The Mini Page — 2004 Activities
The Electoral Vote
Issue 44
Oct. 23-29This week´s standards:Students identify key ideals of the United States´ democratic republican form of government. (Social Studies: Civic Ideals and Practices) Students understand the ideas, principles and practices of citizenship in a democratic republic. (Social Studies: Civics) Activities:1. Use words and pictures from the newspaper to create an election collage. Look for names of candidates, political parties, party and national symbols, and words about voting. 2. Look at the chart of states and their electoral votes in today´s Mini Page. Find: (a) the three states that have the most electoral votes, (b) the states that have only three electoral votes, and (c) the number of electoral votes your state has. 3. Look in the newspaper for an ad that supports a candidate for a local, state or national position. Circle the words that tell why you should vote for that candidate. 4. Use resource books and the Internet to learn more about the Electoral College. Use these questions to guide your research: Why did our country´s founders decide to have an Electoral College? Why did the founders make December the month for electors´ voting and January for the reading of the votes in Congress? 5. Many people today question the value of the Electoral College. They think we should elect our president on the basis of the popular vote only. Write a paragraph defending the Electoral College. Dr. Sherrye D. Garrett
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
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