Home land security by helen

As President, with Joe Biden my plan for homeland security will provide the leadership and strategies to strengthen our security at home. We have a solid plan that will help prevent tarriest attacks especially after 9/11. We will prepare, and plan for emergencies and natural disasters. Lastly we will ensure that the federal government works with states, localities, and the private sector as a true partner in prevention, mitigation, and response.

Reflection by: Elena

How was my role important in the overall campaign of the canidate?

My role was important because it helped talked about the issues. Also, it helped my group be aware of what Barack Obama was for and how he was going to help our nation. I also was important because I helped the policy writer figure out some other issues to talk about and I helped the campaign manager figure out about Barack Obama's life. I think I was pretty important and I hope my group members think so too.



What was the most vital part of my job?

The most vital part of my job was telling everyone about the issues and what change Barack Obama was going to do for our natuion. I think it was most important because when you vote you should know about the issues the canidate is going to face. When I wrote my speech I tried to make the main idea the issues because I thought that was the most important thing about writing a speech. I also tried to seemed like it was coming from Barack Obama's point of view because I think that makes the speech more beliviable.



Was it necessary to coordinate and cooperate with my team members? Why? How was this accomplished?

It was defintely necessary to cooperate with my team members because I and to work with the policy writer to figure out what issues she talking about, so I could talk about them in my speech. Also, I had to work with my campaign manager to figure out all the facts about Barack Obama's life, so I could talk about them in my speech. I had to work with them to make my speech a better piece and to make sure mine speech was hte best it could be. We accomplised working together by talking with eachother and making sure we communicated with eachother enough.



What five things did you learn about the role of president during this project that you did not already know? Why are these five things important?

I learned that to be the president you have to have a plan and a good one for our nation. Also, I learned that to be presidentyou have to have a strong platform. You have to have good public speaking skills because when you make a speech you can't just be shy and don't know what to say. The president has to be able to make agreements with other countries and peace treaties. The president also has to be friendly to everyone, so people will like him. These things are all important because if you don't have these skills you won't be the best president you can be. Also, these things are all the qualities of a good president, if you have these traits you will be an excellent president.

How would you describe this project to someone outside of school?
To describe this to someone outside of school I would tell them that we had a presidential campaign project. I would tell them in this project we either had to pick John McCain or Barack Obama. Then we had to research them and talk about their life and the issues they where going to focus. Each group had a campaign manager, a speechwriter, and a policy writer. After we finished researching them and typing speeches and everything we shared with the whole entire grade.

How do you think this project will make you a better voter when you are an adult?

I think it will make make me a better voter by making sure I research more about the canidates. Also, it will make me a better voter by making sure I compare the two canidates and by making sure I inform myself on the issues the candiate is going to face.

education by helen

zero to five plan:We will improve preschools so that children are ready to go to kindergarden
k-12:We will reform no child left behind, support High-quality schools and close down low preforming schools,make math and science a national priority, address the dropout crisis, expand high quallity after school opportunities, support collage out reach programs, support collage credit initiatives, and support english language learners.
higher education: create the American opportunity tax credit, and simplify the application process for financial aid.

Reflection by Kyndal

My roll was important to the overall campaign by i was in charge of making sure that all the work was done and we stay on topic and focused. It is also my job that are group has great success. The most important part of my job was to find out most of the information about Barack and his life.



It was important to coordinate with my group because we had to make sure we would all be ready to turn in our work when it was due. That was accomplished by we helped each other out always when it was needed and we kept each other and did not make fun of others work.Five things i learned while doing this project was that Barack has two daughters he was married on October 18 th. He was born in Hawaii. He went to Harvard. And worked in churches.

I think this was a great idea for a project so you can learn about the campaign.

energy by helen

myself and Joe Bidens plan will be a good solution to the enviornment as well as provide low and stable gas prices. We will provide short- term relief to American families facing high gas prices. We will create five million new jobs by investing $150 billion dollars into bulding a new energy future. Put 1 million plugin Hybrid cars that get up to 150 miles per gallon.

Speech by: Elena

I am Barack Obama and I am your presidential candidate for the democratic party. If you elect me I will make a change and this time a change we can believe in.

I believe our nation is falling apart and we need a strong leader who can restore our nation. I believe that leader is me. I am strong because I have been through so many hardships in my life like when my mother died. She and my grandmother were the only close family I had and losing her meant the world to me. I come from a single mother who has struggled to provide the basic needs for me. She is dead now, but when she was alive her health care plan was very bad. I will provide health care because as everyone is getting older they have an increased risk of getting sick and if they are in the hospital all the time they are going to go broke because they will need to pay for their bills. I have a health care plan that will work. My plan is to cover every American with health care and lower the cost of health care for the average American family by up to $2,500.

If you elect me I have a plan for our nation. I plan to improve our children's education by strengthening our public schools to maximize our country's natural resources, which is the American people. I will also focus on our environment, the foreign policy, and Iraq. First of all our environment is in danger. Global warming is killing many of our animals like polar bears. My plan will help the endangered animals and create millions of new green jobs. I also have a plan to help our foreign policy by preventing weapons of mass destruction and stop the genocide in Darfur. The last issue I am going to tell you about is the troops in Iraq. Millions of soldiers are dying for no reasons. I plan to try and make peace with other countries instead of going into their countries and just shooting them. Senator John McCain plans to keep millions of troops in the war and let them die instead of them being home being with their families.

I will bring change to this nation that will be good for our nation instead of making bad changes and letting our nation fall apart all over again. I will be the best possible president and you can believe it too.

obama reflection Katie

my role in this campaign was important by helping other people to get to know the candidate and see how his life was when he was young. Making shore that the people know all the information they need to decide how to vote for and persuade them to vote for Obama.

If you want to get a good result in this campaign you have to work together this was accomplished by talking to each other to know how they are doing.I learned that campaign can get very nasty in what they say to each other,it is a lot of work, it was fun to get to know the candidate,I learned that both candidates are good,working in groups can be annoying these thing are important because if you do this you can know the candidates better.I would say to them we are studying the candidates and tell them about the candidates.Now I know how to get to know the candidates.

by Katie













katie

Reflection By Megan

My role was important in the overall campaign of the candidate because when you want to be elected president you need support, and I give Barack Obama support and encouragement. The most vital part of my job is to help explain Barack Obama's plans and want he wants to do as president. It was necessary to cooperate with my team members because we are a team and teams need to work together, so we can make sure we are all on the same page. Cooperating with each other helped us accomplish these things by working together, asking each other questions, and helping each other with confusing things. Five things that I learned about the role of President during this project that I didn't already know was that there are a lot of consequences for all of your decisions so you have to chose your decisions wisely and carefully. I also learned that everybody needs support, it is important to have support because it helps persuade his/her voters (Obama's) to vote for that candidate, and it also shows that other people besides Obama agree with him and his campaign idea. Third, Obama has a lot of ideas and plans for the future, and our future, so it is very important that you make sure you like what your candidate has planned for president. Another thing I have learned is that "effort" is very important, if you are chasing a dream, like Obama is for president, you have to put in a lot of effort! It is important to use as much effort as possible for EVERYTHING because everything happens for a reason and everything that happens is important! Last of all, I learned that you have to make sure that what your doing is what you really want to do, like Obama, he always has to make sure that what he plans is what he's going to do. I would describe this project as very interesting and challenging because you have to put a lot of "effort" in researching about your candidate and you have to describe all of his plans and projects for the future! This project will make me a better voter when I am an adult because this project shown me that you can't judge a book by it's cover, that you have to vote for the candidate's ideas and plans that you agree with, and not to just vote for somebody just to vote. It's important that you pick the man/women that you think will best be incharge of your and my country!

Reflection by Dani

I learned that during this project that you can't just pick a president because you like them better, you have to pick them by what the issues they are concerned about and what they will do when they become president. My role in the campaign was important because I told voters the biography of my canadidate, Barack Obama. The most vital part of my job was to make sure everyone knows the real truth about Barack Obama's life and to get the people to vote for him. It was necessary to coordinate and coperate with my team because when one of our team members were stuck we would all help that member out. It was accomplished by the members of our team all working hard and working together.

Five things I learned about Barack Obama is that he was born in Hawaii and also lived in Indonesia for a few years. I learned that after college he put corporate life on hold and went to help poor neighborhoods with lots of crime and high unemployment. I also learned that he ran for the Illinois State Senate, where he served for 8 years. Also I learned that when Barack was Illinois State Senate he had to work with both Democrats and Republicans. Lastly I learned that he is happily married to his wife Michelle and have two daughters named Sasha and Malia.

I would describe this to someone out of school by saying in Social Studies we are doing a Presidential Campaign Webquest. Its where we get into groups of who wants McCain and Obama to be become president. Then we would seperate into groups of three that were voting for the same person. Next we all decide what job we want to have and there are three jobs, campagin manager, policy writer, and the speech writer. Then we go down to the computer lab and we start researching about our canddidite by what are job was. Next when were finished researching we can start typing. Lastly we post it and let everyone read it.

I think that this project will help me to become a better voter because now i know that i can't just pick a president by who I like the best. I have to base it off the decision that if I am a Republican or Democrat. Also that I have know about what the issues that they are concerned with and what they will do once they become president. Now I know How to decide who I want to vote for.

Policy by Miki

Barack Obama: issues

Hi, I am Barack Obama. I believe I will make a good
president because I will make the change that America needs.

Healthcare
My plan for change in healthcare will cover every American. People who already have health insurance will have to pay less on premiums. If you are one of the millions without health insurance, you will have it after this plan becomes law. I will lower the cost of health insurance by up to $2,500. I think that there are two extremes offered to Americans: government-run healthcare with higher taxes or letting the insurance companiesrun withe no rules or regulations.

Environment

i will provide short-term relief to americans facing problems at the gas pump. I'll help create five million new green jobs by investing $150 million over the next ten years. Within ten years we'll save more oilthan we currently have imported. I'll put 1 million plug-in hybrid cars on the road.

Education

Joe Biden and I will make college affordable for all Americans. College will be affordable because we will create a new American Opportunity Tax Credit.The credit will be refundable and universal. It will ensure that the first $4,000 of college education is free for most Americans. It will also cover two-thirds of the cost of tuition at the average university or public college.

health care by helen

At a Glance
Make Health Insurance Work for People and Businesses - Not Just Insurance and Drug Companies.
Reduce Costs and Save a Typical American Family up to $2,500

Barack Obama and Joe Biden's Plan

When talking about health care the American people are offered two extremes - higher taxes because of government run health care or letting the insurance companies operate without rules. My self and Joe Biden believe both of these extremes are wrong, and that’s why we have proposed a plan that strengthens employer coverage, makes insurance companies less powerful over coverage and ensures the patient choice of doctor and their health care without the government interfering.

My and Joe Biden`s plan provides affordable, accessible health care for all Americans, builds on the existing health care system, and uses existing providers, doctors and plans to start the plan. Under this plan, patients will be able to make health care decisions with their doctors, instead of having to go with the inchurence companies decsion.
Under the plan, if you like your current health insurance, nothing changes, except your costs will go down by as much as $2,500 per year.
If you don’t have health insurance, you will have a choice of new, affordable health insurance options.

Require insurance companies to cover all benefits at fair and stable costs.
We will create a new Small Business Health Tax Credit to help small businesses provide affordable health insurance to their employees.

We will create lower costs for businesses by covering a portion of the expensive health costs they pay in return for lower costs for employees.

We will prevent insurers from overcharging doctors for their malpractice insurance (incase they make a mistake) and invest in proven strategies to reduce preventable medical errors.

Speech By Megan

Barack Obama made a difference in June 2008 when he became the first African American to head a major party ticket in a presidential election. He beat Sen. Hillary Clinton in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination after a long primary season. He ran as the candidate of change and made hope to the center of his campaign. He is to run against Sen. John McCain in the final election. Obama's platform has focused on advocating for working families, poor communities, education, caring for the environment, and ethics reform.

Obama was born in Hawaii in 1961 to an American mother and a Kenyan father. When he was two, his parents who had met as students at the University of Hawaii, divorced. Obama's Harvard-educated father then returned to Kenya where he worked in the economics ministry. Obama lived in Indonesia with his mother and stepfather for part of his childhood, returning to Hawaii to finish high school. He graduated from Columbia University where he majored in political science and specialized in international relations. He then attended Harvard Law School, graduated magna cum laude, and served as the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review. After law school he worked as a community organizer and a civil rights lawyer in Chicago. He also taught at the University of Chicago Law School as a senior lecturer specializing in constitutional law. Obama represented the South Side of Chicago in the Illinois State Senate from 1996–2004 as a Democrat. In 2004 he was elected to the U.S. Senate, winning with 70% of the vote against the conservative black Republican Alan Keyes. Obama became the only African-American serving in the U.S. Senate (and the fifth in U.S. history). Obama's idealism commitment to civil rights, and telegenic good looks generated enormous media attention for his Senate campaign. The eloquence of his keynote address at the 2004 Democratic Nation Convention in Boston, Massachusetts confirmed his status as one of the Democratic party's freshest and most inspirational new leaders.

Obama published an autobiography, "Dreams From My Father", in 1995. It became a best-seller during his 2004 Senate campaign. His next autobiography, The Audacity of Hope, became a bestseller after its Oct. 2006 publication, and won both the Black Caucus of the American Library Association Literary Awards and the NAACP Image Awards in 2007. He is married to Michelle Obama, a Chicago native who also graduated from Harvard Law School. They have two daughters: Malia Ann and Sasha.

Biogrhy by kyndal

Barack Obama was born in Hawaii in 1961 August 4th. Then he went to colleage at Columbia University in New,York and graduatedin 1983. And moved to Chicago and put law behind. Then a couple years later he went to Harvard law graduated in 1991. After colleage he worked in Christain churches in Chicago.

Barack Obama was married to Michelle on October 18,1992. They had two daughters Mali Ann Obama born in 1999 and Natasha Obama born in 2001. And still today they are loved and cared by their two parents.

Barack was elected in November 2004 as U.S senator.To represent Illinois. Community orginizer. And in 1997he was electedas Illinois state senator representing the 13th senate district on Chicago south side.

Barack Obama Biography by Katie

Barack Obama was raised by a single mother and his grandparents. They didn't have much mony, but they taught him values from the Kansas heartland where they grew up. He worked for Christian churches in Chicago, helping communities devastated when steel plants closed.

Obama turned down lucrative job offers after law school to return to Chicago, leading a successful voter registration drive. He joined a small law firm, taught constitutional law and, guided by his Christian faith, stayed active in his community.

In the Illinois state Senate, he worked with both Democrats and Republicans to help working families. In the US Senate, he has focused on tackling the challenges of aglobalized, 21st century world with fresh thinking and a politics that no longer settles for the lowest common denominator.

Now Obama and his wife Michelle have two kids, Sasha and Malia.

Barack Obama's Biography by Dani

Barack was born in Hawaii on August 4th 1961. Barack's father (Barack Obama Sr.) was born in a small village in Kenya. Barack's mother (Ann Dunham) grew up in a small town in Kansas. Later in her life she moved west to Hawaii. His parents met at University of Hawaii. Barack's father eventually moved back to Kenya and Barack grew up with his mother in Hawaii and a few years in Indonesia.

Later Barck moved to New York and graduated from Columbia University in 1983. Barack put law school and corporate life on hold after college and moved to Chicago in 1985, where he became a community organizer living to improve poor neighborhoods with lots of crime and high unemployment. He went on to earn his law degree from Harvard in 1991, where he became the first African American president of Harvard Law Review.

Finally his work led him to run for the Illinois State Senate, where he served for 8 years. In 2004 he became the 3rd African American since reconstruction to be elected to the U.S. senate.He became the Illinois State Senate, which meant working with both Democrats and Republicans to help working families get ahead by creating programs like the State Earned Income Tax credit, which in three years provided over one hundred million dollars in tax cuts to families across the state. Now Obama and his wife Michelle are proud parents of two daughters, Sasha and Malia.

Presidential Election Project

With the spotlight on Presidential candidates, now is the time to teach our children about the election process. Every year it seems like fewer people are registering to vote and even though they register, they don’t get out to vote. How many times have you heard “my vote won’t matter”! As we work to educate the future leaders of our country, it is important that we teach them that their votes will count. If students can discover how to learn about the candidates so that they can make an informed decision, they may feel more comfortable with voting. Our first major technology project for this year will focus on the campaign for President and Vice President. Our work will help students to understand things like political speeches, party platforms, and the process of running a major campaign. I hope this work will lead to lots of interesting discussions at home. Obviously, the children will hear about the process because the media is flooded with this information! What a perfect opportunity to teach them how to sift through the information for fact and fiction in order to be better informed.

I look forward to reading their views as they work together to fashion a campaign for the candidate of their choice. Keep watching here in the coming days as their ideas begin to be posted here.