Modern PolarizationAll 5 grade bands · K-2 through APFree download

2016

Lesson plan.

Donald Trump vs Hillary Clinton — Donald Trump lost the national popular vote but carried key Midwest states by narrow margins to win the Electoral College.

The 2016 U.S. presidential election sent Donald Trump (Republican) to the White House. Donald Trump took 304 of the 538 electoral votes to Hillary Clinton's 227. Though Donald Trump won the Electoral College, Hillary Clinton drew more of the national popular vote — 48.18% to 46.09%. The race falls within the Modern Polarization era; the lesson packets below dig into its central debates, with Immigration 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
Classroom packet
One email unlocks every packet.
300 PDFs across 60 cycles and 5 grade bands. We send a short note when new packets or curriculum-aligned versions ship — that's it. No spam, no list-sharing.
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One email per browser. Stored only to notify you when new packets ship.
3-5
Reading
5 pp
35 min
Free
Classroom packet
One email unlocks every packet.
300 PDFs across 60 cycles and 5 grade bands. We send a short note when new packets or curriculum-aligned versions ship — that's it. No spam, no list-sharing.
Enter your email
One email per browser. Stored only to notify you when new packets ship.
6-8
Reading
6 pp
50 min
Free
Classroom packet
One email unlocks every packet.
300 PDFs across 60 cycles and 5 grade bands. We send a short note when new packets or curriculum-aligned versions ship — that's it. No spam, no list-sharing.
Enter your email
One email per browser. Stored only to notify you when new packets ship.
9-12
Source
8 pp
75 min
Free
Classroom packet
One email unlocks every packet.
300 PDFs across 60 cycles and 5 grade bands. We send a short note when new packets or curriculum-aligned versions ship — that's it. No spam, no list-sharing.
Enter your email
One email per browser. Stored only to notify you when new packets ship.
AP
DBQ
12 pp
105 min
Free
Classroom packet
One email unlocks every packet.
300 PDFs across 60 cycles and 5 grade bands. We send a short note when new packets or curriculum-aligned versions ship — that's it. No spam, no list-sharing.
Enter your email
One email per browser. Stored only to notify you when new packets ship.

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Read further

Curated picks

Why We're Polarized

Ezra Klein

How modern American politics got this way.

Buy on Amazon →

The Bitter End

John Sides et al.

How Trump and the 2020 election reshaped the parties.

Buy on Amazon →

Confidence Man

Maggie Haberman

Trump in his own habitat.

Buy on Amazon →

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