Graphing the Vote: Age, Gender, and Time

Students will tell the stories behind political graphs by: analyzing graphs about generational voting, asking questions about the sourcing and target audience, and reflecting on patterns in youth voting. This lesson has the potential to promote polarization. See the advice in the lesson plan.

What is a Campaign?

Students analyze historic and contemporary campaign media for messages about purpose, media types and democratic process.

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.

Media Construction of Presidential Campaigns

Related to kit: Media Constructions of Presidential Campaigns

A study of select campaign posters, cartoons, and ads teaches students to critically analyze messages from media source and to understand the role media have played throughout the history of American elections. By Chris Sperry and Sox Sperry, Social Education, November/December 2007.

Media Constructions of Presidential Campaigns

Related to kit: Media Constructions of Presidential Campaigns

The webinar offers high school educators and teachers-in-training pedagogical techniques and free curriculum materials to support a deeper understanding of how to use a wide variety of media forms across the historical spectrum - media from 19th century portraits, songs and handbills, to 21st century websites, twitter and email - to study historical context and to question their credibility.

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.

College Level: 2008 Election Magazine Covers

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 various magazine covers portraying Barack Obama during the 2008 election.

(Not So) Unprecedented Media Analysis of the 2016 Presidential Race and Its Historical Precedents

This article helps teachers to understand how to use media documents from the 2016 presidential race (as well as past campaigns) to critically analyze media messages to teach objectives from the new NCSS C3 Framework for the Social Studies and the Common Core ELA standards for secondary social studies. When students examine election posters, cartoons, and ads they will comprehend that many themes--including xenophobia, income inequality, and women's political power--have been historical mainstays on the campaign trail.

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.

Congressional Blog Posting on Immigration Reform

Students analyze a 2009 Congressional blog post for messages about immigration reform and about target audience. This simple decoding activity has been taken from a larger lesson with many slides titled “The Law of Immigration." To access this lesson, type the title with quotes into the PLS keyword search bar.

How Women Got the Vote: Different Authors, Different Stories

In this media literacy activity students analyze excerpts from two children’s history books for messages about the fight for women’s right to vote.

The Roots of Democracy in the United States: Iroquois or Athens?

In this media literacy activity students analyze two videos for messages about the roots of U.S. democracy with the Native American Iroquois confederacy and historic Athenian democracy as points of reference.

Why Vote?

In this media literacy activity students analyze videos for messages about why voting is important.

Women’s Suffrage: Why the Women’s Vote Was Important Then and Is Now

In this media literacy activity students analyze primary and secondary texts from the 19th to the 21st century for messages about the arguments in favor of women voting.

“One Man One Vote” Poster

Students analyze a voting rights poster for messages about purpose, funding and effects of advocacy media. This simple decoding activity has been taken from a larger lesson with many slides titled “Challenging White Supremacy." To access this lesson, type the title with quotes into the PLS keyword search bar.

Women's Rights Convention Headlines

Students analyze two sets of headlines about 19th century women's rights conventions for conflicting messages about point of view and about priorities for human rights for women and African Americans. This simple decoding activity has been taken from a larger lesson with many slides titled “Hear Our Voices”. To access this lesson, type the title with quotes into the PLS keyword search bar.

"Women Vote in 12 States" Poster

Students analyze a poster for messages about state-by-state campaigning for women's suffrage laws and about pro-suffrage arguments to persuade male voters to vote for women's suffrage. This simple decoding activity has been taken from a larger lesson with many slides titled “Hear Our Voices”. To access this lesson, type the title with quotes into the PLS keyword search bar.

Women Win the Vote and Use It

Students analyze a 1920 League of Women Voters poster for messages encouraging women to exercise their right to vote and about symbols of democratic values. This simple decoding activity has been taken from a larger lesson with many slides titled “Hear Our Voices”. To access this lesson, type the title with quotes into the PLS keyword search bar.

2000 Where is the Salsa? Article

Media literacy and critical thinking activity analyzing a magazine article about candidate appeals to Latino voters for messages about target audience and race.

1972 Photo of Campaign Workers with Brochures

Media literacy and critical thinking activity analyzing a news photo from the 1972 McGovern and Nixon campaigns for messages about reaching voters via street canvassing.