The Role of the Media

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Overview

In this lesson students will read newspaper archives and determine how the news media have influenced legislation.

 

Grade Levels

9 – 12

 

Objective

Students will:

• explain the role of the media in government.

Estimated Time

45 minutes

 

Materials Needed

• E-Learning Module: How a Member Decides to Vote
• Internet connection with Macromedia FLASH ® enabled
• Projection device
• Paper and pencil

Procedure

1. Use a projection device to project the How a Member Decides to Vote E-Learning Module. Complete the activity as a class.
2. Discuss how students reacted to the news flashes during the activity.
3. Ask students to explain how they would find out about political events without newspapers, radios, televisions, or the Internet. Have students describe how they would form their political opinions without media.
4. Explain to students that most people rely on the media to get information about political events. People often base their political judgments and actions on this information.
5. Tell students that many people aren’t very critical of the media. But critics say that the people in charge of the media have too much power to mold citizens’ perspectives on politics.
6. Discuss whether or not students feel the media has too much influence.
7. Tell students to choose one event below. Have students conduct a search on the Internet, or go to the local library and read newspaper and magazine archives of articles and editorials that were published during the time of their chosen event. Ask students to write about how the media influenced government’s actions during that time.
   • Watergate
   • Iran-Contra Affair
   • Impeachment of President Bill Clinton
   • September 11, 2001

Adaptation Activity

Individualizing the Curriculum

Ask advanced students to create a time line that shows how technology has changed the media throughout the years — e.g., newspapers, radio, TV, the Internet. Tell students to write a paper that discusses how each of these changes in the media affected politics. For example, students may discuss how televised political debates changed the way Americans perceived political candidates.

 

Assessment

Basic Concepts and Processes

Ask your students to respond to the following request for information and assess their knowledge of key concepts taught in this lesson.

1. Describe the role of media in government.

Scoring Guide For Paper about the Media’s Influence

The following rubric was designed to help you assign grades to students for the writing activity.

Elements	Possible Score	Assigned Score	Notes
Good Spelling	10
Good Grammar	10
Good beginning, middle, and end	10
Describes the political or historical event	35
Explains how the media influenced legislation during that time	35

 

Lesson Plan Feedback

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