Political Party Comparison: Republican & Democrat Interactive w/ Primary Sources

If you’re looking for a cool way to get your kids to learn about the differences between Democrats and Republicans, without worrying about blatant news channel or reporter bias, then this activity is made for you!

What makes this product unique is that your students will be reading word-for-word phrases from the 2016 Republican and Democratic Party platforms!  These documents are reviewed and approved every four years at their respective national conventions.

For this activity, your students will try to figure out who thinks what about some of the most popular topics in political debates:

* Military Spending 

* Education

* Healthcare

* Immigration

* Gun Control

* Energy & Resources

* Foreign Policy

* Human Rights

* Environment & Climate Change

* Economy

Independently they’ll cut and sort the provided statements, trying to match them to their corresponding political parties.  Afterwards, students should be given the opportunity to pair and share, hopefully gaining some insight as to what other students may know from prior knowledge.  Learning together through discussion is a huge part of this activity! Finally, pull the class together and review the correct responses. I’ve provided a separate answer key for you to distribute to your students when you feel appropriate.

If you’re looking for ways to enrich or extend this activity, encourage your students to use the provided worksheet to research what leading candidates think in particular about each topic, or they can add additional platform content to solidify the position.  Links for each platform are included.

Check out my other political party activity here!