High schoolers participate in class discussion to investigate how media affects the ideas of Americans (specifically in politics) and then research events in political history to analyze how the media may have influenced the government's...

I love lessons like this because they let kids see the power of art, poetry, and activism in times of social injustice and unrest. They'll analyze the art used by Emory Douglas in the production of the Black Panther newspaper and...

Introduce your class members to propaganda techniques writers and advertisers use to influence their opinions. Each appeal is defined and illustrated with examples from current ads and political campaigns. Additional examples are...

Reclaim forgotten philosophers of the twentieth century. Feminist philosophers have shaped our current concepts of politics and gender, but they are seldom mentioned in the classroom. Change that omission with a lesson plan that includes...

What is advertising? What role does it plan in an election? Middle and high schoolers discuss advertising and its purpose by sifting through different magazines and discussing the products they find. Then they relate advertisements to...

How do transcendentalists believe you must learn about the world? Use this PowerPoint to define transcendentalism and explain reason and intuition. Social, political, and philosophical influences of this time are introduced, and a few...

There may be elements of this lesson that are useful for a unit on Islamic influence in Spain; however, there is little alignment between the learning objectives and the final product --a ten page report. For example, some of the...

Students examine historical works of art and analyze how these paintings could be used for personal, cultural, and/or political purposes. This exploratory lesson on art ideology includes two handouts/worksheets for student use and...

Students explore the economic, political, racial, and religious roots of Manifest Destiny. They read articles and analyze how the concept influenced the nation's westward expansion. Students discover the motivations and expectations of...

This exercise combines learning about colonialism with playing tag. Class members are asked whether a statement involves an economic, religious, political or social factor and then run to the location with the corresponding poster. The...

Students research what analysts say influenced Ohio voters in a Presidential election and discuss what that meant in the election, especially in Ohio. Students use provide Internet sources for research.

Greek Revival architecture and the Civil Rights Movement? Sure! Examine how the Lyceum and Circle, two historic buildings located on the campus of the University of Mississippi, relate to integration and the 1962 riot on the university...

Students gain an understanding of humans need to explore. They create a "journey map" depicting the accomplishments of artistic explorers, and research the influences that caused the artists to embark on these "explorations."

Present facets of Ancient Greek life and politics through direct instruction. Middle schoolers learn about to Greek City States, Sparta, Athenian Democracy and the Peloponnesian War by way of a class lecture. They use their text books to...

Learners read The Plain Dealer editorial about its "non-support" of a candidate and other articles about this and discuss the newspaper's role in the political process. Students then form an editorial board and debate which candidate...

Important for understanding the context of Russia's role in the 20th century, this presentation on the Russian Revolution of 1905 is sure to pique your class' interest as they embark on the world events leading up to World War I. Several...

Learners research the life of an artist to make a comprehensive analysis of works and how they were formed through personal beliefs of the artist. The influence upon culture is the focus of the investigation to be conducted.

Middle schoolers use this connotation and denotation worksheet to develop vocabulary skills. They take notes on the terms, study examples, and choose from pairs of words to find the more positive or negative word choice, as directed....

Students campaign for president. In this presidential election activity, students discuss the process of electing presidents, write their own campaign songs, research a campaign train schedule, and create campaign maps.

High schoolers are introduced to the purpose of public opinion polls. Using recent polls, they determine the demographics of who was interviewed and when and where the interview was conducted. In groups, they develop their own public...

Seventh graders examine the cultural expressions, cultural structures, and basic needs of the ancient Egyptians. They explore Egyptian religion, government, and daily lives of the various classes and how the geographical, social, and...

Students consider the role of environmentalists in the United States. In this political issues lesson, students compare and contrast the evangelical vote in the U.S. with the liberal vote as they read selected articles and watch Moyers...

Students are introduced to the concept of cultural diffusion. In groups, they identify the culture of Mali, Nigeria and Ethiopia and work together to research how cultural diffusion has changed the country. To end the instructional...

High schoolers examine the Eugenics movement in America. They discover the Nazi's belief in racial purity and how it relates to Eugenics. They also analyze how science has been influential in creating public policy.