Transcript Station 1 and 2: Political Parties Graphic Organizer

Unit Goal: Students will
understand the purpose
of the United States
political system and be
able to explain the
impact of elections on
government and society.
Unit 3
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Students will compare
current political
parties’ ideas about
government and
evaluate the impact
political parties have
on society,
government, or the
political system.
Does anything look familiar to you in these pictures?
What do you think these pictures represent?
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Communist
Party USA,
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Democratic
Party,
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Libertarian
Party,
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Republican
Party,
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Socialist
Party USA.
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These are logos from political parties in the United States: Communist
Party USA, Democratic Party, Libertarian Party, Republican Party, and
Socialist Party USA.
Here are some basics you need to know before we delve deeper.
Please add these notes to your foldable:
 The U.S. has a two-party system. There are mainly two political
parties competing for control and running for elections in the U.S.
 The Democratic and Republican parties have been the two major
parties since the 1860’s.
 Third parties typically nominate a presidential candidate but so far,
none have won.
 As of January 2014, all members of Congress are members of the
Democratic or Republican parties, except for the following people:
▪ Senator Angus King, Independent from Maine
▪ Senator Bernie Sanders, Independent from Vermont
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At this station, your folder will contain an articles about the
major political parties in the U.S. and their view on government.
As you read, mark the text. V = Key Vocabulary, G= Ideas about
Government
Read the article with your teammates. (Rally Robin: Read and
Say Something)
After reading, cite specific examples from the text that explain
the political party’s views about government by listing the
paragraph number and summarizing the evidence. Once you
have completed the reading and listed your evidence, using the
guided question, write a statement that summarizes your
assigned party’s views about government.
You must have at least 2 pieces of evidence for each political
party. Share your summaries with your teammates (Round
Robin)
Test your Knowledge by completing PATTERN PUZZLE Activity
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You will be reading an article about the functions of political
parties.
As you read, mark up your text. V=Vocabulary, F= Functions.
Read the article, “One Big Party?” with your teammates.
As you read, list the five functions of political parties in the
graphic organizer. For each function, write one or two sentences
that summarizes the function.
To complete the example column, go to one political party’s
website and find examples of each function. Be prepared to
share your examples and list your source(s).
Republicans (www.gop.com) or Democrats
(www.democrats.org) See BPA Civics website for helpful links.
After finding examples, explain how each function impacts our
society, government or the political system.
After completing your graphic organizer, complete the practice
activity matching the function to the real life example.
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Read the article “The Origins and Functions of Political Parties”.
Instructions: Label all six sections, see example if needed. (What
are Political Parties?, How Parties Began, Political Parties in the
United States, Democrats and Republicans, U.S. Third Parties,
How U.S. Parties Work)
 1. Reread each section and take notes focusing on the following:
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 • What is the main idea of the section?
 • What are the important vocabulary words I need to know in this
section?
 • What are some important details that add to my understanding of this
section?
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2. Your notes may be bulleted lists or in complete sentences.
Make sure you are completing a summary of each section with
your notes.
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Read the “Donkey & the Elephant article, “
with your teammates.
Number the paragraphs and mark up the text.
M for main idea.
Using your text marking, take notes on the
Two-Column Chart Graphic Organizer.
RallyRobin with the details you identify.
Use the remaining time in this Station to work
on any incomplete assignments from previous
stations throughout the week.