The political and economic climate during the 1930's was uncertain and tumultuous. But Americans' minds and hearts were eased with the reassuring words of their president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and addresses over the radio. High...

I Have A Dream ... that after the lesson, all individuals master the reading, writing, researching, listening, and speaking skills the biography project helps them develop. Martin Luther King, Jr. serves as a topic example for a model...

Want to teach your pupils about debate, effective speech techniques, propaganda, and the women's movement? The first in a sequential series of three, scholars analyze real propaganda images from the the historic women's movement, view a...

Analyze advertising techniques in order to pinpoint persuasive strategies that writers use. These same techniques are then examined in persuasive speeches. You will have to find your own advertisements, but speeches are included. Finish...

"Board Game Helps Fight Real World Ebola," a video produced by Voice of America, provides the text for a guided instructional activity that asks viewers to analyze the propaganda techniques used in the video. Groups then select a example...

Campaign propaganda has evolved from 1952 through the presidential election of 2008. A social studies activity prompts class members to analyze the devices used in ads and political cartoons, noting strategies they believe would work to...

Learning to craft quality questions is a skill that can be taught. Class members use the Question Formulation Technique to learn how to create and refine both closed-ended and open-ended questions. They then view West of the West's...

The question of how to balance Fourth Amendment Rights with national security concerns becomes critical in an age of planned terrorist attacks, election interference, and fake news. Get young social scientists involved in the debate with...

The power of a picture. During the events surrounding World War I, propaganda posters were widely distributed in American society to sway the emotions of its citizens. By analyzing World War I propaganda posters in the first installment...

Critically analyze advertising techniques, such as circular reasoning, bandwagon, testimonial, and repetition, with worksheets that effectively discuss and illustrate how the media aims to influence.

What does it take to create news stories that are both informative and objective? Aspiring journalists walk the line between engagement and activism with lesson 15 of a 16-part series titled The Social Media Toolbox. Grouped pupils...

Students study techniques for conducting a local environmental assessment in an ecologically sensitive area. Identification of native plants and methodologies for sampling is taught in the classroom and then reinforced in the field. The...

Should organized prayer be prohibited at high school sporting events? Learners explore their own feelings about prayer in school-sponsored events, before discussing the recent Supreme Court decision banning public prayer at high school...

Students study wildlife management as it relates to ecological principles and whole systems. They role play professional ecologists working for the fish and wildlife service to develop a plan to manage a new wildlife refuge along the Rio...

Ninth graders compare and contrast various writing styles and distinguish technical writing from other writing techniques. They assess personal knowledge regarding earthquakes and earthquake preparedness.

Students analyze how transportation influenced the development of Stillwater, Minnesota, They use the same techniques to analyze the impact of transportation on the origination and development of their own community.

What is the root of the conflict between ranchers and environmentalists? Middle schoolers write their impressions of what an environmentalist is and does. They read the New York Times article "In New Wild West, It's Cowboys vs....

Students analyze the natural disater threat and potential mitigation techniques of their (parents?) home. They apply classroom knowledge to students, non-academic daily life. Students recongize how earth processes specifically affect...

Ninth graders publish a magazine during a ten week marking period. They make individual contributions to the group project that is based on career choices. They write and publish articles, poems, entertainment pieces, and a play that...

Students conduct research, using a variety of resources, about their favorite painter and painting. They critique the famous painters work and write a multimedia presentation that showcases his/her work. They paint an original work of...

Students examine the elements of a persuasive speech and brainstorm topics related to school that they think should be changed. They compose and deliver a three to five minute persuasive speech to their classmates using the key...

Young learners today are bombarded by media manipulation. Help them develop the skills they will need to become savvy 21st century media consumers with a unit on media literacy.

Experiment with multimedia storytelling. After watching a segment of American Family, first, middle and high schoolers tell a story about their families, clarifying the setting, characters, and script. They work on setting...

Students explore persuasive writing in advertisements. In this advertisements instructional activity, students evaluate tobacco advertisements for persuasion techniques. Students then create a counter advertisement against smoking.