American Government
Swing State Prediction Project
Goal: Successfully predict the final winning candidate of states that are closely
contended at this time.
Requirements:
Each student will be part of a two-person team, but each is responsible for the following:
1. Find the results of at least four public opinion polls concerning voters’ candidate
preference from the state assigned to them.
--Each should come from a date between August 11th and October 6th.
--No two polls taken on the same date are to be included. Each must be at
least one week apart.
--The date of each poll should be clearly marked as well as the
organization that conducted it and compiled the results.
2. Find three articles from a newspaper in a major city in the state assigned to them.
--Each should be at least one page long (taking into account the banners,
advertisements, and frames found on most websites).
--Each should clearly indicate the name of the journalist responsible for
writing it. BEWARE OF ANONYMOUS AP ARTICLES!!
--Each should be concerning the election and mainly discuss the candidate
for president you’ve been assigned.
--Each should be accompanied by a five to seven sentence summary
revealing the student’s interpretation of the importance of the issues
included in it. USE YOUR OWN WORDS & NONE OF THE
WORDS/PHRASES FOUND IN THE ARTICLE!
3. Find two political cartoons that describe their candidate and any issue of relevance to that
candidate in your state.
--Write two sentences describing the meaning of the cartoon, including any
symbols, people, or places depicted.
4. Write a one-page essay (more than one paragraph) containing their prediction of which
candidate will win their state.
--This should reflect the results from the four polls, especially noting any
change as time passes.
--This should also reflect their reading of the articles and issues in them.
--This should reflect original thought on the part of the student.
5. Present your findings to the class on Monday, October 6, 2004 prior to the presidential
election.
--The two-person team will present together for a total time of 4-5
minutes.
STEP ONE: Record the following information pertaining the newspaper you are going to
use from your assigned state below. This is due in class on Friday, August 15th.
ONLINE PAPERS ________________________________________________________
WEBSITES __________________________________________ (exactly as it appears!)
USERNAME ________________________ PASSWORD ______________________
**You may have to register to use the website. If it’s free record your info above so you
won’t forget!!!