Modern PolarizationAll 5 grade bands · K-2 through APFree download
1992
Lesson plan.
Bill Clinton vs George H. W. Bush — Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton defeated incumbent George Bush as billionaire Ross Perot ran the most successful third-party campaign since Theodore Roosevelt in 1912. Perot won 18.9% of the popular vote and no electoral votes but significantly divided the anti-Clinton vote, helping Clinton win with just 43% of the popular vote. Clinton's campaign team's internal motto was 'It's the economy, stupid,' capitalizing on the 1990-91 recession. Clinton became the first Democratic president elected since Jimmy Carter in 1976.
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