Beyond a Two-Party System Lesson Plan

The lesson plan below is intended to work with elections covered by ProCon, but may be adapted to work with other elections.

Objective:

Students will examine and report on a third party.

Students will:

• enhance research skills
• improve knowledge of third parties

Resources/Materials:

• ProCon.org election coverage
• ProCon.org’s “U.S. Political Parties” resource

Preparation:

• Teachers may wish to prepare additional information on third parties.
• This activity may also be completed by students individually.
• Depending on the number of students, or the class’s overall political party knowledge, the Democratic and Republican parties may be included.

Activity:

1. In small groups, have students explore the major third parties examined in ProCon.org’s “U.S. Political Parties” resource. The URL for each party’s website and Twitter handles are included for students to explore the party further.
2. Students should prepare a brief in-class presentation to educate their classmates about their party including information such as major party platform points, a brief history, and who the party candidate for president is.
3. Students may also:
   a. Explore the third party nominee
   b. Compare and contrast the third party nominee(s) against each other and the Democratic and Republican nominees
   c. Explore historical parties such as the Bull Moose Party and the Whigs. Students may research how the historical parties influenced today’s parties.

Evaluation:

• Research skills
• Presentation skills
• Ability to work in a small group