UbD Lesson Plan Outline:

Names: Christian DAnnibale, Amanda Skinkis, and Jonathan DiSalle

Lesson Title: Presidential Campaigns and the Media
Content Areas: Social Studies
Grade Level: 8th
Stage I: Identify Desired Results
1) Enduring Understandings - Mass media has a powerful influence over government
and the selection of political leaders.
2) Essential Questions - How does the media influence Presidential campaigns and
elections?
3) Standards - Standard 5.3.8.H Describe the influence of mass media on
government.
Standard - 3.4.8.C2 Explore the design process as a collaborative endeavor in which
each person in the group presents his or her ideas in an open forum.
4) Behavioral Objectives
Students will be able to:
1) Describe the influence of mass media on campaigns.
2) Compare a media sources reporting on a variety of candidates.
Stage II: Determine Acceptable Evidence
1) Informal Assessment: As a class, watch & evaluate two opposing ad campaign
commercials or short videos (group discussion). Plickers surveys for quick feedback.
Individually, students will use classroom computers/iPads and research candidates on
major media sources and re-group for additional group discussion on findings.
2) Formal Assessments: Students will write a formal essay on the role that the media
plays on election campaigns, as well as a small group project where students will create
their own campaign commercial.

STAGE III: Plan Learning Experiences and Instruction

1)
Materials: SmartBoard projector, Inspiration program, Classroom computers with
Imovie/Animoto access
2) Procedures
Step 1) Anticipatory Set
T: Present first campaign ads for Hillary Clinton on SmartBoard
Pro Hillary https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=NdKsA4q-FFA&nohtml5=False
T: Have students write 3 positive ideas they got about Hillary after watching the
advertisement.
S: Write down their answers to discussion question. Discuss impressions from
the ad. How do they feel about Hillary as a suitable candidate for president? Students
respond to a Plickers (plickers.com) survey of 3 questions: Whether you like Hillary or
not, did this advertisement seem effectively persuasive? (1-Not effective; 2-somewhat

effective; 3 effective; 4 very effective); Did this advertisement make you feel as though
Hillary is the best choice for President? (1-absolutely not; 2-not so sure; 3-somewhat; 4absolutely); Which option is typically more effective for persuading you to make a
choice? (1-informational articles; 2-speeches from candidates; 3-debates; 4-multimedia
videos)
T: Show second anti Hillary campaign ad on SmartBoard
Anti Hillary
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2015/04/14/america_rising_p
ac_releases_anti-hillary_supercut_is_she_trustworthy.html
S: Have students opinions about Hillary changed? Do they think she would be a
suitable president? Students respond to a Plickers survey of 3 questions: Did this as
seem effectively persuasive? (1-Not effective; 2-somewhat effective; 3 effective; 4 very
effective) Do you think Hillary is the best choice for President? (1-absolutely not; 2-not
so sure; 3-somewhat; 4-absolutely) Which option is typically more effective for
persuading you to make a choice? (1-informational articles; 2-speeches from
candidates; 3-debates; 4-multimedia videos)
T: Display graphical results from Plickers on the SmartBoard
S: Discuss changes in results. Are political advertisements effective in swaying
opinions of candidates?
Step 2) Acquisition Prezi presentation on different types of media.
T: Prezi with slides discussing previous 2012 election
Overview of different types of media and how
they can support different political parties
Example from Fox News from 2012
Example from New York Times from 2012
Video from news sources after the the election
has been decided
Step 3) Students instructed to use classroom computers to do a search of how different
media outlets portray different candidates for the 2016 election. Students are given
directions to search two or more of the following websites to look for differences in
portrayal of similar stories:
FoxNews, CNN, CNBC, New York Times, Huffington Post
S: Students take notes on different media sources and find 4 examples, 2
supporting Republicans, 2 supporting Democrats
Step 4) Group discussion with student ideas recorded using Inspiration displayed on the
SmartBoard to create a comparison chart

T: Ask students to share what they have found regarding different news outlets.
Students are asked to come to the SmartBoard to map their ideas onto an Inspiration
chart
S: Students share what they have found, they are able to see on the Inspiration
chart which ideas get the most support.
T: Final Plickers survey:
Which media source did you find to be most persuasive? (1.FoxNews, 2. CNN,
3.CNBC, 4. New York Times, 5.Huffington Post) Which source did you find to be most
believable? (1.FoxNews, 2. CNN, 3.CNBC, 4. New York Times, 5.Huffington Post)
Which source was more on the attack compared to others? (1.FoxNews, 2. CNN,
3.CNBC, 4. New York Times, 5.Huffington Post)
T: Display results from survey on SmartBoard.
S: Discuss thoughts and opinions on results of the survey. Overall all thoughts on
the differences between different media outlets.
3) Closure:
T: What features made sources effective? (Anticipated answers: interactive websites
with comments, social media, etc.; in your face photos; videos; cool backgrounds; etc.)
S: Have the students write their answers and then share out as a class.
T: What was most effective in persuading you, the consumer? The videos? Photos?
Font? Actual information in the writing? The headlines? The first paragraph? Quotes?
S: Have students write their answers and then share out as a class.
T: Based on your experiences both in your personal life and during this class, answer
the essential question: How does the media influence Presidential campaigns and
elections? Write at least 1 paragraph using at least 3 ideas/evidence from class.
4) If time activity:
Students can form small groups and begin working on their own ad campaign for
a presidential candidate. Students will be instructed to use Imovie or Animoto. They
will also have to determine on which news network their ad would be shown to be seen
by a supportive audience. Students will use each group members EQ paragraph to
outline their groups formal essay.