![](https://argumentcenterededucation.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/GameChange02A-800x300.jpg)
‘Game Change,’ Presidential Politics, and the Use of Guided Reflection Questioning
As part of our work with schools to take an argument-centered approach to the election season and the civics and history implications it has we are working with a partner high school on a unit on the definitive account of the 2008 campaign cycle and the election of Barack Obama, Game Change, by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin.
The primary issue that our argument-centered unit revolves around is:
What is the most important factor in being elected President in modern American politics?
We have had students read selected chapters from this college-level journalistic document. Then, they’ve worked in pairs and in groups to respond to and discuss a series of what we call Guided Reflection Questions. These are examples of organizing content instruction around argument: the questions all in some way or another connect to the issue at the heart of the unit: what are the most important factors in winning the modern American presidency?
![Download the full Chapter 3 Guided Reflections Questions on 'Game Change' (2012).](http://argumentcenterededucation.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/GameChangeCh3GuidedReflectionImage16.10.17-1-232x300.jpg)
![Download the full Chapter 6 Guided Reflection Questions on 'Game Change' (2012).](http://argumentcenterededucation.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/GameChangeCh6GuidedReflectionImage16.10.17-232x300.jpg)
We also have used clips from the “Game Change” HBO film version, directed by Jay Roach and released in 2012.
![Click here to download the "Game Change" film clips and Guided Reflection Questions on the film.](http://argumentcenterededucation.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/GameChangeFilmClipsQuestionsImage16.10.17-232x300.jpg)
Ultimately, students generate evidence-based arguments based on their deepened knowledge of the 2008 election of the first African-American president in American history, an election that ushered in a new kind of media-created candidate, according to Game Change. These arguments advance students’ assimilation of skills and knowledge related to the politics and civics of our current age.