This lesson explores the history of the modern system of primaries and caucuses, the reasons for this structure and various proposals to change the order of these contests. This deliberation has students hear from journalists, experts and candidates in order to answer the question, "Should the order of presidential primaries and caucuses be changed?"

Using clips from the 2024 party conventions, this lesson has students compare the speeches given at each party’s convention, develop summaries of the messaging and priorities of each party, and evaluate the effectiveness of each party’s message.

Based on C-SPAN's 2024 television series of the same name, this lesson features several notable examples of historic national party convention speeches, including those from John F. Kennedy, Barry Goldwater, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Ted Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Jesse Jackson, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Pat Buchanan, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton.

In this lesson, students will view video clips highlighting competitive states in the 2024 presidential race. Using information from these video clips and polling data, students will make predictions for each swing state and use an interactive electoral college map to determine which candidate will win the 270 electoral votes needed to become president. Students will be able to identify pathways for both candidates to win the Electoral College and evaluate the likelihood of each scenario.

This lesson provides several activities for students to help them understand coverage of election night as they watch on November 5th, 2024. Teachers can choose to have students view election night coverage while taking notes, mapping the electoral votes as they come in, playing a vocabulary BINGO game, evaluating election night speeches, or comparing news networks’ coverage of election night. 

Since the 2020 presidential election and the coronavirus pandemic, some states have continued to shift how they conduct elections and new trends have emerged regarding how voters participate in elections. This lesson has students hear from experts and election officials discussing how states process ballots and what people should expect on election night. It explores issues such as mail-in and early voting, state laws relating to the counting of votes, and election night reporting. Using this information, students will develop a list of reminders, suggestions, and advice to use as they watch election night coverage.

This lesson has students explore C-SPAN’s online historical Electoral College map resource to learn about the process, history, and current patterns and trends relating to the Electoral College. This self-guided activity will have students use a series of digital Electoral College maps and results from 1900 to 2020 to complete a virtual scavenger hunt. Students will use this resource to analyze maps and data to better understand how the Electoral College works.

Every four years the American people go to the polls to vote for president. However, the American people do not vote directly for president; instead, it is the fifty states, plus Washington, DC, that directly elect the president. This is due to the Electoral College, adopted by the Framers at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 as a compromise between large and small states. This deliberation has students explore the origins of the Electoral College and evaluate arguments for and against it being reformed.

This lesson guides students through the two-month period of time known as the "presidential transition" between Election and Inauguration Days. Students learn about the twelve major steps in a presidential transition by responding to video clips individually, with a partner or small group, or as part of a jigsaw activity. Each step also includes an extension activity where students can apply their learning to the present day. 

Each President-Elect is responsible for nominating the heads of the various cabinet departments. The Senate must provide its advice and consent before these officials are confirmed as full-time, permanent leaders of the different agencies. This lesson looks at the cabinet nominees chosen by the current President-Elect and has students play the role of the Senate in researching and confirming each nominee.

This lesson has students explore the challenges that incoming administrations face during presidential transitions by hearing from historians and from White House staff. With this information, students will develop a list of best practices that can be used during these transitions. 

This lesson features several notable examples of historic presidential farewell addresses. Students engage in a choice board activity, choosing to study two or more of thirteen historic presidential farewell addresses, including those from George Washington, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden.

This lesson provides several activities for students to help them understand events occurring on Inauguration Day and interpret the inaugural address that will be given by Donald Trump on January 20, 2025. Teachers can choose to have students view the inaugural address and use one of several viewing guides to analyze the speech. Activities and handouts include a note-taking chart, guiding questions, topical analysis, an evaluative rubric, and a BINGO game.

This lesson leverages student self-guided research to explore the President-Elect's plans and priorities for the upcoming administration. Using their research on a number of policy issues, students will make predictions about what the President-Elect will focus on during the first 100 days of their term.

This lesson provides multiple options and activities for students to engage with and analyze presidential inaugural addresses starting with Ronald Reagan’s first inauguration in 1981.