Subjects: American History, Civics, Current Events, Language Arts, Social Studies
Interdisciplinary Connections
Review the Academic Content Standards related to this lesson. Suggested Time Allowance:
1. Consider issues important to them in the current election year, and under which circumstances they would not support a candidate based on his position regarding particular issues.
2. Examine the topic of same-sex marriage as a campaign issue, by reading and discussing "Gay-Marriage Fight Finds Ambivalence From Evangelicals."
3. Evaluate the top five issues of importance to them; create charts to compare and contrast the platforms of various 2004 presidential candidates to their own opinions.
4. Investigate the candidates and main issues from a previous election in American history as homework.
Resources / Materials:
--classroom board
--pens/pencils
--paper
--copies of "Gay-Marriage Fight Finds Ambivalence From Evangelicals" (one per student)
--computers with Internet access
2. As a class, read and discuss "Gay-Marriage Fight Finds Ambivalence From Evangelicals," using the following questions:
a. What have prominent evangelical Christians been warning the Bush administration?
b. What geographical region does the article refer to as "a major center of evangelical Protestantism"?
c. What are some different perspectives of evangelical Christians in Western Michigan on the proposed amendment to ban same-sex marriages, according to the article?
d. Who is Karl Rove, and what is one of his top priorities, according to the article?
e. How does the article describe the town of Grand Rapids, Michigan?
f. Why is the "political payoff" for supporting the ban on gay marriages not so clear?
g. What does it mean to be "ambivalent" about an issue?
h. What kind of study did the University of Akron recently conduct, according to the article, and what were the results of this study?
i. What type of Protestantism is prevalent in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and what are its origins?
j. To what other region in the United States does the article compare Western Michigan?
k. What are some of the arguments opposing same-sex unions from Christians interviewed for this article?
l. What are some of the more ambivalent statements from Christians interviewed for this article?
m. According to the article, what are some of the reasons why these people support President Bush's re-election despite his position on the amendment?
3. Ask students to evaluate their five top election year issues from the Warm-Up exercise. They may keep the original issues listed in the Warm-Up exercise, or change their five key issues if they wish. On a sheet of paper, each student makes a chart in which the issues appear as column headers and the current presidential contenders (President Bush, Democratic candidates, and third party candidates) make up the rows. Each student is responsible for researching the candidates' positions on their top five issues. They may wish to start with The New York Times' "Campaign 2004" Web page, which lists each of the top candidates' platforms (http://www.nytimes.com/top/news/washington/campaign2004/candidates/index.html). Depending on available classroom computer resources, students with similar topics may wish to research in pairs or small groups.
4. When students have completed their charts of presidential contenders and key issues, ask them to note on the other side of the page the candidate whose platform most closely reflects their position on the issues. Next, ask students to write if they would support or vote for that candidate. If so, why? If not, why not?
As a follow-up homework assignment, assign each student a previous election year (depending on the nature of the class, you may choose to focus on the twentieth century or assign elections from the early days of the republic). Students are responsible for researching and reporting in the next class period (written on the board for students to copy before leaving class):
--Who the candidates were in that election
--Three main issues from that election
--Where each candidate stood on those issues
--Voter turnout in that election
--How the issues of that election compare with current issues of interest to the American public
[Students may wish to start their research at a site such as History Central (http://www.multied.com/elections/index.html#history), which lists each election year in chronological order.]
--Do you think the topic of gay marriage could "make or break" the 2004 election? Why or why not?
--What do you think about the proposed amendment, and why?
2. The Christian Reform Church, also known as the "Dutch Reform Church," has longstanding tradition in Western Michigan. Trace the roots of this church back to mid-19th century Holland. Compare these Calvinist immigrants to other groups seeking religious freedom in the New World.
3. Who was John Calvin? Research and write a mini-biography on one of Protestantism's founding fathers.
4. How has children's literature changed over the past decade? Research and review a few children's books with such themes as same-sex parents, and then write a proposal for your own book with a non-traditional theme.
5. How is Holy Scripture used in the arguments surrounding gay marriage? Read and review the Bible to find what might be considered evidence against same-sex marriages, and what might be used in support of these unions.
Interdisciplinary Connections:Journalism- Some political commentators have noted that President Bush's potential support for an amendment to ban gay marriages would favor federal power over states' rights-opposing the traditional stance of the Republican Party against "big government." Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Write an editorial for your local or school paper.
Media Studies- How has the influx of gay topics and characters on network television affected entertainment in the past year? Poll your friends and family on their thoughts on shows such as "Will and Grace" and "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy." How have gay-themed shows influenced their perceptions of the gay community in the United States?
