Modern PolarizationAll 5 grade bands · K-2 through APFree download
1996
Lesson plan.
Bill Clinton vs Bob Dole — Clinton won re-election comfortably over veteran Senator Bob Dole, running on the booming economy and declaring that 'the era of big government is over.' Clinton's triangulation strategy co-opted many Republican positions while defending the social safety net. Perot ran again on the Reform Party ticket but won only 8.4% compared to his 1992 total. The economy was in a strong expansion, and Clinton's incumbency advantages were decisive. No Democratic candidate had won consecutive terms since FDR.
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