Idaho Social Studies 9-12.GOV.48

Social StudiesGrades 9–12American Government

The Standard

Compare partisan and non-partisan offices and elections.

Idaho Content Standards: K-12 Social Studies · Function And Structure of the U.S. Political System

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students compare elections that list party affiliations with elections that do not. They check election rules to see whether parties nominate candidates for each office.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student can explain why a U.S. House race is partisan and why a school board race may be nonpartisan. They can explain that a nonpartisan candidate may still have party ties.
Common Misconceptions: Students may think nonpartisan candidates have no political views or party ties. They may assume every school board race is nonpartisan, or confuse an independent candidate with a nonpartisan election.
How to Assess It: Exit ticket: A House ballot lists party labels. A school board ballot does not, and its rules prohibit party nominations. Identify each election type and explain whether school board candidates can still belong to a party.

Lesson moves

Give pairs two printed mock ballots and election rule cards; have them underline party labels and sort the races by election type.
Ask students to write why a party endorsement does not automatically make a nonpartisan school board race partisan.
Run a card sort with U.S. House, a nonpartisan city council race, and an independent candidate in a partisan race; students justify each choice.
Open your county election office's sample ballot and rules; locate a race and check whether it uses party nominations or labels.

Free download

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 9-12.GOV.48, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

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