Lesson Plan: Political Issues and Discussion
Self-identification

James Krause
 
grade levels: 8-12
 
subjects: social studies/US history
 
description: Our U.S. government has a long history of political parties and the discussion they bring to American life. Political parties have changed over time during the course of serving their members and adapted or disbanded depending on how successful they were in meeting the needs of the people. The present day political scence has the two party system promoting liberal or conservative ideology as the answer to everyone's problems. The modern day student should know what their personal viewpoint or attitude is on the politics of our day and U.S History should help illuminate the search.
 
goal: The purpose of this activity is for students to look at the issues and and at themselves. The students should be able to distinguish between liberal and conservative political positions. Students should be able to understand where they personally stand on the political issues and which camp they would find themselves in.
 
objectives; Students will become familiar with political issues and discussion points.
Students will be able to prioritize political issues.
Students will be able to understand the general concepts of liberal and conservative political ideals.
Students will be able to name the main political stands of the Republican and Democrat parties.
 
materials: U.S. History and U.S. Government textboooks, computer and internet access.
 
Procedure: Handouts with a definition of terms, and a list of political statements will be handed out to the students. The statements will be the discussion point for deciding a point of view by the students. The teacher will begin the discussion and will ask for volunteers to get the discussion going. The student will decide which statements they agree or disagree with and mark their choices on their statement sheet.
 
1. The best way to stimulate the economy is to cut income taxes.
    AGREE  DISAGREE
2. Federal spending on health, education, and welfare should be cut in order that the federal budget deficit be reduce.
    AGREE  DISGREE
3. Taxes should be increased on wealthy individuals to bring in more revenue to reduce the federal budget deficit.
    AGREE  DISGREE
4. We should increase spending on the military.
    AGREE  DISGREE
5. The protection of the environment should be a priority by the federal government.
    AGREE  DISGREE
6.  The federal government should require the registration of handguns.
    AGREE  DISGREE
7.  The federal government should install protective tariffs to protect American industry and American jobs.
    AGREE  DISGREE
8. The federal government should re-install the military draft.
    AGREE  DISGREE
9  The federal government should set price limits on the cost of petroleum products.
    AGREE  DISGREE
10. The U. S. government should increase spending to prevent illegal immigration.
    AGREE  DISGREE
11. The federal student loan system should be cut from the budget.
     AGREE  DISAGREE
12. Human rights should be a factor in determining what money a nation receives in aid.
     AGREE  DISAGREE
13. The death penalty should be aboliched.
     AGREE  DISAGREE
 
The students will complete their statement sheets by tallying the number of agree or disagree answers. Each student will mark their sheet either liberal or conservative.
 
Follow up activities: Students will make a list on the board of what conservatives support and oppose. The same for the liberal side is done on the board by the students. Another activity is to draw a horizontal line on the board and line up the students to their position within the political spectrum. The students can then see where they stand with their classmates for the time being politically speaking.
 
Wrap up: What side or team are you on in world affairs is a perspective that may result from this activity. The student's awareness of the issues in everyday affairs can be improved by bringing a sense of belonging to a group of like minded people. The student may see the study of history as a way of enlightenment rather than boring, dusty facts of yesteryear that are memorized and forgotten.