when there is a crisis.
B. The Secretary of State is always the same person.
C. President Obama needed help, so the Secretary of State came to the meeting. *
D. There is a Secretary of State for each state.
Word/Phrase: Convention | Tier: 2 | Points: 10
Q2 "Many organizations have conventions", What does the word convention mean in this sentence?
A. A carnival
B. A fundrasier
C. A big meeting *
D. A lunch break
Which of the following sentences uses the word "convention" correctly?
A. My dad cooks pizza in the convention oven.
B. I went to a convention to learn about a new company. *
C. My favorite convention is the telephone.
D. I went to the convention to go swimming with my family.
Word/Phrase: Senator | Tier: 2 | Points: 10
Q3 \"It was not because she was a woman that people voted for her. They thought she would do a good job. She was a Senator\",what does the word \"senator\" mean in this sentence?
A. A child *
B. A woman
C. A Republican
D. A leader
Which sentence below uses the word \"senator\" correctly?
A. There are two senators in Florida *
B. The senator beeps when there is a fire.
C. Clothes at the store have senators on them.
D. The senator sweeps the hallways at school.
Word/Phrase: Primary | Tier: 2 | Points: 10
Q4 "Barack Obama had been running for President all year. He had won primaries.", what does the word "primaries" mean in this sentence?
A. Election in the state *
B. The election world wide
C. The election nation wide
D. The election only for Democrats
Which of the following sentences use the word "primary" correctly?
A. To vote in the primary you must be eighteen years old. *
B. The primary color is blue.
C. My primary goal to pass 5th grade.
D. My mom is the primary caregiver.
Standards Covered with This Lesson Activity: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.4,
 
     
     
 
Task 2: Discussion Activity (30 points)
Instructions: This discussion forum will have questions for students to respond. Read the posted questions, and respond to each. Students are responsible for posting one initial and and two peer responses for each topic.
  Topic Title Replies
Message Describe..
Describe the the difference in reaction when each seperate party chose their Presidential Candidate.
Sent on: Jun 30, 2014 by: Laura Gajentan		 0
Message Have You Ever?
Have you ever been to a convention? If so, what did you do at the convention? If not, what tyoe fo convention would you like to go to?
Sent on: Jun 30, 2014 by: Laura Gajentan		 0
Message What have you learned?
What have you learned about Presidential Elections? What did you already know? What other questions do you still have?
Sent on: Jun 30, 2014 by: Laura Gajentan		 0
Standards Covered with This Lesson Activity: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.3,
 
     
     
 
Task 3: Writing Activity (30 points)
Instructions: You are to write and post here, Based on what you have read, write a 1-2 paragraph paper, explaining the process of a Presidential Election including the important people and their positions, the parties involved, etc.
Standards Covered with This Lesson Activity: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.2b, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.2d,
 
     

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