Time Required

Approximately five class meetings depending on the ability level of the class and the amount of discussion that takes place among the students.

Materials

Current periodicals or newspapers helpful in determining the "hot issues" of the day.

Initial Motivation

Ask the students about the most difficult compromise that they have ever had to make in their life.  Then pick an issue (the more controversial the better) from that discussion and tell the class they must come up with a unanimous position on that issue before they will be dismissed from class.  Give them about five minutes to argue with each other.  Interrupt their discussion and discuss the need to understand, respect, and compromise with the arguments of their opponents.  Then point out that this is only a class of thirty people.  Imagine having to come up with guidelines on all types of issues, which theoretically represent everyone in one political party.  Explain that for over one hundred years the major political parties have held national conventions not only to pick presidential and vice presidential candidates but also to vote for the official platform that the party will stand for in the next election.  Typically, platforms include positions on major social issues like taxes, gun control, abortion, social security and civil rights plus foreign policy concerns.

Procedures

1. The class is divided into four parties and each is given a name not associated with a current party (e.g. Whig, Tories, Progressives, Patriots).  Each party is then expected to meet as if they are at the party convention and through discussions, identify the ten most important issues facing the nation right now.  Teachers should encourage students to discuss and include different types of issues ranging from social problems like crime and education, to economic concerns like unemployment and trade, to foreign policy topics like Russia and China to purely political ones like scandals and public gaffes.

2. The first class would be spent outlining the assignment, dividing the class into parties and giving the groups an idea on what they have to come up with.  Sample platforms from real parties could be discussed but this may bias the results of each groups discussions.  Recent issues of news magazines or newspapers could be kept handy so any group could be jump-started if they run short of ideas.  In any classroom discussion of political ideas, stress that everyone in a democracy is entitled to their own opinion and we should respect each individual and their point-of-view.

3. The second and third classes are group discussion days.  Each group puts together their platform, issue by issue, with a final vote on the entire package.  Additionally, each party must then arrange the issues in a hierarchy from the most important to the least pressing.  The parties must then also present at least one strategy or piece of legislation they feel could help solve each problem or issue.  They would be instructed to keep in mind real world concerns such as cost, legal rights, public support, political backlash and unintended side effects.  During deliberations, each party elects a "chairperson" to represent the party and present the platform to the class.

4. The fourth and fifth classes are devoted to the presentations by each "party" and any subsequent class discussions.  Each party presentation should be open to questions from other students on how they came up with their platform.  Students should be challenged by other students to defend their proposals.

5. Each presentation is recorded graphically (on posters or the blackboard) in front of the group and then the entire class votes the "best" platform in its entirety.  Discussion follows on what constituted the "best" platform and the trade-off groups had to make to get their members to agree to each step.  Key topics for this discussion also include cost/benefit concerns, "left wing" versus "right wing" splits, how the priorities were arrived at and how practical each platform is if implemented in the real world.  The effect of special interests can also be introduced in how they could influence the trade-off that took place in the small groups.  If time permits, the class could adopt a class platform consisting of the planks from the four platforms that enjoy the broadest support in the classes.

Optional Assignment

When dividing the students into groups, purposely create "left wing" and "right wing" divisions in each "party".  This could be accomplished by an exercise that first identifies each student's place on the political spectrum ranging from liberal to moderate to conservative.  Then each group is randomly assigned a roughly equal number of liberals, moderates and conservatives and asked to try to get the final platform as close to their politics as possible.  The subsequent discussion can focus on how different "wings" of a political party must give and take to settle on a set of positions which is most acceptable and least controversial to all sides.

Assessment

The students would be evaluated on:

Participation in the group discussions about the platform

• Breadth and depth of issues presented by the group
• Practicality of solutions advanced
• Level of analysis in the development of the issues and solutions within the group
• Completion of a group report card in which each student evaluates the other members of his/her group on the basis of participation and effort

The teacher may also wish to assign any one of the following as a mandatory assignment or extra credit:

Paper on the individual's view of the group process and its weaknesses or strengths.  Was working with the group frustrating or satisfying?  Was the leadership of the group democratic or autocratic?

• Paper on which party the group's platforms most compared favorably to and why?  Were there platform "planks" that could fit either major party?  Or issues that neither major party covers?
• Class discussion combining all four sets of priorities into one large list with an agreed upon hierarchy.  How does this process differ from the small group environment?  Is the final platform even more "moderate" than the individual group's platform?
• A second round of discussions with the entire class meeting as a single party. The four elected leaders would vie in a second race for the "large" party leader.  They could give speeches outlining their platforms.
• A discussion about whether the candidates, when elected, actually stick to the adopted platform.  How much are candidates bound to the final platform?  Can they run and win even if they ignore or openly disagree with parts of the platform?

Additional Resources

Glossary of Terms to Discuss:

Cost/Benefit: Analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of a certain policy in the real world normally devoid of ethical, emotional or public opinion concerns.

• Emergent Leadership: Leader(s) that emerge from within the group discussion. Is distinct from "designated" leadership where a teacher or other authority identifies the leaders.
• Gaffes: Public mistakes made by the candidate or party official normally leading to criticism from the press and/or opponents.
• Planks: Each segment or statement in the platform.  From the concept of building a party "plan" for action "plank by plank."
• Platform: An official agenda adopted by a political party at a convention meant to represent their position a variety of challenges facing the nation.
• Political Backlash: When the American people don't vote for members of a certain party as a result of a policy decision or action taken by that party
• Wings: Political ends of a party usually designated as "liberal" or "conservative".  Wings may favor one candidate more than others in addition to trying to influence the final party agenda.

Interdisciplinary Links

History teachers can examine how platforms have changed with the years.  Are candidates now more or less likely to "tow" the party line?  This lesson could be tied to an economics class by researching cost/benefit analysis and practical ramifications, which may drive decisions in a vacuum but popularity and civic concern, must balance the bottom line.  Are platforms just for show or do they represent a realistic blueprint for future action?  Government teachers can examine the ways platforms help shape and are shaped by the leading candidates for the party nomination.