WebQuest: Election '96

WebQuest: Election '96 contains three sections: Exploration, A Focus on the Candidates and Political Expert. You may choose to do all of the activities or only choose one or two of the activities. WebQuest: Election '96 was created to foster a concept and may be altered to meet the needs of the students.

Part 1: Exploration

Scenario:

This November the people of the United States will elect a President for the next four years. You need to make a decision on how you might vote. What issues will determine how you vote?

The Task:

As a group, list on all of the men and women you know are currently being considered as Presidential Candidates. Also list the issues you think are most important to the people of the United States, place a star next to the issues that you think will influence your vote for President.

Exploration:

In this activity you will explore the World Wide Web and to fill in the attached chart. (Note: You may wish to create a larger version of the chart on poster paper.) Make sure to record all of the information from each site. Your group should rotate who operates the computer and who records your findings.

After you have filled in your chart each member of the group should respond in writing to at least three of the following questions:

Questions:

1. In your research, did you find additional candidates for President? Add these to you list.
2. What problems did your group have in finding the candidates' stand on the issues?
3. What were your best sources of information?
4. Did your opinion of any of the candidates change because of your investigation?
5. On the World Wide Web:
   • Which were the best sites in terms of information, style, design, ease of use, etc.?
   • Which were the poorest sites?
   • Some sites have counters, which sites have had the most visitors? (You may want to find the number of visitors per day since the count was started.) Do you think this will be an indication of election results? Why or Why not?
   • What was the most significant thing you learned from this exploration?

Government:Politics:Elections: 1996 U.S. Elections:Presidential Election

Election '96 Homepage

Vote Smart Web

Democratic National Committee

Republican Web Central Home Page