Cruz. Rubio. Trump. Fiorina. Carson. O’Malley. Clinton. Sanders–tonight’s a whirlwind of presidential candidates at the Iowa Caucus. But what exactly is a caucus? How does it work? What does it have to do with the real presidential election, anyway?

Today’s lesson plan is a multi-day unit: a mock election with superheroes as candidates. Links to more detailed explanations of terms will be provided as necessary.

Students will engage in lecture, whole group instruction, cooperative learning, hands-on activities, and discussion.

Materials Needed:

• Poster board
• Markers, glitter glue, Elmer’s glue, pens, pencils, crayons, colored pencils, and other art materials that can be used on poster board
• Printer paper
• Computers for student use with access to Power Point, Google Image Search, and a printer
• Computer/Projector
• Laser pointer (optional; don’t perform Lasik surgery on each other, kids)

Standards Met:

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary describing political, social, or economic aspects of history/social science.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.SL.3 Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric.

PART ONE: THE PRIMARY

1. Ask your students if they have been paying attention to the presidential election. If they say yes, ask them if they paid attention to the Iowa Caucus (did they watch it on Snapchat?). Then ask them if they know what a caucus is.
2. Define caucus for the students. A caucus is a meeting of members of a political party. In the Iowa Caucus, Iowans meet up at local voting precincts and choose which delegates from their political party will represent them in county conventions. These county conventions vote for delegates for Iowa’s state political party conventions, who choose delegates for presidential nominating conventions.
   1. Tell your students that a primary election is one in which members of each political party choose which candidate they want to run for President. Right now, there are many Republican candidates and more than one Democratic candidate. Once people have voted in primaries across the country, the candidate with the most votes will continue running for President. So, while right now the race is Trump vs. Rubio vs. Cruz VERSUS Clinton vs. Sanders, etc., after the primaries, it’ll be narrowed down to ONE Republican vs. ONE Democrat.
3. Explain to your students that people put so much importance on the Iowa Caucus because it’s a fairly successful (47%) predictor of who will be in the presidential election. Whichever Republican wins the Caucus has a pretty good chance of going on to run against whichever Democrat wins the Caucus.
4. Tell the students that as a class, you are going to run a mock primary election using superhero candidates. Tell them that they will be separated into two equivalent groups. (Don’t name these groups Democrats and Republicans. I can see the bloodshed already. Name them the Marvels and the DCs.) Then, within those two groups, three people will run for president in-character as superheroes. They will advertise; they will debate; they will give speeches. They will do everything they can to gain supporters within their own party. Then, in a primary election, people within their party will vote for a candidate to go on to the main election.
   1. It’s important to note to the students that political parties in real life aren’t restricted to only having three candidates for the primary. Point out how many Republican candidates there are. The students are limited to three candidates because otherwise the vote could easily be split. You have a class of 30ish people, not thousands.
5. Divide the students into Marvels and DCs. Within these groups, YOU pick the three who want to run for office.
6. Give the candidates time outside of class to think of their superhero personas. Have them come up with a vague outline of their political platforms. These can be real–healthcare, immigration, etc.–or imagined–superhero registration! Batman v. Superman! They should have a small speech (it can be as simple as “Vote Cap. FOR JUSTICE!” Or it can be more involved) and some debate points prepared. They should present their persona and platforms to you at the beginning of the next class.
7. The next class period should be campaign time. Set up six stations for the students, half for the Marvels and half for the DCs:
   1. Speech area #1 in front of the projector–for candidates with (pre-approved) PowerPoints or images to be displayed behind them
   2. Poster station #1–with poster boards, art supplies, etc. to make banners
   3. Handshake station #1–for candidates to speak with their voters
   4. Speech area #2
   5. Poster station #2
   6. Handshake station #2
8. Optional step: debates. Debates work well if you have a mature class and moderators. They work even better if you have covered speech and debate in your class before. No matter how immature the current US Presidential candidates act, we need to raise a generation that knows how to behave in a debate.
9. Remind the students that the next class day will be primary election day!
10. Primary Election Day. Before class begins, set up two closed-off, private areas where students from each party can fill out their ballots.
11. When students come into the classroom, have them line up in front of their respective ballot boxes. Display the image at the beginning of this post prominently. Remind them frequently that their ballots are secret. In real life, they cannot take a picture of their ballot! They can, however, post about their favorite candidate just as much as they want.
12. Once the voting is over, tell the students that their ballots, like many ballots in Iowa, will be hand-counted. This may be done by you or by some volunteers from another class.

PART TWO: THE ELECTION

1. In the next class, reveal the winners of the primary. Have them both come up and make a quick speech.
2. Tell the class that for the general election, they may cross party lines. You may vote for the DC candidate even if you’re a registered Marvel voter. In fact, this is encouraged. Listen carefully to each candidate.
3. Campaign time, part two! Set up your stations again. Allow the students to move freely around the classroom. The candidates can make speeches and shake hands; the voters can make posters, listen, and ask questions.
4. Optional step: debates.
5. Remind the students that the next class day will be Election Day.
6. Election Day: same procedure as Primary Election Day.
7. Count ballots. Find appropriately-designed celebratory material. Decorate your classroom in those colors/designs before the students come in. Allow for celebration and consolation.
8. Once the students have recovered from the shock/rage/glee, bring them back together. Tell them that the election process does not always go smoothly. For example:

There are many painful, convoluted aspects of the election process. Your classroom’s version was a streamlined procedure.

What did your students think of the mock election? Who won? Who will win the real election? As always, leave your thoughts in the comments.