The Mini Page — 2004 Activities
The Presidential Debates
Issue 39
Sept. 18-24This week´s standards:Students adjust their use of spoken language to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences for different purposes. (Language Arts) Students understand the role of citizens in American democracy. (Civics) Students understand the role and structure of government in American democracy. (Civics) Activities:1. People often debate when they want to change something. Make a poster showing something you would like to change in your school. Write the reason you would like the change on the poster. Ask several friends if they agree with you or disagree with you. What reasons do they give for their ideas? 2. Interview several friends and adult family members. Ask them to tell you three questions they would like to have the candidates answer. Watch the debates. Were any of the topics covered in the debates? 3. Identify three different stories in the newspaper that would provide good topics for the presidential and vice presidential debates. Write two questions for each topic. Watch the debates. Were your topics or questions part of the debates? 4. Make a debate evaluation chart for each candidate. Down the left-hand side of a piece of paper, write the words: (1) Making contact, (2) Answering questions, (3) Using facts, and (4) Ease on stage. Next to each of these topics, write the words "not good," "OK" and "very good." After you watch the debates, score each candidate on each topic by circling the words that describe the candidate´s performance in each area. Have a friend or family member watch the debates and score the candidates, too. Compare your scores. 5. After each debate, examine the way different political columnists describe the performance of each candidate. Use these questions to guide your examination: Which columnists or editorial writers rated George Bush higher? Which ones rated John Kerry higher? To what extent do the columnists use facts to support their criticism of the candidates? Do you agree with any of the comments? Disagree? Why? Dr. Sherrye D. Garrett
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
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