Not since the War of 1812, when British forces set fire to the United States Capitol, have the halls of power in Washington been overtaken by violent intruders as they were on January 6. As the world watched this tableau of violence and mayhem live, teachers immediately realized that the ordinary curriculum would need to give way.
The Mind Over Media web platform gives students aged 13 and up an opportunity to explore the subject of contemporary propaganda by hosting thousands of examples of 21st-century propaganda from around the world.
On January 6, 2021, the nation witnessed a grave breach of its democratic traditions. For the first time in American history, supporters of the losing presidential candidate forcibly disrupted the official counting of electoral votes. PBS NewsHour Extra has provided a classroom resource that includes three activities to teach about the breach of the US Capitol.
PBS affiliate WETA has made available a list of propaganda techniques that make false connections (such as the techniques of “transfer” and “testimonial”), or constitute special appeals (such as “bandwagon” and “fear”), or are types of logical fallacy (for example, “unwarranted extrapolation”).
In this ReadWriteThink lesson, students read or view a literary text, and then identify and discuss examples of propaganda techniques in the text. Students then explore the use of propaganda in popular culture by looking at examples in the media.