Super Tuesday Results: Breaking It Down with Students
Use this lesson plan to break down the Super Tuesday results with your students and find answers to what lays ahead for the Democratic primary.
Super Tuesday Results: Breaking It Down For Students
Super Tuesday, the biggest day on the primary calendar, has reshaped the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination contest. Former Vice President Joe Biden scored significant wins and took the lead in the race’s delegate count, indicating that support of moderate Democrats has coalesced around him. Biden won Texas, Virginia, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Massachusetts, Maine, Arkansas, Tennessee and Alabama. Sen. Bernie Sanders earned victories in Vermont, Colorado and Utah, as well as the night’s biggest prize: California. Sen. Elizabeth Warren lost her home state of Massachusetts and Mike Bloomberg, who has spent more than 560 million dollars on the race, won American Samoa. Watch the video and answer the questions. Turn on “CC” (closed-captions) function to help students follow along more easily.
Super Tuesday Results: Discussion Questions
- Essential question: Why is Super Tuesday considered the biggest day on the primary calendar?
- Why did former Vice President Joe Biden have such a good night?
- Why did Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg drop out? Do you think Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Mike Bloomberg should also drop out? Explain.
- What does Sen. Bernie Sanders need to do in order to get back his lead?
- Which candidate do you support? Why?
- Do you think money in politics is a problem for American democracy? Do you think candidates should be able to spend unlimited amounts of their own money on races? What is a SuperPACS? Why do candidates rely on them?
- Media literacy: Did you find the coverage reliable and balanced? Why or why not? What do you think makes news coverage balanced?
Super Tuesday Results: More Resources
- WATCH: Joe Biden promises to defeat Trump and ‘heal this country’
- WATCH: Sanders says he’s confident of victory, despite Biden’s rise
- WATCH: Bloomberg looks beyond Super Tuesday in Florida speech
- WATCH: Warren tells supporters ‘I am in this fight’
Vice President Joe Biden sweeped Minnesota following Senator Amy Klobuchars endorsement. How do endorsements affect electoral outcomes?
Super Tuesday Results: Extension Activities
- Try this lesson plan on polls called “Polling Pitfalls.”
- Consider reading this story with your students: 6 takeaways from Super Tuesday elections
- Mini-lesson: Break your students into groups and have them summarize one of the takeaways from the article. Then share with the class and discuss your reaction to them.
- And be sure to check out PBS NewsHour’s Super Tuesday page with easy-to-read results.
This article was originally published by PBS NewsHour Extra and can be found here.
PBS News Hour Classroom helps teachers and students identify the who, what, where and why-it-matters of the major national and international news stories. The site combines the best of News Hour's reliable, trustworthy news program with lesson plans developed specifically for... See More
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