At Elm Street School in Mr. Ed Tucker’s history class each seventh and eighth grade class was divided into the Democratic and Republican parties. In each side there is the candidate, the supervisor, the organizational team, and the technical assistants. Each party has to create a 30 second radio ad, a minute long television ad, two bumper stickers, three buttons, and the candidate has to make a speech to win the people’s vote.

Mr. Tucker has done this with his eighth grade class every election year. This year he made an exception and involved his seventh grade class. Candidates can take the name – John Kerry or George Bush – or he or she can use their first name such as Susie Kerry, or Bobby Bush. Some of the candidates choose to just use their real name in place of the real presidential candidate’s name. The supervisor is a step below the actual candidate. He or she helps out with everything, helps supervise, and helps out with the candidate’s speech and image. The organizational team is the artistically inclined part of the party. They are in charge of making the buttons, and bumper stickers to help out on the campaign trail. Finally, the technical assistants work with the video camera, the laptops and any other technical things that might be needed throughout the campaign.

The parties will start their debating very soon. This is great for the middle school students because they are able to express themselves and their feelings towards the real presidential race this year.

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