TUESDAY MARCH 17th

TOPIC 6 : ON THE ROAD TO THE 2020 US ELECTION

ISSUE RAISED : THE 2020 US ELECTION - DOMESTIC OR INTERNATIONAL STAKES ?

REMINDER OF LAST WEEK'S LESSON (if you need to read it again)

PART 1 - THE DEMOCRATIC ELECTORAL PROCESS

BEGINNING OF THE POWERPOINT

THE ONLINE ARTICLE FROM THE BBC - RECAP OF THE DIFFERENT STEPS TO THE ELECTION OF THE US PRESIDENT)

PART 2 - THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE - THE SYSTEM

Does your vote count The Electoral College explained Christina Greer TED 2012.mp4

1) Watch the following video from TED released in 2012

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS BY TAKING NOTES

1) What is the ELECTORAL COLLEGE ?

2) Who do they elect ?

3) Where can the origin of the ELECTORAL COLLEGE be found ?

4) How many electors has there been since 1964 ?

5) What does this number correspond to ?

6) What does the number of electors depend on for each state ?

7) What are the two categories of states regarding the number of ELECTORS ?

8) Explain the difference between POPULAR VOTE and ELECTORAL VOTE.

9) What are the pros and cons of this system ? (elements put forward by the voice over)

10) Define what a SWING STATE is.

=> your personal opinion / conclusion : ask yourselves what the impact of the system on citizens can be.

Electoral College Gives Some Votes More Power Than Others (V.mp4

2) Watch the video published by Newsy in July 2019

LEVEL 1 : watch the video until 6 mn 16.

LEVEL 2 : watch the complete video

ANSWER THE QUESTIONS BELOW :

QUESTIONS FOR LEVEL 1 AND LEVEL 2

1) BETO O'ROURKE is a Democrat Congressman : note down details of his opinon about the electoral college. Conclude : which particular value is at stake for him ?

2) Make a list of the different TYPES of PEOPLE expressing themselves : for each person / group, classify their arguments (in favour or against the system of the electoral college)

3) Use your own words to explain how the INDIRECT process works in the USA.

4) What is the WINNER-TAKE-ALL method ? What is its consequence ?

QUESTIONS FOR LEVEL 2 (end of the video)

IN NEW YORK - a Republican's point of view

5) Why is no politicians visiting the state of New York in times of election ?

6) What is the impact on the citizen who is interviewed ?

7) What kind of alternative are people suggesting there ?

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE - a Democrat's point of view

8) What type of reform is wanted ?

visit this website to discover the results of the primaries & caucuses so far

https://edition.cnn.com/election/2020/primaries-and-caucuses

RECAP : read the ARTICLE "Large majority of nonvoters plan to cast ballots in November, new report finds" NBCNEWS

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS

who are the nonvoters ? how many are there ?
why have they chosen not to vote in 2016 ?
what are they going to do in 2020 ?
focus on ‘Gen Z voters’ (last §) - explain who this group is

SEND YOUR ANSWERS BY EMAIL : stephanie.bouverat@lycee-berthollet.com

PART 3 : HOW CAMPAIGN FINANCE WORKS

How campaign finance works Jan 2012 CNN business.mp4

1) Watch the video (from CNN - 2012)

1) Watch the video carefully and note down where the money for the US presidential campaigns come from.

2) Practise understanding numbers / figures to understand if the amount of money is important or not.

3) Are there any limits ?

4) What is the money used for ?

5) Are there any rules ?

6) Do candidates receive publc money ?

DISCOVER THE FOLLOWING FACTS AND STATISTICS (from NPR)

THE ISSUE OF THE FINANCING OF THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGNS IN THE USA

Campaign finance in the United States

At the federal level, campaign finance law is enacted by Congress and enforced by the Federal Election Commission (FEC), an independent federal agency
most campaign spending is privately financed
public financing is available for qualifying candidates for President of the United States during both the primaries and the general election
Eligibility requirements must be fulfilled to qualify for a government subsidy, and those that do accept government funding are usually subject to spending limits on money.

THE 2016 ELECTIONS

THE 2020 CAMPAIGN

RECAP : read the ARTICLE : "Bloomberg’s plan to buy the presidency endangers democracy"

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS

1) identify the SOURCE and the DATE

2) read the HEADLINE : rephrase the topic of the document in your own words

3) read the HEADLINE + the SUBHEAD = decide if the journalist will be neutral or biased + justify (with words from the headline and the subhead)

4) discover the rest of the questions while reading the document

SEND YOUR ANSWERS BY EMAIL : stephanie.bouverat@lycee-berthollet.com

CONCLUSION

visit the website : https://abcnews.go.com/Elections

1) NOTE DOWN THE NAMES OF THE CANDIDATES FOR THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY

2) NOTE DOWN THE NUMBER OF DELEGATES THEY HAVE GATHERED

3) CLICK ON THE NAME OF EACH CANDIDATE and CREATE A SPEAKING PROFILE FOR ONE CANDIDATE = AN AVATAR FOR EACH OF THEM

> work in groups of 3 (see the list here) ; your recording will be shared within the group only

> send me the recordings first before sharing them - here is the link https://www.dropbox.com/request/aJXYFd4VGnfmCVyE5Ln4

(also use the @lycee-berthollet.com when required)

BRANCHING OUT : next week - you will have an ESSAY QUESTION to answer about this page

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TUESDAY MARCH 17th

TOPIC 6 : ON THE ROAD TO THE 2020 US ELECTION

ISSUE RAISED : THE 2020 US ELECTION - DOMESTIC OR INTERNATIONAL STAKES ?

REMINDER OF LAST WEEK'S LESSON (if you need to read it again)

PART 1 - THE DEMOCRATIC ELECTORAL PROCESS

PART 2 - THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE - THE SYSTEM

1) Watch the following video from TED released in 2012

1) What is the ELECTORAL COLLEGE ?

2) Who do they elect ?

3) Where can the origin of the ELECTORAL COLLEGE be found ?

4) How many electors has there been since 1964 ?

5) What does this number correspond to ?

6) What does the number of electors depend on for each state ?

7) What are the two categories of states regarding the number of ELECTORS ?

8) Explain the difference between POPULAR VOTE and ELECTORAL VOTE.

9) What are the pros and cons of this system ? (elements put forward by the voice over)

10) Define what a SWING STATE is.

=> your personal opinion / conclusion : ask yourselves what the impact of the system on citizens can be.

2) Watch the video published by Newsy in July 2019

LEVEL 1 : watch the video until 6 mn 16.

LEVEL 2 : watch the complete video

ANSWER THE QUESTIONS BELOW :

QUESTIONS FOR LEVEL 1 AND LEVEL 2

1) BETO O'ROURKE is a Democrat Congressman : note down details of his opinon about the electoral college. Conclude : which particular value is at stake for him ?

2) Make a list of the different TYPES of PEOPLE expressing themselves : for each person / group, classify their arguments (in favour or against the system of the electoral college)

3) Use your own words to explain how the INDIRECT process works in the USA.

4) What is the WINNER-TAKE-ALL method ? What is its consequence ?

QUESTIONS FOR LEVEL 2 (end of the video)

IN NEW YORK - a Republican's point of view

5) Why is no politicians visiting the state of New York in times of election ?

6) What is the impact on the citizen who is interviewed ?

7) What kind of alternative are people suggesting there ?

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE - a Democrat's point of view

8) What type of reform is wanted ?

visit this website to discover the results of the primaries & caucuses so far

https://edition.cnn.com/election/2020/primaries-and-caucuses

RECAP : read the ARTICLE "Large majority of nonvoters plan to cast ballots in November, new report finds" NBCNEWS

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS

who are the nonvoters ? how many are there ?

why have they chosen not to vote in 2016 ?

what are they going to do in 2020 ?

focus on ‘Gen Z voters’ (last §) - explain who this group is

PART 3 : HOW CAMPAIGN FINANCE WORKS

1) Watch the video (from CNN - 2012)

1) Watch the video carefully and note down where the money for the US presidential campaigns come from.

2) Practise understanding numbers / figures to understand if the amount of money is important or not.

3) Are there any limits ?

4) What is the money used for ?

5) Are there any rules ?

6) Do candidates receive publc money ?

DISCOVER THE FOLLOWING FACTS AND STATISTICS (from NPR)

THE ISSUE OF THE FINANCING OF THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGNS IN THE USA

Campaign finance in the United States

At the federal level, campaign finance law is enacted by Congress and enforced by the Federal Election Commission (FEC), an independent federal agency

most campaign spending is privately financed

public financing is available for qualifying candidates for President of the United States during both the primaries and the general election

Eligibility requirements must be fulfilled to qualify for a government subsidy, and those that do accept government funding are usually subject to spending limits on money.

THE 2016 ELECTIONS

THE 2020 CAMPAIGN

THE 2020 CAMPAIGN

RECAP : read the ARTICLE : "Bloomberg’s plan to buy the presidency endangers democracy"

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS

1) identify the SOURCE and the DATE

2) read the HEADLINE : rephrase the topic of the document in your own words

3) read the HEADLINE + the SUBHEAD = decide if the journalist will be neutral or biased + justify (with words from the headline and the subhead)

4) discover the rest of the questions while reading the document

CONCLUSION

visit the website : https://abcnews.go.com/Elections

1) NOTE DOWN THE NAMES OF THE CANDIDATES FOR THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY

2) NOTE DOWN THE NUMBER OF DELEGATES THEY HAVE GATHERED

3) CLICK ON THE NAME OF EACH CANDIDATE and CREATE A SPEAKING PROFILE FOR ONE CANDIDATE = AN AVATAR FOR EACH OF THEM

> work in groups of 3 (see the list here) ; your recording will be shared within the group only

> send me the recordings first before sharing them - here is the link https://www.dropbox.com/request/aJXYFd4VGnfmCVyE5Ln4

(also use the @lycee-berthollet.com when required)

BRANCHING OUT : next week - you will have an ESSAY QUESTION to answer about this page