In the field of communication studies, an understanding of the relationship between form and genre is essential for mastering both practical skills and theoretical concepts in core courses such as public speaking, communication theory, and rhetorical criticism. Building on scholarship on the visual politics of presidential portraiture, this…

This paper gives instructors of Introduction to American Politics a template for teaching about media bias, using the case of President Trump and his administration. I present material for a combination lecture/discussion, including (1) a framework for evaluating partisan bias in news content, (2) discussion questions that move sequentially from…

Political history lends itself to traditional patterns of teaching and learning in social studies such as students memorizing facts presented in lectures or textbooks. This article presents a recurring activity structure for teaching U.S. political history--Consensus Circle Presidential Rating (CCPR)--which requires students to read across…

The President of prestigious Beacon University is dealing with a nationwide scandal involving its admissions and athletics operations. For years, a network of corrupt admissions consultants, standardized test proctors, and college coaches operated a lucrative underground pipeline into top universities, and it has recently infiltrated Beacon. Under…

Courses: Communication Theory, Nonverbal Communication, Public Speaking. Objective: At the end of this activity, students should be able to define key components of expectancy violations theory and apply the theory to analyze violations that occurred in Clint Eastwood's speech at the 2012 Republican National Convention.

Teaching about presidential elections at the elementary level can seem a bit daunting at times. Students are quick to share their strong opinions on the current candidates running for office. These opinions often involve repeating feelings and phrases shared by parents around the dinner table the night before. For the average seven- or…

Teaching students to understand the importance of audience analysis can be challenging. In fact, many public-speaking texts suggest methods for engaging audience analysis that is not always practical or possible (e.g., polling audiences before you speak to them). One practical way of understanding audience analysis is to see it at work in the text…

Motivating middle school students to learn can be challenging. One proven method for doing so is through an integrated curriculum. Educational philosophers and curriculum theorists have long noted the benefits of an integrated curriculum, which recognizes that the subject areas within the curriculum are connected to one another and to the real…

On April 14, 1865, at approximately 10:20 p.m., John Wilkes Booth, a prominent American actor, sneaked up behind President Abraham Lincoln as he watched a play from the presidential box at Ford's Theater and shot him in the back of the head at point-blank range. Of the 14 doctors who attended to President Lincoln on the night of his assassination,…

History or social studies teachers are constantly striving to make the past come alive for their students and to help them see that not only does the past relate to the present, but it can also give insights into the future. The recent passing of former President Gerald R. Ford provides social studies teachers with just such an opportunity. Ford's…

On October 5, 1957, the headline on the front page of the "Baltimore News-Post" proclaimed "Russ "Moon" Circling Earth." The "Russ" Moon was Sputnik I, launched by the Soviet Union a day earlier. The launch had far-reaching and unexpected outcomes for the United States. Almost immediately, President Dwight…