The verbal techniques and emotional appeals contained in the language used in political ads plays a vital role in creating the impact of the ad. As class members continue their study of Presidential campaign commercials from 1952–2012,...

Political ads are designed to play on viewers' emotions. The focus of this resource is on ads that feature children, either to establish the candidate as family friendly, or to create fear for children in the minds of viewers. Groups...

How do advertisements evoke specific thoughts and feelings? Class members find out through the exploration of the Internet, videos, television, magazines, radio, and posters. Learners investigate commercial advertisements, political...

Imagine a lesson that models for learners how to separate facts from opinions. How to detect bias. How to evaluate a source of information. How to identify propaganda. Although designed for middle schoolers, the activities in this packet...

As an introduction to a series of related resources that examine political advertising and commercials from 1952-2012, class members use the provided rubric to analyze and rate the effectiveness of the emotion, persuasion, factual...

Campaign ads target both timely issues and general themes. Presidential campaign ads from 1952 and 1988 provide class members an opportunity to compare how the topics ads choose to address can dramatically influence election outcomes.

Political ads as primary source documents? But of course. Viewers analyze the strategies involved in the Republican Party's 1984 advertisement in support of Ronald Reagan's reelection. 

How do interest groups try to influence elections? As part of their study of the election process, groups view 30-second advertisements produced by advocacy groups and use the provided worksheet to evaluate these ads. They then craft...

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...

Class members investigate the role media should play in a healthy democracy. As part of this study, groups analyze political advertising, use FactCheck to assess not only the veracity of but the persuasions techniques used in candidates'...

In this symbolism worksheet, students analyze political cartoons about political campaign attack ads. Students then respond to 5 short answer questions.

Students read about the history of negative political advertisements in U.S. elections. In this politics lesson, students view several ads for opposing candidates and analyze and discuss the content. Students write scripts for candidates...

It's all about the spin! In an introduction to propaganda techniques and soundbite politics, scholars first learn about common propaganda techniques before seeing them in action in the context of the 2016 election cycle. Activities...

To gain an understanding of how images and sounds are used to influence viewers, class members analyze these features in Presidential campaign commercials from 1952-2012.

Kids take a good look at what the Internet has done to "old media" industries, such as newspapers, magazines, and books. They analyze the editorial comments made in a political cartoon and answer three critical thinking questions related...

Students study the effects of advertising on the music industry.

Students observe a political advertisement and evaluate the views promoted in the ad. After exploring governmental policies, students create their own 30-second ad to promote a specified cause and publicize their views. Students share...

Young scholars analyze the lyrics from a Pearl Jam song and examine the concept of truth in political advertising. They watch the video, "VH1 Storytellers: Pearl Jam," participate in a class discussion, conduct research, and prepare a...

What does social security reveal about the political and social culture of the 1930s? After beginning with a brief introductory video on the impact of the Great Depression and how various Americans, such as Huey Long and Francis...

Students analyze the media products and advertising techniques used in political campaigns. For this elections lesson, students view political debates and then work in groups to find examples of types of advertising techniques used in...

What is happening to print media? Use this political cartoon analysis handout to facilitate pupil exploration of the online-media takeover and the decline of newspapers. Background information gives them context, and 3 talking points...

In this current events activity, learners analyze political cartoons that feature literary allusion and pop culture. Students respond to 2 talking point questions.

Students examine how political advertisements can be misleading. Using a political ad against tax reform, students generate questions based on the claims in the ads. They research information to support or refute the claims in the ad and...

Few aspects of life make better fodder for a comedic play than politics. A study guide introduces George Bernard's Shaw comedy Arms and the Man. Along with summaries of each scene and brief biographies of the main characters, two lesson...