Political Campaign Teacher Resources

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...

Critical thinkers consider how word choice in speeches impacts the meaning and effectiveness of the message being presented. They examine and respond to some of the speeches made at the 2004 Republican and Democratic National Conventions. 

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...

Students employ their technology skills to produce campaign commercials. In this political campaign lesson, students discover the appropriate uses of video cameras and create fictitious campaign commercials.

Fourth graders discover the political career of Sam Houston. In this Texas history lesson, 4th graders research primary resources and create a modern-day version of Sam Houston's political campaign of the 1840s.

It's time to take action! Learners strategize their action campaigns by using the resource and past brainstorming activities from the series that help them pinpoint problems in their communities. They use included templates to get the...

Did you know that in some states your pupils can pre-register to vote? Teach the advantages to pre-registering and engage the classroom in an intriguing discussion about youth voting trends. Class members participates in a live polling...

Students recognize and separate various techniques of propaganda.  In this propaganda lesson, students read a handout about the various types of propaganda and how it is used ina political campaign.

Viewers investigate the case of Citizens United vs. FEC and how some donations changed the game of advertising during a campaign. They examine just how much money some spend in politics to support a candidate during the election process. 

While COVID-19 has changed almost everything about daily life, it's also had a tremendous impact on the 2020 presidential contest. Using video clips featuring political advisors from both sides of the aisle, learners brainstorm what they...

Those who spend the most, win.  Academics read informational text, participate in group discussion, and defend campaign reforms to understand the correlation between money, the First Amendment, and election results. The resource explains...

Voters determine the outcome of elections, but campaign donors can influence the attitudes of those voters. Explore nine examples of donors and the amounts of money they want to contribute, and the legal ways the groups can or cannot...

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...

Just how true is the information contained in political ads? Determining the veracity of campaign ads from the 2008 presidential race is the focus of a lesson that introduces class members to several fact-checking resources.

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...

Is there a way to determine a winner of a political debate? Use a helpful rubric to evaluate the issues, specificity, evidence, reasoning, and delivery of candidates in a debate. After assessing each person's performance, high schoolers...

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...

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. 

What were political machines and whom did they serve? As part of a study of US immigration patterns and how these patterns influenced politics, groups investigate how Tammany Hall and other political machines gained support from voters.

In the time of a hotly contested presidential election, campaign ads are almost ubiquitous—but what makes them good? Using ads from the 2018 midterm elections, learners consider the various strategies candidates use to get the vote....

The two major parties polarize many in America today, but it doesn't have to be that way in the classroom! Teach learners about political party platforms and modern campaigns with a mock political convention. After watching a PowerPoint...

How do the presidential debates of 2016 compare to the debates from the 1980's? What about the 1960's? Evaluate a chosen candidate or issue from the 20th and 21st centuries with a lesson plan focused on political debates. Middle and high...

Money talks! And it can reveal a lot about political candidates. An 11-slide presentation examines how candidates raise and spend money on an election. The slides, using data from the 2016 Presidential election, reveal how much it costs...

An interesting lesson plan uses a hands-on-activity and group discussion to explore the 1864 presidential election and Lincoln's plans for ending the Civil War. Designed for high school, the resource also requires historians to...