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Small Whale · Reading worksheet

1988 United States presidential election

High school (ages 12+)
People & Society

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/1988-united-states-presidential-election

Step 2 · Questions

1. What is the election date?
2. What is the republican vice presidential nominee?
3. Who won the 1988 U.S. presidential election?
4. Why was the 1988 election called an "open seat" election?

Step 3 · Words to know

Write what each word means, using the article.

Open Seat Election
Landslide Victory
Demographics

Step 4 · Two facts in your own words

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

1.

2.

Answer key (teacher copy)

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the election date?November 8, 1988
2. What is the republican vice presidential nominee?Dan Quayle
3. Who won the 1988 U.S. presidential election?George H. W. Bush and his running mate Dan Quayle won the election.
4. Why was the 1988 election called an "open seat" election?It was called an open seat election because President Ronald Reagan could not run again, so no incumbent president was running.

Open Seat Election: An election where the incumbent officeholder is not running, creating a vacancy.
Landslide Victory: An election result where one candidate wins by a very large margin.
Demographics: Statistical data relating to the population and particular groups within it.