Curated OER
The Mass Media and Politics
What effect do the prevalence of televisions in homes have on the American political stage? Challenge your students to consider this idea with these ten questions, both true/false and multiple choice. You could use this worksheet as a...
Curated OER
Technology and the Media
Students are introduced to the roles and influence of technology and the media on American representative democracy. They examine the effects of the Internet on citizens' role in government and the role and effects of media on the...
Theodore Roosevelt Association
Interpreting the Past; Assessing Its Impact on the Present
Even though the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt ended over 100 years ago, we can still learn something from his stances and policies that is applicable today. Class members first look over a list of prevalent political issues from the...
Curated OER
Campaign! The Election Simulation Game
Learners simulate the election process with one group acting as politicians and others acting as the constituency with concerns specific to their assigned area of the country. They give speeches, take polls, and elect a leader based on...
Curated OER
The Media
Learners identify various forms of media used in a political campaign and compare the different formats as vehicles for distributing political messages. They analyze the effectiveness of candidate's uses of different media.
Curated OER
Behind the Ad: The Process of Producing a Political Commerical
Young scholars examine how advertisements are produced for political campaigns. In groups, they view various examples of different advertisements and create their own ad by completing the steps listed in the lesson plan. They share...
National Endowment for the Humanities
The 1828 Campaign of Andrew Jackson and the Growth of Party Politics
High schoolers analyze changes in voter participation and regional power, and review archival campaign documents reflecting the dawn of politics as we know it during the critical years from 1824 to 1832. Students utilize worksheets and...
Curated OER
Cartoons for the Classroom: Unconventional Approach
In this current events worksheet, students analyze political cartoons that feature campaign information. Students collect political cartoons from their own newspapers and respond to discussion questions.
Curated OER
Cartoons for the Classroom: Fat Cats Living off the High Hog
In this current events worksheet, students analyze a political cartoon that uses an idiom to convey its meaning. Students respond to 4 talking point questions.
Curated OER
Funding a Way to the Top
Review economic vocabulary, presidential election campaigns, and current campaign budgets (2004). Your class will determine how they feel about the amount of money spent on presidential campaigns, they will read an informational article,...
C-SPAN
The Impact of Citizens United v. FEC
What began as an effort to show a movie by an interest group has impacted financing of federal elections. Did the Citizens United case lead to more "dark money" in politics, or did it shine a light with more speech? Using video clips...
Curated OER
Election of 1864
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...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Winner-Take-All: The Two-Party System
Two's company, three's a crowd. High school historians learn about the Electoral College, a two-party, winner-take-all voting system in the United States. The lesson explains the pros and cons of the two-party system, roadblocks for...
Curated OER
Napoleon!
Present the life and times of Napoleon to your World History class. This is a very complete slide-show that high-lights the key events, players, and politics that lead to the rise and fall of Napoleon Bonaparte. There are many rich and...
Curated OER
Propaganda
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...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Becoming US President
It's that time of year, and the year. Once again the race is on for the White House. It's important that young voters, and would-be voters, understand the process for becoming the United States President. Class members research the...
Curated OER
Campaign Posters 1788-1816
Seventh graders examine the first years of the U.S. under the U.S. Constitution. They identify the main themes of the Federalist and Republican parties, conduct research, and write a campaign speech and create a campaign poster.
Curated OER
Reading Comprehension Volume 5, Number 11 : Campaign Finance Reform
In this reading comprehension learning exercise, students read a text about campaign finance reform. Students fill in the missing words with choices from a word bank.
Curated OER
Civil Service Reform: Campaign Contributions
Students investigate the campaign contribution scandal in Illinois during the 1990s. They listen to a teacher-led discussion, answer discussion questions, compare/contrast two reform acts, and write their own civil service law.
Curated OER
Social Studies: Campaign Finance Reform
Students develop arguments for and against campaign finance reform, examine federal and state laws that attempt to limit contributions to political candidates, evaluate various plans for campaign finance reform and formulate their own...
Curated OER
What is a Democracy?
Students identify what makes a country democratic and compare United States and Indian political party symbols. They create their own political party and party symbol. They create a campaign speech, participate in the voting process...
Curated OER
Cartoons for the Classroom: Learning to Interpret a Convention
In this current events worksheet, students analyze political cartoons about political conventions. Students respond to 4 talking point questions.
Curated OER
Cartoons for the Classroom: Charisma vs. Experience
In this current events worksheet, students analyze a political cartoon about the 2008 Presidential election and respond to 3 talking point questions.
Curated OER
Cartoons for the Classroom: Primary Targets
In this current events activity, students analyze a political cartoon about primary elections and respond to 3 short answer questions.