Week 5- Level 1 Challenge Option: Race to the Top
RACE TO THE TOP
The formal qualifications for being the President of the United States, as listed in the Constitution, are few and simple. But what about the informal qualifications: popular appeal; experience; academic, social, and economic backgrounds; family structure; religious background; and social networks can all contribute to the success of a presidential candidate. For this Challenge, you will choose four presidents from the past 30 years and create a detailed profile of that president’s route to candidacy.
PREPARATION
-
Pick your presidents: Think about some American presidents that interest you. Here’s a list Links to an external site.. Pick four of those guys.
ACTION
Create a profile for each of the 4 presidents you selected by completing the table below.
To create your presidential profiles, use the multimedia resources below to research your presidents’ pre-presidential life. Focus on each candidate’s:
- Academic Background (Where did they go to school? What did they study? What degrees do they have?)
- Professional and Political Experience (What have they done to prepare themselves for the presidency?)
- Social Background (What are their identities in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, etc.? What are their family structures?)
- Family Economic Background (How wealthy are their families? How did their families make their money?)
| President Name & Term Dates | Academic Background | Professional and Political Experience | Social Background | Family Economic Background |
| 1. | ||||
| 2. | ||||
| 3. | ||||
| 4. |
REFLECTION
In a two-page paper, please cover the following questions:
- Did you see any similarities between the presidents in terms of their pre-presidential lives? Did they have similar backgrounds? After researching do you think there are any unspoken qualifications that past presidents seem to share? Explain.
- What about differences? Did you see any changes in presidential profiles over time? Were there any patterns worth mentioning? If not, there any ways in which you think there should be a change in these patterns? Explain.
- How did you see each president’s background reflected in his leadership style and presidential agenda?
RESOURCES
|
Title |
The Presidents, The White House. |
|
URL |
http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents Links to an external site. |
|
Annotation |
Here you can find out specific information about the presidents you choose to research. You should keep in mind that all of information on the site has been edited by the White House. |
|
Title |
American President: A Reference Resource, University of Virginia Miller Center Institute |
|
URL |
http://millercenter.org/president Links to an external site. |
|
Annotation |
The Miller Center is a non-governmental, non-partisan institute that seeks to expand understanding of the presidency, policy, and political history. The site offers expansive resources on each president, including researched essays on life before the presidency. You should use this to complement and/or complicate information you find in official White House documents. |
|
Title |
Ipl2: Presidents of the United States Portal, Drexel University College of Information Science and Technology |
|
URL |
|
|
Annotation |
The ipl2 portal, funded by Drexel College and Florida State University, catalogues reputable internet sources in order to help you find trustworthy information while researching. The site’s “Presidents of the United States Portal” catalogues crucial information about each U.S. president and his presidential term. Additionally, site coordinators have chosen between 4-5 multimedia biography sources for each president.You should use this to complement and/or complicate information you find in official White House documents. |
|
Title |
The United States Constitution |
|
URL |
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html Links to an external site. |
|
Annotation |
Students can use this resource to explore the basic, formal requirements for presidential eligibility. Specifically, they could refer to Article II. |
|
Title |
UF Smathers Library Off Campus Access |
|
URL |
http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/msl/ufproxy.html Links to an external site. |
|
Annotation |
Using the University of Florida’s library system can greatly enhance the quality and quantity of research you will be able to undertake as a UF student. You should use this to find more detailed information about the presidents you choose to research as needed. |
RUBRIC
|
|
No credit |
Below expectations |
Meets expectations |
|
Presidential Profiles
|
The student completes profiles for less than 3 presidents AND/OR each profile profiles does not discuss at least 5 out of 6 suggested biographical themes. |
The student completes profiles for less than 4 presidents AND/OR the profiles are incomplete. Though the student discusses each suggested biographical topic, some of the areas are lacking in detail. |
The student completes all 4 profiles for less and discusses each suggested biographical topic. Each biographical topic is discussed in sufficient detail, reflecting thoughtful attention to key areas of biographical importance to each president’s success. |
|
Reflection |
For the three reflection prompts, the student appears to simply answer the question and does provide evidence of thoughtful reflection OR the student does not respond to one or more of the reflection prompts. |
The student responds to all three reflection prompts, but some of the responses are not fully developed and appear to be lacking detail or thoughtful reflection. |
For each of the three reflection prompts, the student provides complete and thoughtful responses.
|