Target audience, covert message, explicit and implicit appeals. As part of an investigation of rhetorical devices used in campaign ads, class members examine and deconstruct the appeals in logos from...

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...

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...

Where does the money for political campaigns come from? Guide your class with 10 multiple choice questions on money and the election process. There are 5 true/false and 5 multiple choice questions for them to answer. Use as a quiz or for...

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.

Although this political cartoon analysis assignment has your scholars glancing back at the 2008 presidential campaign, its message is relatable anytime. Background information provides context, giving learners access to the cartoon,...

Get on those thinking caps, because your class is going to analyze a political cartoon related to the 2008 presidential elections. Included is a large image of the cartoon, background information, and three guiding questions which can be...

Even before they are driving, your scholars have heard the ups and downs of gas prices. Assess the political turmoil behind rising prices using this analysis handout, which features a political cartoon from 2006. Background information...

Empty rhetoric in Washington timelessly inspires political cartoons. Examine this concept through an analysis handout, which features a cartoon by Pat Oliphant (archived work is linked for possible extension activities). Although this...

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...

Give your upper classmen something to think about. They'll read a New York Times article on the politics of student loans. The six comprehension questions will have them thinking about the impact legislation has on how much they'll pay...

Challenge the future world leaders in your class with this worksheet, which tests their knowledge on the organization of modern political parties. Students can access their prior knowledge of current elections, or notes from your...

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. 

In this sequencing the campaign process worksheet, students arrange the steps of political campaigning in the correct order and write details explaining how to do each step. Students rearrange and write seven short answers.

In this current events worksheet, students analyze a political cartoon about American campaign fundraising and respond to 3 talking point questions.

Congress does more than create new laws. Political scientists delve into the elections of 1796 and 1800 to understand how political parties, the Electoral College, and personal agendas affected the election process. The resource also...

In this current events worksheet, students analyze a political cartoon about campaign finance in America and respond to 3 talking point questions.

In this current events worksheet, students analyze a political cartoon about the 2008 Presidential campaign and respond to 3 talking point questions.

In this current events worksheet, learners analyze a political cartoon about gasoline prices and respond to 3 talking point questions.

Which is more important for a president: experience or charisma? Scholars consider this as they analyze 2 political cartoons in this analysis handout. Background information gives context through a quote from The Telegraph, and 3 talking...

While this New York Times resource posted several months ago it could still be a useful learning experience. Learners practice using the Times's Campaign 2012 Politics section to help them answer 16 questions about the Republican...

Take a step back in time with this political cartoon analysis worksheet, which features editorial cartoons from the 2008 presidential campaign. Background information allows pupils to "read between the lines" in their analysis, and three...

Build critical analysis skills with this cartoon for the classroom. Upper graders answer three critical thinking questions to help them analyze a political cartoon, which depicts how Presidential Candidates are judged and chosen. Put...

Guid your learners as they become informed members of our community. They'll consider each of the seven questions as they read the New York Times article "All Eye on Iowa." This article relates topics dealing with the 2012 presidential...