Sociology & You

Chapter 13: Political and Economic Institutions

Web Activity Lesson Plans

"Politics and the Media"

Introduction
In this chapter, students learned about various political and economic institutions around the world and about political power in American society. Like all other democracies today, the United States emphasizes political power through voting. Most attitudes and beliefs that are expressed as political opinions are gained through a learning process called political socialization. The major agents of this include the family, the mass media, and a person's level of education, economic status and occupation, and age and gender. Television is the leading source of political and public affairs information for most people. In this activity students will take a closer look at the role of the television media in elections.

Lesson Description
Students will visit a few Web sites about the role of the media in elections to learn more about the relationship between candidates, the public, and the mass media. Students will design a campaign strategy for themselves as a candidate for governor of their state.

Instructional Objectives

1. Students will be able to explain the reasons behind the popularity of television as a political tool.
2. Students will be able to identify the various types of advertising used by political candidates.
3. Students will be able to design an effective campaign strategy.