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Congress: The Context
For purposes of simplicity, my discussion of how to play the game will concentrate on one possible way. At the end of this section, I will suggest variants of the game to be used in different situations. Also, for purposes of illustration, I will assume a class of 20 students. Teachers can make adjustments to this based upon the number of students they have in the class. (See other options for playing the game for more details).
The teacher selects a case study from one of the five presented here. The class is divided up, with ten students playing on each team. The students all familiarize themselves with the context of the election, both national and local.
Within each team, roles are assigned. Each team will have two students alternating in the roles of the candidate (since this is a difficult role) and will also have two co-campaign managers. In addition, other students on each team will take on the following roles:
Four students, including one of the campaign managers, will
be assigned to be media consultants and develop campaign advertising
Four students, including one of the campaign managers, will
be assigned to be speechwriters and prepare stump speeches
In addition to this, all students on each team will be assigned an issue on which they will write a one-to-two-page position paper, arguing for and developing a position the campaign will take on that issue. The section on Democrats vs. Republicans lists a number of issues that can be used; teachers may feel free to add their own issues to this list or to assign two students to write the issue briefings on the hot topics. If the case study does not mention the issue in detail, the teacher is encouraged to have the campaign follow the party line as it is laid out in the Democrats vs. Republican section - students can then fill in the details.
At the start of the campaign, the teams meet [See "A Sample Schedule" for additional details]. The candidates and campaign manager for each team start to think about strategic decisions. In particular, they will begin preparing commercials that will air on behalf of the candidates. They also start writing "stump speeches" for the candidates to deliver, and prepare the candidate for the debates/town hall meetings. In the beginning stages, the following events may occur (note that the list of activities can be lengthened or shortened to satisfy individual teacher's preferences; the list presented below is quite comprehensive):
1. Students read the case study for information about their candidate, the district, and the conext for the race.
2. First commercials are "aired" (presented) to the class. These are basic biography/candidate introduction ads. They serve the twin purposes of beginning the simulation and introducing the candidates to all participants.
3. Candidates give their first stump speech. This will be a general speech, sounding the themes the candidate aims to use during the campaign.
4. Candidates air another commercial. I recommend these be issue ads, highlighting in more detail one issue a candidate wishes to present.
5. The first debate occurs, with students and/or teachers questioning the candidates.
The simulation provides tips for preparing stump speeches, commercials, and debates.These events make up the early part of the campaign.
Following these events, the following might occur in the latter stages of the campaign (once again, note that this list is more comprehensive than some teachers might want; steps can easily be eliminated):
6. Candidates present a third commercial, in whatever form the team wishes. This might be where attack ads come in, as candidates might respond to things that have happened as the campaign has proceeded.
7. Candidates give a second stump speech, perhaps to a specialized constituency. In this case study, the teacher might ask one candidate to give a stump speech before an evangelical Christian Church and might ask another to speak to a union group. The individual campaigns could also choose where to give this speech.
8. The final commercial airs, once again in whatever form the campaign wishes.
9. The candidates give their final stump speeches, an Election Eve rally before supporters.
In class, the teacher is likely to ask students to do the first set of activities on the first class day of the simulation and the second set on the second day. It might be advisable to allow a little bit of time between days to give each group a chance to respond to early events in the latter part of the simulation. If giving outside work of a group nature is possible, this could be done as homework. If not, perhaps allowing a few minutes of class time before activities 5-8 would be in order.
As the campaign is going on, all students have enough to do to keep busy. The candidates can oversee team strategy and read everyone's position papers in preparation for the debate. Campaign managers will each be responsible for oversight of team strategy; each will also have primary supervisory responsibility for either speechwriting or advertising. Speechwriters and advertisers will be responsible for those specific tasks.
There are many other ways the game can be played to suit the tastes of individual teachers. Below, I have listed other possible ways to play the game, as well as a brief rationale for why teachers might elect each approach. The strategies are divided up into those that will shrink the time required to use the simulation and those that will add to it:
Options that will shorten the simulation:
1. For teachers aiming for a quicker run of the simulation, more activities could be done in writing only. For example, commercials could be handed in as a script written on paper rather than performed in front of class. The same can be said for stump speeches. The debate, however, really ought to be done in front of the class. Teachers wishing to cut time dramatically could consider foregoing the debate, although this is not recommended.
2. Again in the interests of time, teachers could select from the different campaigns steps provided in the previous section and eliminate some. The campaigns could be limited to only two stump speeches (perhaps an introduction and a specialized constituency) and only two ads (perhaps an issue ad and an attack ad). While using the full range of activities is desirable, as it allows students to make many different kinds of commercials and speeches, the simulation would work fine reducing the list.
3. Teachers could also choose to set certain issues off limits in order to minimize the preparation time needed (or to prevent sensitive issues from being raised).* Teachers might consider limiting a campaign to three or four issues as a way to save class time and minimize preparation concerns for the students.
Options that will add to the simulation:
4. For teachers with larger classes or for those wishing to give more responsibility to each individual student, more than one case study could be used. A teacher with a class of 28 students, for example, could elect to use two of the different case studies, with 7 students assigned to each of the teams in the two case studies. This has the added advantage of providing students with a second context in which to study congressional elections. Doing this might not require extra class time, particularly if the teacher then has the students do more activities in writing only (see #1 above).
5. Teachers can add additional roles to the simulation. For example, reporters can be assigned to write articles on the simulation and to be the ones asking questions during the debates. This might let students try out their interests in journalism and would also give the campaigns the experience of dealing with the media.
6. Teachers might run all five case studies at once and create a contest to see not only who wins each individual race, but also which party wins the majority of seats and hence retains control of Congress. Teachers could then add roles for the national Democratic and Republican parties, who might be able to make their own advertisements (and get party leaders to make their own commercials) for or against any of the candidates. This is an ambitious idea, and should only be tried when teachers have a great deal of time and/or confidence in their students.
*You know your students and schools best to determine whether these kinds of issues ought to be used as "teaching opportunities" or whether they ought to be swept under the rug.
1. What might have changed the outcome?
2. How typical is the case study?
3. How might students get involved in real campaigns?
4. How does the case study or studies we used reflect the politics of our own congressional district?
5. Who determines who wins these elections?
6. Are there criteria that you believe should be the most important ones?
7. Do you feel congressional elections are set up to give voters adequate information?
8. How does the (essentially local) character of congressional elections affect the ability of Congress to be a policy-maker for the nation as a whole?
Class Session One
Teacher introduces the simulation
Why study congressional campaigns?
Why use a simulation?
Explain expectations about team and individual work
Select the case study or case studies and distribute case study background(s) to students
Form teams
Divide class into two teams for each case study selected
Assign roles to individual students, or have teams make selections
Select issues about which students will write position papers
Teams meet
Make strategic evaluations of candidate's and opponent's strengths and weaknesses
Decide how to prepare the first commercial and stump speech (purpose and general content of each)
Team members do research about the issues using Democrats vs. Republicans and Internet
Homework: Students complete position papers
Class Session Two
Present first commercial
Each candidate presents the "biography/candidate introduction" ad with a time limit of 30 seconds
Teams meet to evaluate candidate's and opponent's first commercial and prepare first stump speech
Candidate delivers first stump speech
Sounds general themes based on issue research, opponent's commercial, and information about the district. Time limit: 3-5 minutes
Teams meet to evaluate stump speeches and prepare second commercial
Candidate delivers second commercial, an issue ad. Time limit: 30 seconds
Teams meet
Evaluate second commercial and prepare for debate, briefing candidate on issues and opponent's weaknesses.
Candidate prepares opening and closing statements, the latter to be adjusted during the debate.
NOTE: Additional commercials and stump speeches are possible if the teacher wants to extend the simulation.
NOTE: The teacher is likely to want to grade the position papers on an individual basis. This should be done after the debate to allow candidates access to the position papers as they prepare for the debate. Teachers may choose to have students do a written evaluation of candidate performance during the debate.
Class Session Three
Debate takes place. time limit: 10-15 minutes
OPTIONAL: Students evaluate the debate by wiriting a one-page assessment of candidates' performances in class
Students turn in evaluations (optional) and position papers
Teams meet to develop guidelines for the final stump speech
Candidates deliver final campaign speech. Time limit: 3-5 minutes
NOTE: This next step might not be possible to do on the spot. Teachers might need some to do this and may need to announce the results and debrief at the start of the next class.
Teacher scores campaign teams' effectiveness using simulation scorecard and announces results
Class discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the respective campaigns
What might have changed the outcome?
How typical is the case study?
How might students get involved in real campaigns?
How does the case study or studies we used reflect the politics of our own congressional district?
Who determines who wins these elections?
Are there criteria that you believe should be the most important ones?
Do you feel congressional elections are set up to give voters adequate information?
How does the (essentially local) character of congressional elections affect the ability of Congress to be a policy-maker for the nation as a whole?
