CIVICS Β· AMERICAN GOVERNMENT Β· UNIT 4
Political Parties Unit Plan
Everything you need for an engaging, student-driven unit on political parties and ideology in Civics or American Government, with easy-to-follow lesson plans for every day.
Unit 4 Overview
Where do your political views fit?
This is the fourth unit in my Civics and American Government curriculum, and it's where students start connecting government to their own beliefs. They look at why political parties formed, what today's parties stand for, and where their own views fall on the political spectrum.
Along the way, students analyze party platforms, take a political ideology quiz, write children's stories about third parties, break down famous political ads, and decide which qualities make for a great candidate.
You can buy every resource for this unit here, or join Students of History to immediately access every lesson online, along with every other unit in the course.
Day-by-Day Flow
How the unit runs
The unit plan guide includes lesson plans for every day, so you always know which resource to use and how. Here's how the unit moves from start to finish.
The Role of Political Parties
A PowerPoint with guided notes covers what parties do and how America's two-party system developed. Students analyze the major party platforms and read George Washington's warning about parties in his Farewell Address.
The Political Spectrum
Students predict where they fall politically, then take a political ideology quiz to see if they were right. A liberals vs. conservatives PowerPoint helps them see the differences before they write about their own views.
Parties & Campaigning
It's story day! Students listen to two children's stories about political parties and decide whether each is informative or propaganda. Then groups write and illustrate their own story about a third party.
Analyzing Political Ads
Using The Living Room Candidate, students watch famous political ads from history and analyze the strategies behind them. Then they storyboard a campaign commercial of their own.
Selecting a Candidate
Groups rank a set of mystery candidates by their traits, then find out who they really are (the results usually surprise them). Students finish by describing the qualities of an admirable politician.
Review & Assessment
Quizlet vocabulary and online review games help students review the unit before the editable unit test, which also comes with a Google Forms version.
What's Included
Over 20 resources, ready to teach
Every resource comes in both print and digital formats, plus a unit plan guide with lesson ideas for each day and links to videos and online resources.
- A complete unit guide packet students use throughout the unit
- A full set of digital notebook activities for Google Drive
- 2 PowerPoint lessons with guided notes on political party basics and liberals vs. conservatives
- A party platforms analysis activity with sample platforms, in printable and Google versions
- A George Washington's Farewell Address worksheet
- A comparing liberals and conservatives activity
- A political ideology quiz so students can find where they fall on the spectrum
- A presentation using children's books to explain political parties
- A political ad analysis activity using The Living Room Candidate, plus a political ad storyboard project
- An "admirable politician" interactive notebook page
- A selecting a candidate activity with slides
- Unit review activities and an editable unit assessment with a Google Forms option
Teacher Reviews
What teachers say about this unit
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βI used this as part of my 10th-grade civic class for our political parties and elections unit. I like that it includes the materials in order of suggested use, along with a variety of notes, independent activities, group work, projects, and a test. ... I can always count on Students of History to make quality products!β
Hayley B.Teacher
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βJust as all the Students of History resources are, it is well organized and thought out.β
Kaleb E.Teacher
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βThis resource has lots of information and activities. All were very informational, easy to understand and engaging.β
Kelsey P.Teacher
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βWe just started using these and it has provided fun and informative activities on the topics of the unit.β
Erin K.Teacher
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This is unit 4 of 11 in my complete Civics and American Government curriculum.
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