The Electoral College

Created Feb. 7, 2024 by Brendan Holland

TEMPLATE


Team member

Name:_________Chloe Keepes______Emma Grasso________

Name:____Brendan Holland__AJ Cox__________


Topic:____Presidential Election_________________



Part 1:  Driving question:

  • What are your three initial driving questions?

    • 1. Is the Electoral College still a valid way to count the votes for the President of the United States?

    • 2. What could be a better way to count votes in the presidential election if the Electoral College was deemed invalid ?

    • 3. Should the popular vote be a greater determinant of who is elected President than the Electoral College? If so, why?

  • What is your one, final driving question?

    • Is the Electoral College still a valid way to count the votes for the President of the United States? Why or why not.

  • Background information of this driving question:

What grade level are you working? Which standard are you targeting? Provide any background information the reader should know about this project, such as time span, schedule and so on. Provide a brief introduction to your question as well  and an overview to what you envision your lesson looking like.


High school students, usually junior or seniors in high school take Government as a requirement.


Standard: “USG.3.16 Explain and evaluate the original purpose and function of the Electoral College and its relevance today.”


This project should be completed in a group of no more than three students. The question is to be answered in a short presentation in front of the class after spending time in class over the span of one week. Each group may have a different answer but will also need to have evidence to support their answer.


  • Why do you think this is a good driving question?

Try to answer these 4 questions. (But you should not answer them with yes or no, instead explain the details and convince me that you’ve met these criteria)

    • Does the DQ warrant in-depth study?

      • Yes, it requires students to either look back at their notes or research why the electoral college is or is not a valid in the election process. This enables students the ability to learn more about historical examples that are applicable to their argument while they are researching.

    • Is the DQ an authentic and relevant issue/problem for my students?

      • Yes, the question warrants students to analyze the election process and recognize how it works so when they are able to vote they are aware of what their vote means.

    • Is there more than one plausible solution to the DQ?

      • Yes, a student can either agree or disagree that the Electoral College is a valid method of counting votes among various parts of the nation. Depending on the evidence the student provides, either answer is just as plausible as the other.

    • Does the DQ provide opportunities for students to evaluate, analyze, present, and defend their solutions?

      • Yes, students are able to evaluate their opinion on the topic, analyze data and evidence they collect and decide if that evidence is supportive of their opinion, and then present their findings.


Part2: Grabber

  • What is your grabber?

Assign each student a number, then have them vote for which is better: cats or dogs. Count up the majority vote, then add up the number of votes based on the number they were assigned. (Like how states get certain amount of votes, and not based on popular vote)

  • Why do you think this grabber is beneficial and how it  align with your driving question?

Try to answer these questions. (But you should not answer them with yes or no, instead explain the details and convince me that you’ve met these criteria)

  • Does the story, article, video, announcement, role play, or other resource hook the learner into asking more questions about the topic?

      • Yes, it intrigues the student and makes them think about the system in a more applicable way. After gaining a better understanding of the system on a small scale students can begin to explore how this method is employed on a larger scale.

  • Does the grabber capitalize on novelty and / or high emotion situations?

      • It capitalizes on novelty because the activity is meant to simulate how the electoral college works in a classroom. It allows students to understand how the process more or less works on a personal level. A student can just see what the Electoral College is on TV and see that the popular vote didn’t win, but it could change minds (or not) when it is applied to a personal problem. It could be emotional depending on how much people care about the differences or non-differences.


  • Does the grabber establish authenticity & relevance?

      • The grabber establishes authenticity and relevance by providing an interactive game for the students to further understand the electoral college. While also giving them a real-time example.

  • Make sure to explain in detail how this grabber would be used.

      • The grabber would get students thinking about if they believe the electoral college is a valid system or not. By involving them in the activity so they can see how it works, they would be able to form their own opinion on it.


  • Culminating activities: List all your activities here:


1) Activity 1

  • What is your first activity?

List the name of your activity here. And explain how it would be implemented  in the class, describe the process, such as how to group your students, when to present information to your students, what resources you will use, what students will create or share, etc.

  • The students will research the topic and then form an opinion on whether the electoral college is valid. Then they will form groups of 3-4  with students who have the same opinion. The group will then work together to write a paper explaining both sides of the argument in depth, then state which argument they subscribe to and why. This paper will be 5-7 pages in length, with the first 2-3 (2 being for 5 pages, 2.5 for 6 pages, and 3 for 7 pages) being their research on the topic, and the last pages being their analysis and argument on the topic. The analysis section is expected to be the bulk of the paper, because that is what really matters in the subject. The research will go along with this, of course, but true knowledge will be developed in the argument section.

  • Why do you think this is a good activity for PBL?

Try to answer these 4 questions.  (But you should not answer them with yes or no, instead explain the details and convince me that you’ve met these criteria)

  • How is the activity authentic?

        • The activity is authentic because it provides students with knowledge in correct writing style, as well as the knowledge learned about the electoral college system from the activity.

  • Does the activity provide students with the opportunity to present and defend problem solution?

        • Yes, having the students writing a paper defending their position with resources as well as talking these ideas out in class will give the students the ability to elaborate on their position and really see the arguments on both sides.

        • Does the activity require student collaboration?

          • This activity does require student collaboration, the debate aspect requires a lot of student interaction, which leads to collaboration within the classroom.

  • How will I judge what students have learned from the activity?

    • You will need to create a rubric for this step and potential example materials as well.


2) Repeat the information above for any additional activities you want to add.

  • What is your second activity?

    • Each group will be paired up with a group from the opposing side. Then they will debate their views in attempt to convince the other side, teacher, and the students that are watching to subscribe to their argument.

  • Why do you think this is a good activity for PBL?

    • How is the activity authentic?

      • The activity is authentic because students will use their knowledge from their research to apply it into a well-structured debate.

    • Does the activity provide students with the opportunity to present and defend problem solution?

      • Debate seems to get the most out of students in terms of depth of analysis, and it almost becomes a competition, meaning the students are really reaching in the depths of their brain for analysis.


    • Does the activity require student collaboration?

  • Yes, this will require student collaboration because the different groups will all be arguing against each other, and must be ready to back each other up if an argument starts faltering. We want the students to be able to construct their arguments and support each other if needed, to demonstrate knowledge and mastery of their assigned (or preferred) option.

    • How will I judge what students have learned from the activity?

  • We will be using this as more of a participation activity, but this will be judged on a rubric. The students should participate in class and I (we) will facilitate class discussion to get the most out of students. We aren’t looking for a synthesis of the arguments, but more of an ability to participate and defend ideas against someone else. This won’t be the same as the paper, since the paper will be fully demonstrating knowledge and research, this will be more of an “extra” activity that deepens knowledge and actually synthesizes every groups points to learn stuff maybe a student had not before.

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