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National Government: Shaping Public Policy
Session 2: Determining Individual Ideology
Materials
Instructional Activities
The following Web site may be helpful in the study of political parties and public policy:
Directory of U.S. Political Parties. <http://www.politics1.com/parties.htm>.
- Instruct students to write on a piece of paper the political party with which they most identify. Explain that they are not to disclose what they wrote.
- Instruct students to identify their position on the following topics (they may have some of these completed from the previous sessions activity):
• Death penalty
• Communism vs. democracy
• The government’s role in combating homelessness
• The government’s role in fighting pollution
• Gun control
• Should certain drugs be legalized?
• Should three-time offenders receive parole?
• What does freedom of religion mean?
• Should the government drill in a portion of the wildlife preserves in Alaska?
• How involved should the United States be in foreign countries?
• Should the government raise income taxes to provide more services, and if so, what services should be provided?
• Should the federal government regulate education? If so, how?
• Additional topics selected by the teacher
Instruct students to write a sentence or two on each issue to explain their position.
- Explain that they are going to look at the platforms of political parties during the next session and they will then determine whether the party they identified with earlier is actually the party that follows their political views most often.
- Instruct students to interview their parents or other friends and family members to see what their responses would be to the same questions.
- Optional Activity: Instruct students to complete the survey found at <http://madrabbit.net/webrabbit/quizshow.html> or < http://www.self-gov.org/quiz.html>
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