It's election season, and you know what that means ... swing states, colorful maps, and electoral arithmetic. This sounds like the makings of a great school project!
What is the electoral college?
The electoral college is an example of an indirect election, consisting of 538 electors who officially elect the President and Vice President of the United States. The number of electors is equal to the total voting membership of the U.S. Congress: 435 Representatives and 100 Senators, plus 3 electors from the District of Columbia. The U.S. Constitution specifies the number of electors to which each state is entitled, and state legislatures decide how they are chosen.
Overview
Help your students learn about civics, geography, individual state histories, and a whole host of other topics ... the possibilities are endless. Over the course a term/semester, students will work together to answer questions about each state and compete for the 270 electoral votes needed to be elected to the White House.
What is the electoral college?
The electoral college is an example of an indirect election, consisting of 538 electors who officially elect the President and Vice President of the United States. The number of electors is equal to the total voting membership of the U.S. Congress: 435 Representatives and 100 Senators, plus 3 electors from the District of Columbia. The U.S. Constitution specifies the number of electors to which each state is entitled, and state legislatures decide how they are chosen.
Overview
Help your students learn about civics, geography, individual state histories, and a whole host of other topics ... the possibilities are endless. Over the course a term/semester, students will work together to answer questions about each state and compete for the 270 electoral votes needed to be elected to the White House.
Steps
- Students are divided into 2 teams, 1 for each major political party (or add a third party by dividing students into 3 teams).
- Choose a name and color for each team.
- Hang a large blank map of the United States (with state outlines) on the wall, and draw a key indicating the color associated with each team.
- Each day, quiz students on 1 state. The team that answers the most questions correctly gets 1 point for each of that state's electoral votes. For example, if Team A answers more questions correctly about Texas than Team B, Team A gets 34 points -- 1 point for each electoral vote.
- When a team wins a particular state, they color that state their team's color.
- Keep a running total of each team's total points.
- The team that reaches 270 points first wins!
Resources
- Explanation of the Electoral College, compliments of the U.S. National Archives.
- Wikipedia entry for Electoral College.
- Electoral College map labeled with each state's electoral votes.
*** Electoral College Project
