Are there differences in the brains of liberals and conservatives? That is the question young political scientists are challenged to answer. Class members examine studies, consider how the results are presented, and how the studies were...

Dive into the political breach with pupils and explore the reasons for political polarization. Using clips from C-SPAN that include discussions from reporters and scholars, class members consider what is causing the political fault lines...

Help young people become excited to participate in politics. High school historians participate in an engaging lesson focused on ways for youth to become involved in government. Scholars review articles, videos, and essential vocabulary...

As part of their study of the women's suffrage movement, groups analyze political cartoons and drawings. They create a caption for an image from the time, add an exhibit label that provides a context for their drawing, and post as part...

Readers decode and deconstruct political cartoons to heighten critical thinking, extra-textual literacy, and making meaning from symbolism and metaphor. A compatible activity to use in English class when your 8th or 11th graders are...

Examine historical perspectives through the use of political cartoons. Learners complete analysis activities related to the president's title, the establishment of the national bank, and the Jay Treaty.

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...

Every political system has advantages and disadvantages. To gain an understanding of these differences, groups investigate the political system of another country—oligarchy, monarchy, dictatorship, parliamentary—and prepare a...

What makes a cartoon political? The lesson plan provides learners with political cartoons and teaches how to analyze them using a five-step process. Scholars also complete a hands-on activity and participate in group discussions to...

What defines a woman as empowered, and how does this definition compare to the ideas and actions of a group of Muslim women in Syria? After watching a series of video clips from a documentary film about a school for girls in Damascus,...

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,...

Explore communication by completing argument related worksheets. Learners discuss appropriate ways to communicate with someone they are having a disagreement with and what techniques are not polite. Students read example arguments and...

Discuss how political postcards affected everyday people's thoughts and beliefs. Pupils continue a unit on the Dreyfus Affair as they engage in class discussion, watch a video, view a PowerPoint presentation, and fill out worksheets to...

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...

Discover the five main elements political cartoonists use—symbolism, captioning and labels, analogy, irony, and exaggeration—to convey their point of view.

Vote, it's your civic duty! The high school lesson focuses on voter turnout and civic participation with a series of activities. Young scholars analyze data to discover voter turnout trends, complete worksheets, and participate in group...

Have you ever listened to a song that had a deeper political meaning to it? Every examined a work of art with layers of meaning? Pupils analyze the drawings of Arthur Szyk. They research the deeper meaning of several artistic cartoons...

While numbers don't lie, the reliability of information in a poll may be difficult to discern. After viewing video clips with polling experts, young scholars consider how polls work and the elements of a reliable poll. Extension...

The emergent adults in your US Government class can become informed, self-aware voters. This activity enables them to form an opinion about particular political issues then identify themselves on the political spectrum. Informed and...

Though outdated (the presentation names members of the Bush Administration as current political leaders), these slides could be useful to an industrious teacher who is willing to update the information in the Executive, Judicial, and...

High schoolers explore the interactions between Kentucky Governor Bert Combs and President Kennedy. They examine JFK's interest in Kentucky politics and construct history through Governor Bert Comb's interview.

Have new or soon-to-be voters examine different political parties and their platforms as they figure out which one aligns most with their beliefs. After taking a few online quizzes, learners split into pairs to discuss and then...

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.

Learners determine their perspective on women's empowerment and then compare it to how it is seen in Syria. They watch four documentary clips, discuss what they've seen, and answer two short essay questions. Excellent resource links and...