Once students are familiar with the basics of each political party, it can be helpful for them to do a deeper dive into one specific party. In a spider map, students will outline more specific core values for a particular political party. Teachers can assign these to students or have students pick.
During an election year, students should be encouraged to complete this project while researching the party's candidate and their specific stances. For slightly more advanced students, or an additional challenge, students might look up policies and laws that their assigned party has supported and see how it aligns with the party's core beliefs.
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Due Date:
Objective: Create a spider map that outlines different core beliefs of a political party.
Student Instructions:
Requirements:
Organize students into groups representing different political parties. This encourages them to research and defend their party’s beliefs.
Designate specific topics—like core beliefs, famous leaders, or recent policies—for each student. This ensures everyone contributes and learns deeply.
Share age-appropriate articles, videos, or books about political parties. This helps students find accurate and balanced information.
Explain expectations for respectful discussion, time limits, and how to present arguments. This keeps the debate focused and positive.
Lead a group discussion about what students learned and how their views may have changed. This promotes critical thinking and understanding.
A spider map activity is a graphic organizer where students visually outline the core beliefs of a political party. Each branch represents a key value, with explanations and illustrations to help students understand and remember each belief.
Guide students to explore official party platforms, candidate statements, and past supported laws or policies. Encourage them to summarize findings in their own words and use reputable sources for accurate information.
First, assign or let students choose a political party. Next, have them identify and title each core belief. Then, write a brief explanation and create a relevant illustration for each belief, organizing all elements around a central party label.
Connecting beliefs to real policies or laws helps students see how party values influence government actions, making abstract concepts more concrete and developing critical thinking about political impacts.
The spider map activity described is designed for 4th and 5th grade students, but can be adapted for slightly older or younger grades depending on lesson goals and student abilities.