Peaceful Transfer of Power Lesson

This assignment is great for the days after an election or after the swearing in of new government officials to teach students the vital civic responsibility of accepting the outcomes of elections, even if you don't agree with the results.  It has 5 different documents- mostly short readings with one video news story and each one has a couple critical thinking or comprehension questions. 

It starts with a 3 minute video news story from NBC covering the widespread protests and unrest in Brazil after their recent election. Then it has a series of documents that teach the importance of the peaceful transfer or power dating back to the first ever peaceful transfer of power in US history- the election of 1800. 

Then students read a secondary source about several contentious elections and how they all were resolved peacefully and a brief excerpt from Ronald Reagan's inaugural address. Lastly, there is a collection of quotes from Donald Trump where he does not commit to accept the election results if he loses.

It is best for grades 8-12. 

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