Revolutionary Propaganda

Summary

This activity is used as an introduction to the Revolutionary War in an 8th Grade U.S. History class. In this lesson the concept of propaganda is defined and used to make connections to the reasons Americans have gone to war.

Materials

You will need a computer to project the PowerPoint provided. The Instructions for the activity are also provided.

Background for Teachers

You may want to preview the Powerpoint and browse more of the visuals found in the websites provided. World War II was chosen because of the abundance of material available for the concept of Propaganda. You could chose any type of propaganda to use as an example for this lesson activity.

Student Prior Knowledge

Students should have adequate knowledge of the events leading up to the Revolutionary War. Specific concepts include: Tax Acts, Sons of Liberty and other protest groups, Boston Tea Party, Continental Congress, and the Declaration of Independence.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Students will understand the role propaganda plays in creating support for war. Students will also review events leading up to the Revolutionary War through the completion of a Propaganda poster.

Instructional Procedures

1) Questions will be asked on how support for war is gained. 2) Take time to define the concept of propaganda. 3) The teacher will take time to show the students examples of propaganda used to gain support during WWII. Make sure you highlight the following while presenting: What specific thing were they trying to gain support for? What event or figure did they use? How did the poster use color and images? 4) After showing and discussing the propaganda from WWII hand out the Revolutionary War Activity and go over the project with the students. You might want to provide an example to model for the students. 5)Provide the rubric for the students and discuss a due date.

Strategies for Diverse Learners

For advanced students you can add a challenge to this project by having them write a reflection paper to go along with the activity. Special needs can be accomadated by provided a simplified rubric.

Assessment Plan

The student propaganda poster will be assessed by the rubric provided.