The American Vote
Cold War RealignmentAll 5 grade bands · K-2 through APFree download

1980

Lesson plan.
Ronald Reagan vs Jimmy CarterRonald Reagan's victory signaled a conservative turn and reshaped the Republican coalition for decades.

In 1980, Ronald Reagan (Republican) won the U.S. presidency. Ronald Reagan took 489 of the 538 electoral votes to Jimmy Carter's 49. Ronald Reagan led the national popular vote with 50.75%. The race falls within the Cold War Realignment era; the lesson packets below dig into its central debates, with Iranian hostage crisis among the major themes.

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
  • K-2
    Story
    4 pp
    20 min
    Free
  • 3-5
    Reading
    5 pp
    35 min
    Free
  • 6-8
    Reading
    6 pp
    50 min
    Free
  • 9-12
    Source
    8 pp
    75 min
    Free
  • AP
    DBQ
    12 pp
    105 min
    Free