Students will learn about the most memorable moment from the 2004 Democratic Convention: the keynote speech delivered by a little known U.S. Senate candidate from Illinois named Barack Obama. The keynote speech of a political convention draws millions of viewers and has the ability to launch or sink political careers. Barack Obama wrote and delivered a speech that many political analysts believe propelled him to the Presidency four years later. This lesson examines not only Obama’s speech, but other examples of American oratory to demonstrate the importance of the spoken word in setting the direction of the country.
Andrew McGill
Posted inLesson Plan
Lesson Plan: Fire Safety and Chemicals in Our Clothing
Students will analyze how the chemical and physical properties of a substance affect its potential applications in our industrialized society.
Posted inCivics and Government
Lesson Plan: E.Coli: Thinking Proactively, Not Reactively
Students will learn how human-made catastrophes can help to shape federal policy on food safety.
Posted inCivics and Government
Lesson Plan: Why Waco is Still a Battleground in the Second Amendment Debate
Students will learn how the federal government’s botched raid on the compound of the Branch Davidian religious sect in 1993 led to decades of controversy over Second Amendment rights.
Posted inCivics and Government
Lesson Plan: Lessons From Columbine About School Shootings and Misinformation
Students will assess how a dominant narrative is created and eventually accepted as fact; the role the news media plays in shaping public perception of events; and how these perceptions can drive or hinder policy changes.
Posted inCivics and Government
Lesson Plan: Welfare and the Politics of Poverty
Students will learn how President Bill Clinton signed a welfare bill to reform a program created as part of the New Deal in 1935; and how the bill has reshaped the relationship between poor Americans and the government.
Posted inU.S. History
Lesson Plan: Women, Work and the Modern American Family
Students will learn about the evolution of the American family structure and evaluate the claim: “Full time working mothers have a negative impact on their children’s cognitive and social development” using evidence from multiple sources.
Posted inCivics and Government
Lesson Plan: Exploring the Impact of Campaign Ads
Students will learn how famous campaign ads like the “Daisy,” “Morning in America” and “Willie Horton,” changed how political advertisements were made, and in doing so changed the course of history.
Posted inCivics and Government
Lesson Plan: 1968 Democratic National Convention – The Mess in Chicago
Students will learn how internal tensions over Vietnam and the cultural changes of the 1960s led to violence and chaos at the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
Posted inLesson Plan
Lesson Plan: Future of Money
Students will learn about the ancient stones on a tiny Pacific island and what they can teach us about Bitcoin, blockchains and the future of money.
