Activity #8 - How Do Primaries Work?

Read or listen to the following resource about how primaries and caucuses work:

How Primaries Work

Another resource for primaries and caucuses:

Primaries and Caucuses

Here's a link for a follow-up worksheet for this resource:

Worksheet

Younger students: Discuss orally how primaries and caucuses differ (in primaries, votes are cast individually without interaction whereas in caucuses, voters interact to discuss support for a particular candidate before a vote is taken).

Older students: Write a paragraph describing the differences between primaries and caucuses.

Older students/younger students: Hold your own mock caucus with family members. Choose a precinct captain to hold 1-2 minute discussions of the candidates. Then vote for your favorite candidate.

Activity # 7 - A Timeline of Primaries and Caucuses

Click on the following links to download time lines of US primaries and caucuses:

Primary Time line (better for younger students)

Another chart to download :

Primary & Caucus Chart (better for older students)

Create a time line on a large sheet of poster board and add the following:

• Iowa Caucuses: January 3, 2008
• Wyoming Caucus: January 5, 2008 (Republicans only)
• New Hampshire: Primary January 8, 2008
• Michigan Primary: January 15, 2008
• South Carolina Primary and Nevada Caucuses: January 19, 2008
• Florida Primary: January 29, 2008

The Democratic Primary in South Carolina will be held on January 26, 2008. In South Carolina, the primaries are conducted by the political parties and not by state election boards. The Republican party will give the voter lists to the Democratic Party to ensure that voters do not vote in both primaries.

The first file above (Primary Time Line) has questions to answer below for younger students.

We'll be adding information to our time line over the next month, including the outcomes of each primary/caucus.

Activity #3 - Executive Branch Crossword Puzzle/Presidential Seal

Younger students:

• Color the presidential seal

• http://www.surfnetkids.com/games/president-cb.htm

Older students:

• Executive Branch crossword puzzle
• http://www.teachervision.fen.com/tv/printables/tv00104s1.pdf

Activity #1 - Our USA Flag

We'll start our venture of learning with a simple exercise of coloring/painting a USA flag.

Here's a link to print a flag:

http://www.printourflag.com/kids.html

There are 3 to choose from or color all 3 for a collection.

For older students: research the different flags used throughout US history. Why were there different flags?