Resources

Student Resources:

• Benefits and Drawbacks of Modern Campaigns Graphic Organizer

Teacher Resources:

• Benefits and Drawbacks of Modern Campaigns Graphic Organizer Answer Key
• “I Like Ike” 1952 presidential campaign commercial
• After working in small groups, come together as a whole class and review the benefits and drawbacks that students were able to produce.
• Use the Teacher Answer Sheet to help fill in any gaps.
• Then, instruct students to explain how each of the four focus areas can affect a candidate’s public image.

Glossary term(s):

• Consultant: professional who provides campaign advice or expertise
• Election cycle: the time between elections for a specific office (regulations may vary depending on the state or federal and position)

Facilitation Notes

• This lesson focuses on campaign organization and strategies, not finance, which has a separate lesson plan Campaign Finance Lesson Plan.
• After working in small groups, come together as a whole class and review the benefits and drawbacks that students were able to produce.
• Use the Teacher Answer Sheet to help fill in any gaps.
• Then, instruct students to explain how each of the four focus areas can affect a candidate’s public image.

Engage

• Depending on the grade level and prior knowledge of your students, select from the following questions to get students started:
  • Why do candidates campaign when running for office?
  • What does it mean to campaign?
• Play the video of the television commercial “Ike for President” from the 1952 election. (You might choose to share the transcript with students.)
• Ask students how “Ike for President” compares to what they are used to seeing and hearing from modern presidential campaigns. Ask students what the purpose of this commercial would have been and what impact this commercial might have had on the campaign.
• Answers will differ, but possibilities include more positive messaging and not as much negative campaigning. Point out that “Ike for President” was a song intended to encourage voting for “Ike.” Note to students that the ad does not have an “I am Dwight Eisenhower and I approve this message” disclaimer at the end.
• Let students know they will be learning about modern campaigns, which are organized efforts to get candidates for governor, senator, representative, or president elected to office. The commercial they just watched/heard was a TV ad from the 1952 presidential campaign supporting Dwight Eisenhower, who would go on to win that election. This TV ad is just one example of how campaigning relies on a lot of money (to produce ads and to get the ad played on TV), knowledge, and experience in campaigning (how long to run the ad, on what channels to play the ad), and the extent to which television ads and campaigning shifted to a focus on image, a precursor to the Internet and social media. The 1952 election was the first time that political campaign ads were seen on TV, and campaigns have changed significantly over time.

Explore

• There are four focus areas for this lesson:
  1. Dependence on professional consultants
  2. Rising campaign costs and intensive fundraising efforts
  3. Duration of election cycles
  4. Impact of and reliance on social media for campaign communication and fundraising
• Hand out the graphic organizer to students and direct them to the campaign organization or strategy column. Review any necessary vocabulary. Tell students they will be expected to produce the benefits and drawbacks of each.
• Model one focus area with input from the whole class. (Modeling with large group brainstorming or Internet search prompting can show students how to most effectively complete the graphic organizer.)
• Split students into three small groups best suited for class needs. It is suggested that groups are assigned to focus on one area each.

Scaffolding note: Teachers can require a set number, ask for specific real-life examples from past campaigns, or leave the instructions more open-ended if that works better for your student groups.

Assess & Reflect

1. Ask students the following reflection questions:
   • Which of the four focus areas has the most serious drawbacks? Explain.
   • Which has the most significant benefits? Explain.
   • Which allows candidates to maintain focus on the people they are representing? Explain.
   • Which takes the focus away from the people being represented? What is the focus?
2. Assessment can focus on the following:
   • Graphic Organizers can be collected, reviewed, and scored as preferred.
   • Class discussion: be sure to call on members of each group depending on how the graphic organizer was divided.

Extend

• Students can research specific campaign strategies—canvassing, phone banking, media/digital initiatives, and town halls—and classify these efforts into the four focus areas, giving details about cost, specific candidates that use them, or other applicable characteristics.
• Students can research real examples of positive or negative effects on candidate images (e.g., Howard Dean’s 2004 “Dean Scream” or celebrity endorsements).