Alabama Social Studies SS24.USG.8a
The Standard
- SS24.USG.8
- Describe how special interest groups and political action committees develop, how they function, and how their campaign contributions affect state and national elections.
Summarize the effects of campaign finance rulings by the United States Supreme Court on the election process.
2024 Alabama Course of Study: Social Studies
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students explain how Supreme Court rulings changed the rules for money in elections. They distinguish donations to candidates from spending on ads that are not coordinated with a campaign.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student explains that Buckley kept limits on donations to candidates but struck down limits on independent spending. They explain that Citizens United let corporations and unions pay for independent election ads, not give unlimited money directly to candidates.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think Citizens United lets corporations give unlimited money directly to candidates. They may also mistake an outside group's ad for an ad paid for by the candidate.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: A company wants to give $1 million to a candidate and spend $1 million on its own ad without coordinating. Which action is allowed, and why?
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs cards labeled individual donation, candidate self-funded ad, and independent corporate ad; have them sort which spending can be limited.
Ask students to write three sentences answering: Why can a group pay for its own campaign ad but not give unlimited money to a candidate?
Play a case match with candidate self-funding, individual donations, union ads, and corporate ads; students hold up Buckley or Citizens United cards.
Open an independent expenditure report on FEC.gov; have students find who paid, how much they spent, and which candidate the spending supported or opposed.
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Printable SS24.USG.8a Worksheet
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