Michael Barile

EDU 624

Professor Tannahill

April 24, 2014

Political Campaign Unit

Grade Level: 10th

Course: Civics

Digital Citizenship Element Addressed: Digital Literacy (The process of teaching and learning about technology and the use of technology). In this unit, along with learning specific social studies content, students will demonstrate an understanding of how to utilize digital resources such as cameras, computers, video editing software and media players to create a digital political campaign ad(s) that represent the views of their assigned political party.

Unit Description: This unit covers the use and effectiveness of political campaign television ads used by political parties to persuade voters in elections. This unit has students identify, examine, analyze and create political campaign advertisements. First, students will learn to identify the various methods and themes used in political campaign television ads. Secondly, students will analyze and evaluate various presidential campaign television ads used throughout American history. Students will analyze and evaluate political campaign television ads created by students in previous school years in order to model the difference between an unsatisfactory and exemplary student campaign ad. Lastly, the unit ends with students creating their own political campaign ads that effectively utilize many of the common strategies and themes seen in modern political ads.

Length of Unit: 2 weeks

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Unit Context: This is a smaller unit that begins after a large unit on the Electoral College system and the role of American political parties. It is the fourth unit of a six unit Civics course. This course focuses on the role and functions of the United States government. The course begins with a unit on the role of government in the world. The second unit focuses on the American Revolution and the foundations of America government. The third unit focuses the Electoral College system and role of political parties. The political campaign unit is followed by two units focused on the different branches of American government.

Prior Knowledge: The unit takes place during the second half of the course. Students have already completed assignments that have required them to use computer programs provided by the school, conduct appropriate research and work collaboratively with peers. Furthermore, students have appropriate background knowledge on this topic because this unit begins immediately after completing of the unit on the U.S. election process and the role of American political parties. With this material fresh in their mind, it is a perfect time to begin this unit on political campaign ads. Lastly, students have the necessary background knowledge for this unit simply by living in today’s digital American society. Students were thirteen and fourteen years old in 2012 and are, therefore, old enough to remember the 2012 presidential election. Every four years, presidential elections become more digital. The 2012 election had debates broadcasted on televisions and YouTube. YouTube users could upload video questions for presidential candidates to be answered on live television. Social media users could also post questions for candidates on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook.

Political campaign commercials are also no longer broadcasted only on television. Candidates now post their short campaign videos on social media and websites on YouTube which can reach millions of users by the end of their campaigns. In 2012, Barack Obama even posted a music video that replaced typical political campaign ads to appeal to younger audiences. This video, titled “Yes We Can”, featured celebrities like John Legend and Scarlet Johansen. Students are old enough to remember these videos and have almost unrestricted access to them via mobile devices like smart phones and tablets.

Rationale: This unit is significant to student learning because teenagers and young adults are a major group that is targeted through the use of digital technology in many of these political ads. Students are also targeted digitally as consumers for the marketing of various consumer products and services. It is important for students to understand how to identify the major themes of marketing persuasion in order to make sound and responsible decisions, whether it is as the role of a consumer or voter. Additionally, this unit is important because it teaches students valuable 21st century technology skills that are required to compete in a modern digital world. This lesson teaches skills such as peer collaboration, video editing, acting, filming, public speaking, script design, and persuasion. These skills are valuable to many career fields, especially marketing.

Differentiation: The final assessment for the unit will require students to create a political campaign ad that demonstrates their knowledge and understanding of the essential unit question and other related objectives. Since students will complete this assignment in groups, there is a variety of tasks and skills required to demonstrate mastery of content. Students will have many choices in how they wish to contribute to their group and demonstrate their learning. Students will also have choices in the type of digital format that they wish to present their learning. Students can choose to create a political campaign video ad, a political campaign radio ad or choose a different format to be approved by the teacher. Students may elect to use school software programs, or use their own technology software to complete the assignment. These

options provide students with choice over how they wish to be assessed and demonstrate their learning.

Materials: Computer, Projector, Screen, Media player software, video editing software, internet access, copies of guided questions, copies of campaign article

Stage 1: Desired Results

Essential Question: How do political parties utilize technology, media and advertising to shape public opinion and persuade voters in political elections?

Unit Outcomes:

1. Students will be able to explain how political parties utilize technology, media and advertising to shape public opinion and persuade voters in political elections. (Content)

2. Students will be able to model a skilled use of video editing software by creating their own political campaign television ads. (Technology)

Focusing Questions: What themes are commonly used in political party ads? How have political campaign ads changed throughout history? What makes an effective political campaign ad? How can video editing make political ads more persuasive?

Lesson Objectives:1. Students will be able to identify major themes commonly used in televised political

campaign advertisements. 2. Students will be to compare and contrast various presidential campaign ads used

throughout American history. 3. Students will be able to develop criteria for evaluating what makes a televised

political advertisement effective. 4. Students will be able to utilize digital resources such as cameras, computers, video

editing software and media players to create a digital political campaign ad(s) that represent the views of their assigned party.

5. Students will be able to persuade an audience to vote for their political party by incorporating the major themes seen in modern political campaign videos into their own campaign video through the use of video editing software.

Social Studies Standards:1. 1.8 (44) - Analyze the role of technology, media and advertising in influencing voting

and law.

2. 2.2 (14) - Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, assessing the stance, premises, links among ideas, word choice, points of emphasis, and tone used.

3. 2.5 (25) - Create relevant visual social studies materials (e.g. maps. Political cartoons, charts, Web pages) to support an essay or oral report.

4. 2.5 (27) - Represent information in various formats, including strategic use of digital media to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.

National Technology Standards:1. 1(A): Promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness2. 1(B): Engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems

using digital tools and resources. 3. 2(A): Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and

resources to promote student learning and creativity.4. 2(C): Customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning

styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources. 5. 3(C): Communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and

peers using a variety of digital age media and formats.

CCSS: Social Studies Writing Standard 8: Conduct short as well as more sustained research to

answer a question (including a self-generated) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

Stage 2: Assessment Evidence:

Ongoing Formative Assessments: I will use the following assessments to continually monitor my students’ progress in meeting short term lesson objectives. Mastery of these objectives is required of students in order to create an effective political campaign ad (Summative Assessment).

TV Marketing Questionnaire (Assessed by class discussion)

Livingroomcandidate.com Political Commercial Analysis with Guiding Questions (Assessed by class discussion/participation and worksheets turned in by students)

Entrance/Exit Slips Campaign Ad analysis of previous students’ commercials (Assessed by class discussion)

“A Brief History of Political Advertising in the USA” Article (Assessed by student answers to questions)

Digital Literacy (Assessed as I circulate around the lab and monitor student interaction with the technology)

Peer evaluation (Assessed with Political Ad Rubric)

Culminating Performance Task (Summative Assessment):

The final assessment for the unit will require students to create a political campaign ad that models mastery of the essential unit questions. Students can choose to create a digital video or radio ad that reflects many of the effective editing techniques used in modern political campaign ads. The ad should convince viewers to vote for their group’s assigned political party. The project will measure students’ ability to meet unit outcomes for both content and technology. (Assessed with Political Ad Rubric)

Stage 3- The Learning Plan/Timeline:

Day 1-2: Introduction to and Analysis of Political Campaign Ads: What themes are commonly used in political party ads? How have political campaign ads changed throughout history?

Objectives: 1. Students will be able to identify major themes commonly used in televised

political campaign advertisements. 2. Students will be to compare and contrast various presidential campaign ads

used throughout American history.

Procedure: 1. Advertisement Questionnaire/Discussion2. Livingroomcandidate.com- Analyze, evaluate and discus common themes seen

in various political campaign ads3. Article: “A Brief History of Political Advertising in the USA” Article

Assessment:1. Class discussion/participation 2. Student responses to article

Day 3: Political Campaign Effectiveness: What makes an effective political campaign ad? How can video editing make political ads more persuasive?

Objectives: 1. Students will be able to develop criteria for evaluating what makes a televised

political advertisement effective.

Procedure: 1. Entry slip- Effective techniques used in political TV ads2. Analyze and Evaluate former student political ads3. Introduce political ad assignment, form groups, planning time

Assessment: 1. Entry slip2. Class discussion

Day 4-7: Political Campaign Ad Creation: How can video editing make political ads more persuasive?

Objective: 1. Students will be able to utilize digital resources such as cameras, computers,

video editing software and media players to create a digital political campaign ad(s) that represent the views of their assigned party.

Procedure: 1. Bring class to computer lab2. Conference with each group to monitor progress 3. Assist students as they act, film and edit using digital technology

Assessment: 1. Group conferences2. Classroom/computer lab circulation, 3. Student interaction with technology

Day 8: Presentations: How do political parties utilize technology, media and advertising to shape public opinion and persuade voters in political elections?

Objective: 1. Students will be able to persuade an audience to vote for their political party by

incorporating the major themes seen in modern political campaign videos into their own campaign video through the use of video editing software.

Procedure: 1. Pass out and explain peer assessment directions2. Play videos3. Class discussion

Assessment:1. Student projects (graded by teacher through use of rubric)2. Peer assessment (critiqued by students through use of rubric)3. Class Discussion

Lesson Plan #1: Introduction to Political Commercials

Guiding Question(s):

1. What themes are commonly used in political party ads?2. How have political campaign ads changed throughout history?

Curriculum Frameworks:

1. 1.8 (44) - Analyze the role of technology, media and advertising in influencing voting and law.

2. 2.2 (14) - Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, assessing the stance, premises, links among ideas, word choice, points of emphasis, and tone used.

Common Core State Standards:

Social Studies Writing Standard 8: Conduct short as well as more sustained research to answer a question (including a self generated) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

National Educational Technology Standards:

1. 1(B): Engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources.

2. 2(C): Customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources.

3. 3(C): Communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital age media and formats

Objectives:

1. Students will be able to indentify major themes commonly used in televised political campaign advertisements.

2. Students will be to compare and contrast various presidential campaign videos used throughout the history of televised American political campaign ads.

Rationale: This is the introductory lesson in a two week unit focusing on how political parties utilize technology, media and advertising to shape public opinion and persuade voters in political elections. This is a great introductory lesson as it will require students to see how political parties have changed throughout history and evaluate the effectiveness of various campaign commercials. This lesson relies heavily on technology in the classroom. It requires the use of websites, the class projector, class computer, and online class page. It also serves as an

introduction to future technology use as the unit culminates with students using personal and school provided technology to create their own political campaign ads through the use of video editing software or podcast systems.

Time Frame: 2 days.

Materials: Computer, LCD Projector, Screen, Handouts, Internet Access

Hook/Initiation:

1. The teacher will provide lesson handouts to each student in the classroom.2. Teacher will lead a discussion in which students have to decide how they would try to

persuade the public to buy a new “mop” if they were in charge of a commercial. 3. Students will provide answer and the teacher will relate the introduction to the class

lesson.

Procedure:

4. The students will read a brief overview of the history and use of televised political advertisements.

5. The teacher will explain the directions for the activity to the students.6. Using livingroomcandidate.com, the teacher will play a series of political advertisements

that relate to specific themes mentioned in the preliminary class discussion.7. As students view the advertisements, they will answer questions on their handouts which

ask them to analyze the message of each ad, and evaluate the effectiveness of each ad on a scoring rubric.

8. At the conclusion of each video series, the teacher will lead a class discussion based on the student’s answers.

9. This process will be repeated at least three more times to focus on other major themes seen in political advertisements.

10. Students will be given an article titled “A Brief History of Political Advertising in the USA” to complete in class and/or homework depending on time.

Assessment strategies: Students’ participation in the class discussion and their ability to answer questions based on the political campaign ads will determine if students are able to identify themes, discern messages, and evaluate the effectiveness of each advertisement. These three tasks progress upward in levels of higher order thinking according to Bloom’s Taxonomy. I think that my students will be able to successfully make this progression from lower to higher level thinking skills throughout the lesson.

Follow-Up Assignment : Students will be asked to go onto the class website to access links to current political advertisements. Students must complete a handout which asks them to complete similar analysis and evaluation used in the class lesson. This assignment will correlate with the reading article given to them at the end of the lesson.

Students in this class all have access to a computer or television. If they experience any sort of technical issues, they may also choose to use school computers before or after school. They will also be given advanced notice of the homework assignment to prepare for any inconvenience or unforeseen technical circumstances.

*This will also serve as an introduction to a long term follow up assignment which will ask students to create their own set of political advertisements. Students will use technology in groups to create a radio or television political advertisement for their candidate.

Differentiation: The lesson is based heavily on discussion requiring little differentiation. Two of my students are strategically seated in the room to assist with vision impairments. One student received guided questions with enlarged text. The lesson also asks students to perform a variety of skills and analysis in order to demonstrate their understanding. Students must analyze images, sounds, words, music, and a variety of other major components in the lesson.

Evaluation: This lesson will be evaluated on the following:

1. Student interest in the material demonstrated by students’ answers and willingness to participate in class discussion.

2. Students ability to identify themes present in various ads.

3. My students’ ability to maturely handle this type of lesson which is in engaging and goes back and forth between discussion and technology.

4. I am also concerned about the technological aspects of the lesson. The lesson relies heavily on the use of internet access and a specific website. I will need to prepare a secondary assignment in a case of technological failure.

Lesson Plan #2: Create Your Own Political Commercial

Guiding Question(s):

1. How can video editing make political ads more persuasive?

Curriculum Frameworks:

1. 2.5 (25) - Create relevant visual social studies materials (e.g. maps. Political cartoons, charts, Web pages) to support an essay or oral report.

2. 2.5 (27) - Represent information in various formats, including strategic use of digital media to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.

Common Core State Standards:

Social Studies Writing Standard 8: Conduct short as well as more sustained research to answer a question (including a self generated) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

National Educational Technology Standards:

1. 1(A): Promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness2. 2(A): Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and

resources to promote student learning and creativity.

Rationale: Last week the class completed a unit on the U.S. election process and the role of political parties. The focus of this lesson is for students to demonstrate effective use of digital technology and knowledge of major themes used in political campaign ads by creating their own political campaign ads. This project will serve as the final assessment for the unit. It is important as it allows me to assess content while also teaching how to use technology to create effective and persuasive media. This time in the computer lab is very important as it gives students the opportunity to collaborate, work on individual tasks and use digital editing software under my supervision and assistance.

Objectives:

1. Students will be able to utilize digital resources such as cameras, computers, video editing software, and media players to create a digital political campaign ad(s) that represent the views of their assigned party.

Time Frame: 3-4 class periods and collaboration time outside of school.

Materials: Computer Access, Internet Access, Video Editing Software

Hook/Initiation:

1. Teacher will ask students to meet with their groups for 5 minutes and discuss what they are going to accomplish by the end of the period. Students will create a plan, assign roles and go to the media center.

Procedure: 2. Students will work in groups in the media center creating their projects.3. Teacher will circulate around the classroom monitoring and assisting students.4. Teacher will meet individually with each group at least once per class period to review

progress and ensure that students are on schedule for the project due date.

Assessment strategies:

1. While circulating the classroom, the teacher will be able to monitor students’ interaction with digital software. If students seem to be struggling with a certain part of the assignment, the teacher will assist students with specific tools and functions. Student use of editing software will determine if they have become digitally literate in the program that they chose to create their ad.

2. The finished product will be assessed with a political campaign rubric on the day of the presentation.

Follow-Up Assignment : The campaign project requires students to work collaboratively inside and outside of school to meet the due date for the assignment. Students will be asked to continue working on their assignments outside of school. They will be given further class time to collaborate with peers in the following class periods.

Differentiation: Students will be able to choose from a variety of tasks to assist their group in creating a quality project. Students will also have choices in the type of digital format that they wish to present their learning. Students can choose to create a political television ad, a political radio ad or choose a different format to be approved by the teacher. Students may elect to use school software programs or use their own technology software to complete the assignment. These options provide students with choice over how they wish to be assessed and demonstrate their learning.

Evaluation: This lesson will be evaluated on the following criteria:

1. Student on-task time and engagement in the computer lab. I will look to see if all members of the group are participating and adding to the project. I will be checking to make sure students utilize the full period given to them to add to their project. If students are not using their time wisely, I may reassess the class time given to them in the following periods.

2. Student interaction with the technology. I will look to see whether or not students are able to effectively use the technology available at school or brought into school to accomplish their

projects. School Wi-Fi is sometimes a concern. Issues such as confusion with software, inability to perform editing tasks, or slow computers may require me to alter future lessons or make changes in how I teach this lesson in future years.

Lesson Plan #3: Video Presentations

Guiding Question(s):

1. How do political parties utilize technology, media and advertising to shape public opinion and persuade voters in political elections?

Curriculum Frameworks:

1. 2.5 (25) - Create relevant visual social studies materials (e.g. maps. Political cartoons, charts, Web pages) to support an essay or oral report.

2. 2.5 (27) - Represent information in various formats, including strategic use of digital media to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.

Common Core State Standards:

Social Studies Writing Standard 8: Conduct short as well as more sustained research to answer a question (including a self generated) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

National Educational Technology Standards:

1. 1(B): Engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources.

2. 2(A): Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity.

3. 3(C): Communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital age media formats.

Rationale: This is the summative assessment which culminates the unit on political campaign commercials. It will show me if students have understood how to use many of common persuasive themes used by modern political parties. It will also provide me with evidence of student competency in digital film creation and editing.

Objectives:

1. Students will be able to persuade an audience to vote for their political party by incorporating the major themes seen in modern political campaign videos into their own campaign video through the use of video editing software.

Time Frame: 1 class period

Materials: Computer, LCD Projector, Screen, DVD and Media Players

Hook/Initiation:

1. Students will be asked to look at the political ad rubrics and discuss with students near them qualities they think are most important for an effective political ad.

Procedure: 2. Teacher will show each group’s political ads to the class.3. Students will use the peer assessment rubric to evaluate each video and draw connections

to real world content. 4. Teacher will lead discussion after each video.

Assessment strategies:

1. The final project will be assessed by the teacher through the use of a rubric provided to students at the beginning of the lesson. The rubric will include categories from the high school visual media rubric and components created by the teacher.

2. Students will also peer evaluate their classmates’ projects through the use of rubrics. These rubrics will ask students to identify some of the major themes seen in each ad and evaluate the effectiveness of each. The teacher will prompt class discussion after each video, drawing connections from the videos to themes seen in actual political campaign commercials seen on the first day of the unit.

Follow-Up Assignment : This is the final day of the unit. The class will begin a new lesson on the following class day.

Differentiation: Students will be presenting their political campaign ads to the class. Therefore little differentiation will be needed on presentation day. The project itself provided a large amount of student choice in how they would be assessed. If students are uncomfortable presenting their ad to the class, they may choose to present to me after school.

Evaluation: This lesson will be evaluated on the following criteria:

1. Quality of student projects. If student ads are well done and include many common themes discussed in class, it will show me mastery of the essential unit questions. It will also show me mastery of video editing technology.

2. Class discussion and peer evaluation. If my students are able to recognize, connect and evaluate key themes from the projects to actual campaign ads, then it will show me mastery of essential unit questions.

3. Legitimacy of videos. Students will have the opportunity to select the content of their videos. I will preview all videos before showing them to the class. While they are allowed to have fun, I

will look to see if videos are serious and realistic, demonstrating their maturity to handle this type of assignment.