Analyzing Candidate Policy and Voting Records
A research-driven project guide for 10th graders in which students investigate candidates' voting histories and public statements, then design campaign posters grounded in their findings. It builds research, evidence-evaluation, and persuasive design skills, with comparison organizers guiding the analysis.
“Create a project where students must research and create campaign posters for candidates in this mid-term cycle of elections coming up”
Teacher Guide & Tips
- Introduce the project as a multi-day unit tied to the upcoming mid-term elections, having students use nonpartisan sources like OnTheIssues and Ballotpedia to build their research.
- Discussion question: How can a candidate's current promises differ from their past votes or actions, and what does that gap tell voters?
- Scaffold for struggling readers: Provide a pre-filled comparison organizer with one example candidate so students can model how to match promises to evidence before researching independently.
- Extension for advanced students: Have them evaluate how a candidate's public statements have shifted over 5 to 10 years and write a brief rationale for how that evolution should shape the poster's message.
- Estimated time: Plan roughly 3 to 4 class periods, with one for research, one for organizer completion, and one or two for poster design and peer review.
What is Diffit?
Teachers use Diffit to get quality materials for their unique classrooms. Adjust difficulty, add scaffolds, or change the topic to get started.
Try Diffit for free“Create a project where students must research and create campaign posters for candidates in this mid-term cycle of elections coming up”
Teacher Guide & Tips
- Introduce the project as a multi-day unit tied to the upcoming mid-term elections, having students use nonpartisan sources like OnTheIssues and Ballotpedia to build their research.
- Discussion question: How can a candidate's current promises differ from their past votes or actions, and what does that gap tell voters?
- Scaffold for struggling readers: Provide a pre-filled comparison organizer with one example candidate so students can model how to match promises to evidence before researching independently.
- Extension for advanced students: Have them evaluate how a candidate's public statements have shifted over 5 to 10 years and write a brief rationale for how that evolution should shape the poster's message.
- Estimated time: Plan roughly 3 to 4 class periods, with one for research, one for organizer completion, and one or two for poster design and peer review.
Analyzing Candidate Policy and Voting Records
A research-driven project guide for 10th graders in which students investigate candidates' voting histories and public statements, then design campaign posters grounded in their findings. It builds research, evidence-evaluation, and persuasive design skills, with comparison organizers guiding the analysis.
What is Diffit?
Teachers use Diffit to get quality materials for their unique classrooms. Adjust difficulty, add scaffolds, or change the topic to get started.
Try Diffit for free