Lesson 7: Money and Elections
Duration of Days: 1
Lesson Objective
Students will be able to analyze the role and impact of money in U.S. elections.
How important is money in winning elections in the United States, and what are the potential consequences?
Campaign finance, Political Action Committee (PAC), Super PAC, soft money, hard money
Civics and Government standards related to campaign finance and its impact on elections.
Understanding the role of money in politics can provide crucial context for interpreting social studies passages on the SAT that discuss elections, campaigns, and policy.
This lesson examines the significant influence of money in political campaigns. The purpose is to analyze the importance of money. (DOK Level 3: Analyze)
Discuss recent election cycles and the amount of money spent by candidates and outside groups. Analyze news stories related to campaign finance regulations.
Students might think that the candidate who spends the most money always wins or that there are no rules regulating campaign finance.
Support: Provide simplified explanations of different types of campaign finance and their regulations.
Challenge: Have students research a specific Supreme Court case related to campaign finance and its impact.
Students will participate in a class debate or write a short argumentative essay on the importance and impact of money in U.S. elections.
Whiteboard or projector, markers, articles or excerpts about campaign finance, examples of campaign spending data.