American Presidential Election 2016

American Presidential Election is an important event not only for the United States of America, but for the whole world, as we all know!

That is why in this lesson we are going to learn how to talk about politics in English and in particular about how the US election Works.

How did the Republican and Democratic parties got their animal symbols? Follow the link to find out



Let´s start by learning some basic political vocabulary with Adam:





In English it is just polite to ask the other person or people you are with, if it is OK to talk about politics. Watch this video by Gabby from "Go Natural English" to understand some basic concepts:




Let´s now watch a short video on how US elections work:



We are going to focus on the pronunciation of some of the key words we have seen. Watch this video by "Go Natural English" to get some tips on pronunciation:



Follow this link to learn more about the role of "swing states" in the election

How about reading "Understanding US Politics in Four Bullet Points" by Forbes


Watch this video about the United States Political System and be prepared to take notes and share them with the class:





THE DAY AFTER ELECTION DAY....... TRUMP WILL BE THE NEW POTUS!

Follow these links to read some of the reactions to Trump´s victory:

The New Yorker

The Independent

PLEASE DEBATE:

Should teachers talk about controversial topics in the classroom?



Listen to this discussion about it: Teaching What Matters Most: Discussing the Elephant in the Classroom:




Larry Ferlazzo is a Education specialists who suggests in his blog different resources to work the issue of the day after the American Presidential Election. Have a look and discuss how useful they could be in a class in the USA or in any other classroom where English is taught.
This is the link to his blog that I strongly recommend!