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| Overview |
 In
this lesson plan, students analyze World War II posters, chosen from online
collections, to explore how argument, persuasion, and propaganda differ. The
lesson begins with a full-class exploration of the famous “I WANT YOU
FOR U.S. ARMY” poster, featuring a determined Uncle Sam. Students’ individual
analysis projects can focus on any World War II poster.
The available collections
include not only American posters, but also posters from Canada, Great Britain,
Germany, and the Soviet Union. Students complete an online analysis and submit
either an analysis worksheet or use their worksheet responses to write a more
formal essay.
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| From Theory to Practice |
Visual texts are the focus of this lesson, which combines more traditional
document analysis questions with an exploration of World War II posters. The 1975 “Resolution on Promoting Media Literacy” states
that explorations of such multimodal messages “enable students
to deal constructively with complex new modes of delivering information, new
multisensory tactics for persuasion, and new technology-based art forms.” The
2003 “Resolution on Composing with Nonprint Media” reminds us
that “Today our students are living in a world that is increasingly non-printcentric.
New media such as the Internet, MP3 files, and video are transforming the communication experiences of young people outside of school. Young people are composing in nonprint media that can include any combination of visual art, motion (video and film), graphics, text, and sound—all of which are frequently written
and read in nonlinear fashion.” To support the literacy skills that
students must sharpen to navigate these many media, activities such as the
poster analysis in this lesson plan provide bridging opportunities between
traditional understandings of genre and visual representations.
Further Reading
“Resolution
on Promoting Media Literacy.” Urbana, IL: NCTE, 1975.
“Resolution
on Composing with Nonprint Media.” Urbana, IL: NCTE, 2003.
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| Student Objectives |
Students will:
- discuss the differences between argument, persuasion, and propaganda.
- analyze visual texts individually, in small groups, and as a whole class.
- (optionally) write an analytical essay.
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| Instructional Plan |
Resources
Preparation
- Make appropriate copies of Argument,
Persuasion, or Propaganda Chart; Document
Analysis for Argument, Persuasion, or Propaganda; and Poster Analysis
Rubric.
- Explore the background
information on the Uncle Sam recruiting poster, so
that you are prepared to share relevant historical details about the poster
with students.
- If desired, explore the online poster collections and choose a specific poster
or posters for students to analyze. If you choose to limit the options, post
the choices on the board or on white paper for students to refer to in Session
Two.
- Decide what final product students will submit for this lesson. Students
can submit their analysis printout from the Analyzing
a World War II Poster Interactive, or they can write essays that explain
their analysis. If students write essays, the printouts from the interactive
serve as prewriting and preparation for the longer, more formal piece.
- Test the Analysis
of a Visual Message Interactive and the Analyzing
a World War II Poster Interactive on
your computers to familiarize yourself with the tools and ensure that you have
the Flash plug-in installed. You can download the plug-in
from the technical support page.
Instruction and Activities
Session One
- Display the Uncle
Sam recruiting poster using an overhead projector.
- Ask students to share what they know about the poster, noting their responses
on the board or on chart paper.
- If students have not volunteered the information, provide some basic background
information.
- Working in small-groups, have students use the Analysis
of a Visual Message Interactive to analyze the Uncle Sam poster.
- Emphasize that students should use complete, clear sentences in their responses.
The printout that the interactive creates will not include the questions, so
students responses must provide the context. Be sure to connect the requirement
for complete sentences to the reason for the requirement (so that students
will understand the information on the printout without returning to the Analysis
of a Visual Message Interactive.
- As students work, encourage them to look for concrete details in the poster
that support their fact.
- Circulate among students as they work, providing support and feedback.
- Once students have completed the questions included in the Analysis
of a Visual Message Interactive, display the poster again and ask students
to share their observations and analysis.
- Emphasize and support responses that will tie to the next session, where
students will complete an independent analysis.
- Pass out and go over copies of the Argument,
Persuasion, or Propaganda Chart.
- Ask students to apply genre descriptions to the Uncle Sam poster, using
the basic details they gathered in their analysis to identify the poster’s
genre.
Session Two
- Review the Argument,
Persuasion, or Propaganda Chart.
- Elicit examples of argument, persuasion, and propaganda from the students,
asking them to provide supporting details that confirm the genres of the
examples.
- When you feel that the students are comfortable with the similarities and
differences of the three genres, explain to the class that they are going
to be choosing and analyzing World War II posters for a more detailed analysis.
- Pass out the Document Analysis for Argument, Persuasion, or Propaganda,
and go over the questions in the analysis sheet. Draw connections between
the questions and what the related answers will reveal about a document’s
genre.
- Demonstrate the Analyzing
a World War II Poster Interactive.
- Point out the connections between the
questions in the interactive and the questions listed on the Document
Analysis for Argument, Persuasion, or Propaganda.
- If students need additional practice with analysis, choose a poster and
use the Analyzing
a World War II Poster Interactive to work through all the analysis questions
as a whole class.
- Explain the final format that students will use for their analysis—you
can have students
submit their analysis printout from the Analyzing
a World War II Poster Interactive, or they can submit polished essays that
explain their analysis.
- Pass out copies of the Poster Analysis Rubric, and explain the expectations
for the project.
- If time allows, post the World War II Poster Collection URLs below, and
invite students to begin exploring the collections for a poster to analyze.
Session Three
- Review the poster analysis project and the handouts from previous session.
- Answer any questions about the Analyzing
a World War II Poster Interactive then give students the entire class
session to work through their analysis.
- Circulate among students as they work, providing support and feedback.
- Remind students to refer to the Poster Analysis Rubric to check
their work before saving or printing their work.
- If you are having students submit their printouts for the final project,
collect their work at the end of the session. Otherwise, if you have asked
students to write the essay, ask them to use their printout to write the
essay for homework. Collect the essays and printouts at the beginning of
the next session (or when desired).
- If desired, students might share the posters they have chosen and their conclusions
with the whole class or in small groups.
Extensions
The Propaganda
Techniques in Literature and Online Political Ads lesson plan offers
additional information about propaganda as well as some good Web sites on
propaganda.
Web Resources
- Posters on the American Home Front (1941-45)
http://americanhistory.si.edu/victory/index.htm
- This collection of posters from the Smithsonian Institute focuses on All-American
values—the question is who has decided what American is and what Americans
value!
- Powers of Persuasion
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/powers_of_persuasion/powers_of_persuasion_intro.html
- From the National Archives, this collection explores the strategies of
persuasion as evidenced in the form and content of World War II posters.
- World War II Poster Collection, from Northwestern University
http://www.library.northwestern.edu/govpub/collections/wwii-posters/
- This comprehensive collection from Northwestern University includes over
300 posters, published from 1941–1945. The collection includes informational
posters on such topics as health and nutrition as well as posters focusing
on supporting American troops.
- World War II Posters, from University of North Texas Libraries
http://digital.library.unt.edu/browse/department/rarebooks/
wwpc/wwii/?PHPSESSID=5dfe6b9152dc4a9f0664ea666d321db3
- This collection, from the University of North Texas Libraries, includes
Canadian posters, Nazi posters, and anti-Japanese American posters. The site
provides an interesting alternative to the U.S. focus of the other sites.
- The Art of War, from the National Archives of England, Wales and the United Kingdom
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/theartofwar/
- This rich site includes newsreels, posters, and morale-boosting artwork created for Britain's Ministry of Information during World War II.
- Selling War, from PBS’ NOW with Bill Moyers
http://www.pbs.org/now/politics/propaganda.html
- This site provides a historical overview of propaganda and war, beginning
with the campaigns of Marcus Ulpius Traianus (Roman Emperor from AD 98-117)
and moving through history right up to modern and contemporary examples. The
site provides options for further study for students interested in how propaganda
is used at times of war.
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| Student Assessment/Reflections |
Use the Poster Analysis Rubric to evaluate and give feedback on students’ work.
If students have written a more formal paper, you might provide additional guidelines
for standard written essays, as typically used in your class.
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1 - Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
3 - Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
4 - Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
5 - Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
11 - Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.
12 - Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).
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