As a general service, and especially to teachers who are using my game Battle for the Presidency 2020 to teach about the American Presidential election, I have found several articles about hot political issues in the US right now. These are the issues I have used in my game.
If you have not heard about the classroom game, “Battle for the presidency” – 2020 yet, you can read a short text about it here: Battle for the Presidency is now finished. I hope you will want to play it with your students.
In any case, I hope you can use some of my text recommendations.
Issues in Battle for the Presidency
Battle for the Presidency claims that each state has four issues that define the political climate of that state. This is of course a gross simplification. The issues chosen are relevant to the state in question, but the real purpose is to show the students the many different subjects that such a political struggle touches upon, and what different Americans will be preoccupied with when they make their political choice.
I have started with eight important issues and may cover the rest later.
- Black Lives Matter
- Anti-fa
- School vouchers
- Student loans
- America First
- Small government
- Protect the little guy
- Clean government
For each issue, I have chosen two or three texts that illustrate how people in the English-speaking world (mostly the US) see that issue and how they talk about it.
I have written a short introduction to each text to help with quick sorting, since most teachers work under constant time pressure. Apart from content, the introduction will give you my estimate of the complexity and the length of the text.
BLM
Both texts aim to explain why “All Lives Matter” is not just a qualification of the slogan “Black Lives Matter”. They also give information about the movement.
Why You Need to Stop Saying “All Lives Matter”
- A personal view
- From Harpers Bazaar, American women’s fashion magazine
- Medium complexity
- 6500 characters
Anti-racism: What does the phrase ‘Black Lives Matter’ mean?
- An outside, almost text-book view
- From BBC Newsround, the BBC’s children’s news programme
- Low complexity
- 4200 characters
Anti-fa
The texts aim to explain both Anti-fa and their mode of operation.
- A relatively positive view with much inside information. The writer is publishing a book on the subject.
- From The Conversation, an independent news website aiming to source news and views directly from the academic and research community.
- Medium complexity
- 5600 characters
- An outside view
- From the Anti-Defamation League (which is more centrist, has a Jewish base and works to oppose anti-semitism).
- Medium complexity – the position of the writer in relation to the subject is more complex than the actual language
- 5800 characters:
School vouchers
What Are School Vouchers and How Do They Work?
- A general and quite comprehensive introduction to the subject.
- From Education Week, an independent news organization that covers K–12 education.
- Low to medium complexity
- 8000 characters
- If you cut the three parts: “Tax credit scholarship programs”, “Education savings account programs” and “School Voucher Research”, you can get an easier, but less comprehensive, text of 4500 characters.
Without equity, school voucher program is rigged
- An opinion piece that discusses the effect of school vouchers on the general school system in Michigan. The discussion takes a form that makes it easy to fit into Danish politics with private school funding and inclusion of special needs students.
- From The Detroit News, one of the two major newspapers in Detroit.
- Low to medium complexity
- 3700 characters
- From the homepage of Republican Party of Texas
- Clear explanation of the principles involved. Good basis for discussing how political debate and opinion pieces are made. Also examples of Twitter templates.
- Low to medium complexity
- 4300 characters
Student loans
Congress weighs student loan forgiveness, but there’s a partisan hurdle
- A personal angle, based on a young graduate’s story and tying it in with COVID-19 relief measures and unemployment.
- From Connecticut Mirror, non-profit online newspaper, focused on public policy and political issues in the state.
- Low complexity
- 5800 characters
Your Student Loans And The 2020 Election: What To Expect
- A presentation of the declared plans of both candidates. Combines well with social studies.
- From Forbes, American business magazine.
- Medium to high complexity
- 8500 characters
Prospects for student loan overhaul hinge on election
- Explanation of the candidates’ plans and expected actions if elected.
- From The Hill, American news website, focused on politics.
- Medium complexity
- 5300 characters
America First
Trump’s ‘America First’ Agenda Shapes GOP Foreign Policy
- A presentation of the America First policy and how it has formed Trump’s foreign policy.
- From Voice of America, US state-controlled international broadcaster aimed at audiences abroad.
- Above medium complexity
- 6500 characters
Trump’s foreign policy is still ‘America First’ – what does that mean, exactly?
- Very well founded, but also very critical evaluation of the America First policies of Trump’s first term in office.
- From The Conversation, an independent news website aiming to source news and views directly from the academic and research community.
- Medium complexity
- 8200 characters
Small Government
- Political statement
- From The Center for Small Government, NGO founded by a Libertarian and a Republican, advocates for cutting/abolishing taxes.
- Low complexity
- 3200 characters
USA TODAY/Suffolk Poll: Support for Big Government rises to record levels amid coronavirus crisis
- Mostly about big government, illustrates the move in opinion between small and big government during COVID-19.
- From USA Today, American newspaper.
- Medium complexity
- 8100 characters
Smaller isn’t better: how Democrats can beat the Republican argument for smaller government
- Democratic policy paper on how to argue against small government. Lots of statistics.
- From Global Strategy Group (GSG), an American public relations and research firm.
- Medium complexity
- 6800 characters
Protect the little guy
You will not find “Protect the little guy” as an issue of that name. It is a term Joe Biden has used several times, and this is my interpretation of that political term and its role in American politics.
The American Dream (pdf)
- The introduction to a teaching material made by Library of Congress on the American Dream. Notably, it is a dream about a good life for all the regular people. The original text and the full lesson plan can be found here: Lesson Plan – The American Dream.
- Medium complexity
- 2350 characters
Why the middle class can’t afford life in America anymore
- A lamentation of the plight of the middle class. The middle of the text can easily be cut out for a more controlled read. Has the New York Post’s special mix of political signals.
- From New York Post (NY Post), an American tabloid newspaper. It is owned by Rupert Murdoch and is reported to be President Trump’s favorite newspaper.
- Medium to high complexity
- 12000 characters
Clean government
The Democrats Need a Plan to Fight Corruption—the Usual Kind as Well as the Trump Kind
- An analysis of corruption on several levels in America, from extreme Trump cases to the deeply rooted problems within the Democratic party as well as the Republican.
- From The New Yorker, an American weekly magazine featuring both journalism, essays, criticism, fiction, cartoons and poetry.
- Medium complexity
- Note that you only have a limited number of free reads on The New Yorker each month.
- 9800 characters
Why Has Trump’s Exceptional Corruption Gone Unchecked?
- A discussion of the difference between normal donor-driven US corruption and Trump-level corruption. The writer argues that they are not on a spectrum, but separate entities. Good basis for a discussion.
- Medium complexity
- Note that you have to register as a free user for five free reads a month on New York Times or make a cheap teacher subscription.
- 7000 characters.
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