Get your Civics students up and out of their seats as they participate in this Evaluating Candidates Gallery Walk! Students judge the anonymous biographies of 8 presidential candidates based on their work experience, education, criminal history, and more as they get a hands-on look at how voters evaluate potential candidates running for political office. Perfect for middle school Civics and American Government classes, this Evaluating Candidates Gallery Walk is an engaging, informative lesson that gets students thinking about the sort of qualities and experience they should look for in a Presidential candidate!
This lesson begins with a two-page Article that describes several criteria we as voters use to determine who is best qualified to take office:
The criteria the article covers:
- Education
- Work Experience
- Government Experience
- Military Experience
- Awards & Notable Achievements
Each characteristic is explained in detail, and examples are given in the form of interesting factoids about past Presidents. (For instance, did you know Abraham Lincoln had only a year of formal schooling? And that Woodrow Wilson had a Ph.D. in Political Science?) These real-life examples bring the criteria to life and show students that all sorts of paths can lead to the presidency.
A Review follows the article, asking students several key questions that cover the reading passage’s big ideas.
Such questions include:
- What is a political platform?
- What are the five criteria mentioned in the article that a voter might use to evaluate a potential candidate for office?
- Why might prior government experience be a valuable asset (strength) for someone running for President?
- Consider the five criteria used to evaluate candidates. Which one do you consider the most important?
Then, students participate in the Evaluating Candidates Gallery Walk! 8 anonymous candidate cards are included for you to print out and post around your classroom. Give students the 2-sided Score Card (on a clipboard if you have them!) so they can judge each candidate on a scale of 1-3 by the following criteria:
- Education
- Work Experience
- Government Experience
- Military Experience
- Notable Awards
The candidate cards include lots of information about the anonymous candidates, including whether or not they are married, how many children they have, their religion, notable jobs, government experience, military experience, criminal history, and whether or not they have won any notable awards.
After the students have completed the scorecard and determined which candidate they are most likely to vote for, you can reveal the candidates’ true identities! You can either read the names out loud or use the included PowerPoint presentation (a .PPTX file) to put the reveal on the big screen!
The Candidates’ true identities:
- Martin Luther King Jr.
- Barack Obama
- Donald Trump
- Hillary Clinton
- Michelle Obama
- Thomas Jefferson
- George Washington
- Ronald Reagan
The reveal of the candidates is always a fun time. Watch the kids groan as they realize they discounted Martin Luther King Jr. because of the 30 arrests in his criminal history! Can someone really be qualified to become president if they’ve only been a farmer and an army general? Well, George Washington did a pretty good job! This is a fun, memorable activity that kids really enjoy.
The lesson closes with a one-page Reflection that asks students to consider what they have learned from the Gallery Walk. They reflect on the criteria they said was most, and least, important to them at the start of the lesson and decide whether their opinion has changed. Finally, they rank 15 more characteristics of Presidential candidates (from age and ethnicity to physical appearance, social class, and personality) in order of importance.
This resource comes as a .ZIP File, so be sure you can open ZIP files! Inside, there is a non-editable PDF with the worksheets, candidate cards, and instructions, as well as a non-editable Powerpoint file (.PPTX) that includes the revealed identities of the secret candidates.
This Gallery Walk really is a lot of fun. I hope your students have a blast!
What other teachers are saying about this resource:
“Students had fun trying to identify the candidates!”
My students really enjoyed this activity! Students were engaged and had fun trying to identify the candidates! I especially liked the reflection section. I am using it again this year!
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
— Tracy C.
“Even my AP was impressed”
My students LOVED this activity! Even my AP was impressed with the quality, creativity, and engagement of this lesson. I am so excited to use this again next year.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
— Missstern
“This was fun”
This was fun. Students were sometimes surprised to learn which candidates they sided with.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
— Sergio C.
More Happy Teacher Products You Might Enjoy:
✩ Who Can Run? Qualifications for Political Office Article & Review for Civics
✩ Standards-Based Bell Ringers for Civics & American Government: Quarter Two
✩ Electoral College Article & Map Activity | Civics & American Government
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