The American Vote
New Deal CoalitionAll 5 grade bands · K-2 through APFree download

1940

Lesson plan.
Franklin D. Roosevelt vs Wendell WillkieRoosevelt broke the two-term tradition set by Washington, winning an unprecedented third term amid the European crisis. Wendell Willkie was a liberal Republican businessman who agreed with much of the New Deal; the election turned largely on foreign policy, with Roosevelt promising to keep America out of the war while supporting Britain. Willkie made the race competitive but Roosevelt's incumbency advantage and the anxiety over Hitler's conquests in Europe sealed his victory.
What is in each packet
Cover
Cycle metadata + band eyebrow
Lesson plan
Instructor — timing, materials, standards
Reading
Sized to grade band (K-2: ~250 words → AP: ~650)
Background
Curated cycles — 5-7 vocab terms + primary-source excerpt
Student worksheet
K-2: 3 questions → AP: 8, mixed format
Answer key
Instructor — rationale on every item
Discussion prompts
3 prompts tied to era
DBQ (AP only)
Long-essay + 5-point rubric + second source
Download by grade band