Kamala Harris & Donald Trump Video Biographies

Students analyze Donald Trump and Kamala Harris film biographies for messages about presidential leadership, media creation, and how political bias shapes media interpretation.

High School US History: 1800 Anti-Jefferson Political Cartoon

Related to kit: Media Constructions of Presidential Campaigns

An example of leading a class through a constructivist media decoding using a lesson from our kit, Media Construction of Presidential Campaigns. Students in this video decode political cartoons against Thomas Jefferson.

How Big is the Crowd? Proportional Reasoning and Critical Thinking

Students use mathematical reasoning to evaluate claims about crowd size for President Trump’s 2016 inauguration, and reflect on confirmation bias when assessing truth claims in the media.

To Break the Glass Ceiling: Analyzing Campaign Ads by Women Running for President

Students analyze political campaign ads for messages about female presidential candidates, historical and cultural context, and techniques of persuasion.

Media Constructions of the Signing of the Declaration of Independence

Students analyze diverse media forms related to John Trumbull’s famous painting of the signing of the Declaration of Independence for messages about the event, the credibility and qualities of different media forms, and about American history.

The History of Cigarette Commercials: Issues of Persuasion and Regulation

Students analyze 3 TV commercials and a PSA for cigarettes from the 1950s-1960s to assess marketing techniques, health messages and gender stereotypes, and then read about and discuss the 1970 congressional ban on cigarette advertising on television.

Picturing the Underground Railroad: Historical Context Through Book Covers

Students analyze three book covers to understand historical context, to reflect on how identity impacts interpretation, and to discuss the role of media makers in crafting historical representations.

Storming the Capitol: Front Page Constructions

In this media literacy activity students analyze newspaper front pages for messages about media representation of the storming of the Capitol.

Comic Superheroes and Historical Context

Students analyze comic book covers for messages about historical context and book cover design techniques.

Hear Our Voices

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson using diverse media imagery to teach about the history of the women's suffrage movement in the United States.

Which Side Are You On?

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson using diverse media imagery to teach about the history of the U.S. labor movement between Reconstruction and World War One.

Challenging White Supremacy

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson using diverse media imagery to teach about the history of the black freedom/civil rights movement in the United States.

Claiming Feminist Identities

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson using diverse media imagery to teach about the history of the late 20th century women's liberation movement in the U.S.

The Law of Immigration

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson using diverse media imagery to teach about the history of immigration reform debates in the U.S since the early 20th century.

Out and Affirmed

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson using diverse media imagery to teach about the history of the gay liberation movement in the U.S.

Prisons- Justice or Injustice

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson using diverse media imagery to teach about the prison justice movement from the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

Questioning Manifest Destiny

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson using diverse media imagery to teach about efforts to oppose manifest destiny during the Indian Wars, Mexican War and Philippine-American War.

Peace or Liberty?

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson using diverse media imagery to teach about the history of antiwar movements during World War One.

For Peace or Against Oppression?

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson using diverse media imagery to teach about the history of antiwar movements during the World War Two period.

A History of Global Warming in Science, Politics, and the Media

Media literacy and critical thinking unit using diverse media imagery to teach about how global warming has been perceived by people in the U.S. and how the media has constructed that public perception.