Interest Groups, PACs, and Super PACs Activity Bundle for Civics

This Interest Groups, PACs, and Super PACs Activity Bundle for Civics includes three engaging resources: What Is an Interest Group? Article & Review, Interest Groups Matching Activity, and my PACs and Super PACs Article & Review. Students will learn about Interest Groups, Political Action Committees, and Super PACs, complete comprehension reviews, create their own interest groups, watch campaign ads and identify whether they were funded by a PAC, and get hands-on enrichment as they match interest groups with hypothetical candidates and pieces of legislation. Perfect for middle and high school Civics, American History, and American Government students, this bundle covers key concepts and vocabulary and challenges students to think critically about these groups and their influence on American government. 

Aligned to the Florida State Standard for Middle School Civics, SS.7.CG.2.8: “Examine the impact of media, individuals, and interest groups on monitoring and influencing government.”

This bundle includes:

✯ What Is an Interest Group? Article & Review

• A 2-page What is an Interest Group? Article defines key concepts and vocabulary involving interest groups, lobbying, and three main types of special interests: economic, equal opportunity, and public interest. Includes tons of examples of real interest groups!
• What is An Interest Group? Review. Students review key concepts from the article (“What does a lobbyist do?”) as well as think critically and creatively about what they have learned with a series of fun, reflective questions. (Such as, “Create a fictional piece of legislation that the National Wildlife Federation, an environmental protection interest group, might lobby Congress to support.”)
• Gaining Interest Group Support. Students read through a fictitious candidate’s political platform and find four (4) interest groups mentioned in the article that would support her candidacy, based on shared values or certain personal characteristics. A fun, challenging activity!

✯ Interest Groups Matching Activity

• A 2-page Interest Groups Matching Activity asks students to pair interest groups with political candidates they might likely endorse and sample pieces of legislation they might likely lobby Congress to support. 
• The first page is a cut-and-paste matching activity.
• The second page has students think critically and fill in the blanks. For instance, given a candidate and piece of legislation, the students must do research and find an interest group that aligns with the candidate’s platform and the legislation’s topic. Or, students read a short description of the AARP and come up with a fictitious piece of legislation the special interest group might endorse. 

✯ PACs and Super PACs Article & Review

• 1-page What are PACs and Super PACs? Article defines political action committees, Citizens United, and Super PACs, explaining these key concepts in clear, interesting language. 
• What are PACs and Super PACs? Review asks for vocabulary definitions and the summation of key concepts from the article. Students also read three actions and determine whether they were the work of a PAC or a Super PAC. (For example, A presidential candidate uses money donated from Citizens Against Drunk Driving to fund a campaign advertisement, which would be the action of a PAC.) 
• A Candidate or Super PAC? internet activity where students use QR codes or shortened URL to view campaign ads on http://www.livingroomcandidate.org, paying close attention to the language and concluding whether the ad was endorsed by a candidate’s campaign or funded by a Super PAC. 

The contents of this bundle come in a ZIP file of non-editable, printable PDFs. Answer Keys are included for each resource. There are also digital versions available through TPT Easel, which can be assigned directly to Google Classroom or shared with your students via a link!

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