Download Essential Questions:

Teacher’s name: Lauren Frantz
Subject: AP Government
Grade Level: 12th
Date: _____9/25/2006_____
Topic: _Political Orientation
Essential Questions:
What does it mean to be conservative?
What does it mean to be liberal?
Where do you fit in the political spectrum?
General Objectives:
VA SOL
GOVT.18 The student will understand that thoughtful and effective participation in civic
life is characterized by
c) participating in the political process;
e) keeping informed about current issues;
f) respecting differing opinions in a diverse society.
NCSS
IV. Individual Development and Identity
Learning Outcomes:
1. In the study of political socialization, SWBAT examine factors that influence
political socialization and will share their knowledge through an analysis of their
own political beliefs.
Assessment:
Students will write an analysis of the top three factors that have influenced their political
orientation or beliefs. This will be a five paragraph essay that talks about why the specific
factor influenced their beliefs and includes an example of how the student has observed
this factor at work.
Content Outline:
I.
Political Socialization
a. Political socialization is the process by which people acquire political
beliefs and attitudes
b. Acquire political attitudes and party identification through relationships
with their families, friends, and coworkers
c. At one point in history family and teachers were seen as primary agents of
political socialization
d. Today media has become the chief agent
e. Large class size, decrease in face to face contact with parents and teachers,
increased time watching TV and on the internet
f. Becoming difficult to predict the political behavior of the youth based on
old notions
g. Children of conservatives will grow up to be conservatives. This is no
longer the case
II.
Family
a. Primacy principle states that what is learned first is learned best
b. Structuring principle states that what is learned first structures what is
learned later
c. Parents transmit political attitude: “Trickle Down”
d. Communication- parents tell their children their views constantly
e. Receptivity- children want parental approval and as a result are very apt to
mirror their parents views
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
f. “Trickle Up”- When students are exposed to new media avenues for
political information. As a result they share their ideas with their parents.
Parents are less receptive to the new ideas but may learn something that
effects their political socialization
Education
a. introduces individuals to ideas outside of the home and outside of the local
community
b. these ideas may influence the individual to accept opinions that are
somewhat different from those of the parents
Peers and Peers Group Influence
a. For the most part associations among peers are non-political
b. More likely to be shaped by peer groups when involved directly in
political activities
c. Joining an interest group based on ethnic identity, may find that they share
common political beliefs by working on the groups civil liberties and
rights issues
d. African American activist group working for aid for African American
population- more likely to vote for candidate that supports you cause
e. Members of a labor union may feel political pressure to support certain
candidate
Religion
a. religious influence has an impact on opinion formation
b. Jewish community is highly likely to vote for Democratic candidates
c. Protestants are more likely to vote for Republican candidates
Economic Status and Occupation
a. Social class differences
b. Poorer people- tend to favor government social-welfare programs, may be
conservative on issue like abortion, more isolationist on foreign policy
issues, identify with the Democratic party and vote for Democratic
candidates
c. Upper/middle class- conservative economic views and tolerant of social
change
Political Events
a. can produce long lasting impact on opinion formation
b. like September 11, 2001 will play a large role in the political socialization
of Young Americans, it is still unclear what this impact will be
Opinion Leaders
a. Informal- family, friends, teachers (people we look up to and respect)
b. Formal- president, lobbyists, congresspersons, news commentators, or
religious leaders—part of their job to sway people’s view
c. Want to talk about issues on their terms
Media
a. the media presents information on important political topics
b. how topics are presented and which topics are presented clearly have a
major impact in opinion formation
c. It is important to remember that media is plural, not singular
X.
d. There are numerous sources of media and each source has some type of
bias, the more sources an individual relies on in gathering information
there is less influence of bias
Demographic Traits
a. Where you live, what racial group you identify with, which gender you are;
all influence your political attitudes
b. Tendencies
i. South and east is more Democratic than the West and Mid-west
ii. Urban areas- tend to be liberal and Democratic because of greater
concentrations of minorities and newer ethnic groups
iii. Rural areas- conservative and republican
iv. African Americans- tend to be more liberal than whites on social
welfare issues, civil liberties, and foreign policy. Since 1930s party
preference and voting behavior heavily support Democratic party
v. Age- little influence; younger people tend to be more liberal than
older people, more progressive on legalization of marijuana,
pornography, civil disobedience, and racial and gender equality
Student and Teacher Activities:
Time
Teacher
2 minutes
Hook: Can anyone tell me what it
means to be Conservative? What
does Liberal mean? Ever wonder
where you fit in the spectrum?
Today we will find out what
factors influence our political
beliefs and where we fit in the
political spectrum
5 minutes
Set induction: What factors do you
think effect your political beliefs?
Lets make a list of these factors on
the board.
20 minutes
Lesson: After they are done
identifying factors I will lecture on
the nine factors that effect political
socialization.
18 minutes
I will have the students take the
World’s Smallest Political Quiz on
line. Once all of the students have
graphed their results we will talk
about the different ideologies.
5 minutes
Closure: I will ask the students
who had thought they were of one
political ideology but the quiz said
Students
Students are attempting to answer
my questions and then writing
down what they think is their
political orientation on a sheet of
paper and put it in the middle of the
table.
Students will be raising their hands
and telling me what factors they
think effect their beliefs.
Students will be taking notes as I
lecture.
Students will take the World
Smallest Political Quiz online and
then graph the results on the board.
Students will look at what they
have been classified as and see if
they agree with the ideology that
quiz says they are.
Students will answer my question
and then talk about the factors that
they feel are the most influential
you were another? What do you
think were the most influential
factors in forming your political
beliefs? Talk about these factors in
your group and make a list of the
top five factors and the reasons
why and turn them in as an exit
ticket.
within their table groups.
Materials:
Mobile computer lab and access to internet
Differentiation:
All of the students will be doing the same thing during this lesson. The content in this
lesson is important for all of the students to receive, I will be writing notes on the board
as I lecture to help students who are not auditory learners.
Subject Matter Integration/Extension:
Learning about why and how we form our political beliefs are important for all students
because it helps them to become more informed citizens
Reflections:
It was interesting to see the students make their predictions about their political
orientation and then to take the test. There were several instances where the original
guess was contradicted by the political quiz and the student had to think about how their
political socialization had molded their beliefs. The students were able to see where their
classmates fit within the political spectrum. It was an eye-opening experience for the
class and me.