Persuasive+Media

[|**Higdon's Campaign Commercials**] PROJECT DESCRIPTION: During a routine class lesson on vocabulary, Mrs. Higdon related one of the vocabulary words to the recent presidential campaigns. When Mrs. Higdon asked her students if they knew who the candidates were for each party, she was surprised to discover that the overwhelming majority of students knew very little about how hard these candidates were out there working to become their party’s nominee. Therefore, after a suggestion from one student, Scott Cavender, Mrs. Higdon decided to have her students research all the candidates and the two political parties they represent and come to a decision about who they liked the best and why. Then, students were divided into advertising groups and assigned to create a television campaign ad for the presidential candidate of their choice. The ad was to be designed to appeal to a young generation by adding popular music, a message that appeals to youth, and possibly some humor. The ad was supposed to give a candidate’s stance on at least one issue, display favorable, presidential images of the candidate, and provide viewers with a memorable original slogan they could associate with the candidate.
 * __LESSON PLAN #4: PERSUASIVE TECHNIQUES USED IN CAMPAIGNS__**
 * __OBJECTIVES__**
 * __1. Students examine websites of various presidential candidates and identify persuasive techniques used to convince voters to give their support. __****__2. Students create their own campaign ad for a candidate of their choice and use a variety of persuasive techniques in the ad. __****__3. Students write a speech to be delivered to the class along with their ad to communicate a specific purpose with evidence and explanation and a variety of persuasive techniques. __**