This week we will begin looking at the Presidential Campaign which will lead to the first president of the 21st century. Also, this week, we will be utilizing for the first time, our interactive message board. So...here's the assignment. I'm putting this up a day early so you can ask me questions which might arise. The early bird catches the worm.

I. Research: Using the web pages below, research the presidential candidates who are currently running for office. Look at their views, their biography, their past political history and their political party. The web pages below are great primary sources to begin your research. However, you are not restricted to simply using these pages. Other great sources include your parents and/or television news programs.

MSNBC Site which looks at each candidate:

http://www.msnbc.com/news/323993.asp

Look for:

Candidate Profiles
MSNBC Interactive
• Comprehensive interactive

profiles of all the announced

presidential candidates

 

CNN Site which looks at each candidate:

http://cnn.com/ELECTION/2000/

 

Look for:

 

White House Bios

 

II. Make Opinions: Once you have conducted your research, now is the time to prove your knowledge. You will need to go to "Visit Our Message Board" where you will be inputting your thoughts. Once you have entered the site, you have three options:

 

1) State which candidate you prefer and give one piece of evidence to support your belief

2) Agree with another person's choice by adding an original piece of evidence similar to the idea presented by your classmate. For example, if Bob says he likes Ronald Reagan because of his incredible involvement with minority groups, Cindy could then mention how she likes how he lowered unemployment to 12%.

3) Disagree with one of your classmates by bringing up evidence which proves that your classmate is wrong

 

III. Here is how the message board works:

 

1) If you want to be the first person to mention why a particular candidate is the best, go to New Topic. Fill in the name of your candidate under subject, fill in the additional fields and then state your view and evidence in the message box.

 

2) If you want to respond to another person's previous comments on a candidate, click on the Subject you desire and then post a reply.

 

IV. How am I graded?

 

1) 12 points = First person to give their view of a candidate backed with evidence. (Only the first person to bring up why Al Gore should be president, why Donald Trump should be president, why George Bush should be president, etc. will receive these six points.

 

2) 6 points=Support another classmates view of a candidate with specific evidence

 

3) 6 points=Disagree with another person's reasons/view with evidence

 

This assignment is graded out of 30 points. So your score might look like:

 

12+6+6+6=30 or

6+6+6+6+6=30

 

You can not be the first person to introduce more than one candidate. For example, Scott can't say why he likes Gore, then why he likes Bush, then why he likes Trump. First of all, this would make you fickle. Second, it takes away from others being able to present information.

 

 

 

****Do not wait until Sunday night or you will have to make numerous responses in a short amount of time.