ESL 111

Unit: Presidential Elections

Act. 3-1

Presidential Campaign Issues

Purposes:

1. To reinforce reading and note-taking strategies

2. To practice argumentative writing

3. To practice source evaluation

3. To inform students about candidates and issues

Texts:

Alter, J. (July 20, 1992). How he would govern. Newsweek, pp. 40-42.

Clift, E. (July 20, 1992). "Change is very painful." Newsweek, pp. 28-29.

Klein, J. (July 20, 1992). The survivor. Newsweek, pp.23-25.

Klein, J. and McDaniel, A. (August 24, 1992). What went wrong. Newsweek, pp. 22-25.

McDaniel, A. and DeFrank,T. (August 24, 1992). A conversation with the President. Newsweek, p. 26.

Thomas, R et al. (August 24, 1992). A mixed record. Newsweek,pp. 36-38.

Procedure:

1. Pre-Reading (10 minutes). Look at the chart on page 2. How much of it could you fill out with your current knowledge? In pairs, fill in as much as you can. We will check your information later.

2. Reading and Note-Taking (35 minutes). You will be divided into 4 groups and given an article about 1 of the 2 candidates for president. You will have 25 minutes to read through your article, answer the comprehension questions, and fill out as many sections of the chart as possible. Your article may not contain all the information asked for in the chart. Consider also, as you read, whether the author of the article likes the candidate or not. How can you tell?

3. Information Gathering (20 minutes). Make new groups of 4, one person per article or set of articles. Ask and answer questions in order to completely fill in your chart.

4. "Debriefing" (10 minutes) As a whole class, we will discuss the information we've found and any issues that arise out of it.

5. Paragraph Writing (20 minutes) Write a paragraph entitled "Why I would vote for ____________________" If you don't like any of the candidates, then write a paragraph on "Why I would abstain from this election." (after all, it's a free country!) Be as convincing as possible!!

6. Peer Editing (15 minutes) Read and critique your partner's paragraph according to the following criteria:

1) Does it have a clear topic sentence/thesis?

2) Are the arguments in it clear and well-supported?

3) Does the author use quotations or paraphrases effectively in the paragraph?

4) Does the paragraph "flow"? That is, has the author made use of cohesive devices?