Unit II: Participation in the Political Process "Political Ideologies" Lesson Plan by US News and World Report: political ideologies, includes a chart http://www.usnewsclassroom.com/resources /activities/act010604.html Democratic National Committee Features include: "Headlines","Voter Outreach" and "Get Local". http://www.democrats.org/ Republican National Committee Features include: "Top Stories", "Issues in Focus", "Key Issues", and a section on redistricting. http://www.rnc.org Reform Party Features include: "Founding Principles", "Platform" and an article, "Isn't it Time for Reform?" http://www.reformparty.org "The World's Smallest Political Quiz" Sponsored by the Libertarian Party; Students quiz where they stand on the political spectrum. http://www.lp.org/quiz/ Idea Log Quiz: checks understanding of political ideology; Background on the terms "left" and "right." http://idealog.org/idealog.asp?ClassID= Politcs1.com Political and election news; links to major and third parties; varying opinions on issues http://www.politics1.com/ NARA's U.S. Electoral College Procedural Guide to the Electoral College; previous electoral results; "Electoral College Calculator" http://www.archives.gov/federal_register /electoral_college/electoral_college.html Electoral College Calculator Select state and winning party, see results on a map; displays running electoral votes and votes needed. http://cyberbuzz.gatech.edu/youngdems/ec/ec.html Congress.Org Information on Presidential and other candidates; link for students to register to vote. http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/ Inside Politics Joint venture of CNN and Time, provides comprehensive coverage of politics and campaigns. http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/ Rock the Vote! Started by recording industry to motivate young people to be politically active and vote. Covers many issues. Note the free speech messages when you first enter the site and be aware of bias. http://www.rockthevote.org/ Project Vote Smart Elected officials (federal and state); Candidates' positions on issues; resources; Voter registration info. http://www.vote-smart.org/index.htm League of Women Voters Non-partisan organization; Info. on candidates & elected officials; Discusses various issues http://www.lwv.org/about/index.html OnPolitics Political news and resources; Special section on the election (candidates, news, and primaries). http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/politics/ C-Span Campaign finance & advertising; Campaign speech archive; Lesson plans; "Campaign 2004" section http://www.c-span.org/classroom/govt/campaigns.asp PollingReport.com Results of surveys by many different polling organizations http://www.pollingreport.com/POLPOL.htm The Center for Responsive Politics Campaign contributions: amounts raised and spent by candidates, and sources of funds. http://www.opensecrets.org/overview/stats.asp?Cycle=2002 American University Campaign Finance Website Downloadable data files available from all of the recent Presidential and Congressional elections. http://www1.soc.american.edu/campfin/index.cfm The Democracy Project Coverage of candidates, issues, voting records, and other resources; "Read Between the Lines" section. http://www.pbs.org/democracy/ Propaganda Critic Analysis of propaganda and explanations of the different types of propaganda http://www.propagandacritic.com/ CSPAN: Campaign 2000 Highlights of 2000 Presidential race, including videos of campaign commercials. http://www.c-span.org/campaign2000/ The 30 Second Candidate History of political advertising; developing messages and "spots"; examples of ads. http://www.pbs.org/30secondcandidate/ The Living Room Candidate: A History of Presidential Campaign Commercials Examples of commercials (by year); Party campaign ads and election results. http://www.ammi.org/livingroomcandidate/ Maryland State Board of Elections Download a Maryland Voter Registration Application. http://www.elections.state.md.us/citizens /registration/application.html Maryland 2002 Districting Plan Maryland Department of Planning: Map of the state Congressional and legislative districts. http://caliper01.mdp.state.md.us/mdPlanning/map.asp?map=7 Net Investigation: Who Votes MCPS Net Investigation: the impact of demographic factors on voting patterns. http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/departments/isa /ninvest/vote/voteindex.htm Thomas: Legislative Information on the Internet Library of Congress: current legislation (including status), member voting records, and more. http://thomas.loc.gov/ Grolier's Online Encyclopedia: Amendments Click on amendments for a brief overview of the law and its impact; links to related information. http://gi.grolier.com/presidents/aae/side/amend.html Grolier's Online Encyclopedia: Voting Rights Overview of the law and its impact; Links to related information, such as the 24th amendment. http://gi.grolier.com/presidents/aae/side/voterite.html The ACLU: Voting Rights: Minority Rights Links to press releases regarding minority rights. http://www.aclu.org/VotingRights/VotingRightslist.cfm?c=168 The ACLU: Voting Rights: Redistricting Links to recent cases involving redistricting. http://www.aclu.org/VotingRights/VotingRightslist.cfm?c=169 The Center for Voting Rights and Democracy Discusses Voting Rights Act of 1965 and actions to increase minority representation in Congress. http://http://www.fairvote.org/vra/ The Center for Voting Rights and Democracy: Cumulative Voting in Texas Brochure on cumulative voting in TX, a technique used to increase minority representation in gov't. http://www.fairvote.org/library/brochure/txcum.pdf The Center for Voting Rights and Democracy: Full and Fair Representation in Alabama Brochure on cumulative voting and the one vote system in Alabama. http://www.fairvote.org/library/brochure /alabamapamphlet.pdf Oyez, Oyez: Baker v. Carr Brief synopsis of Baker v. Carr, a case involving legislative apportionment.; links and resources http://www.oyez.org/oyez/resource/case/25/abstract Oyez, Oyez: Reynolds v. Sims Brief synopsis of Reynolds v. Sims, a case involving legislative apportionment.; links and resources. http://www.oyez.org/oyez/resource/case/326/ Return to NSL Government Resources *Compiled by Stacy Dimmick. **Special thanks to Marty Creel, Nancy McCulloch, Daryl Schultz, Dave West, and Jennifer Davis for their contributions.

Return to SS Resources & Links NSL Government I: Principles and Structure of Systems II: Participation in the Political Process III: Functions and Powers VI: Attaining Justice and Protecting Rights V: The Economic Common Good VI: Foreign Policy Today VII: The Public Policy Debate General Resources Primary Source and Other Documents Data Sources Elementary: Kindergarten Grade One Grade Two Grade Three Grade Four Grade Five USDE Teaching American History Grant * Grades 4 and 5 Corps of Historical Discovery Middle School: Grade Six Grade Seven Grade Eight High School: U.S. History NSL Government Modern World History