Lesson Plan: Art and Patriotic Culture
Click Here to See More Lesson Plans
Rationale
Art forms, especially government-sponsored "poster art", very effectively conveyed specific cultural values during World War II. Understanding the role that visual images play in expressing issues and ideas is critical to developing "media literacy".
Materials
Pen, notebooks, access to the World Wide Web, art supplies, magazines
Methods
1. Look at the World War II posters below ("Pitch in and Help", "Who Wants to Know?", "Buy War Bonds".) How do you and your students feel when seeing these images? How are the themes - security, thrift, self- sufficiency, monetary and moral support for the war efforts - conveyed in these posters? What posters would YOUR students create to evoke these same responses?
Click on these thumbnail images to see larger posters.
For more images, browse through the Scrapbook


2. Develop a broader understanding of "propaganda" with your students by identifying the five basic techniques used in propaganda and advertising. Are any of these techniques used in these World War II posters?
-
"bandwagon", persuading people to do something by letting them know others are doing it.
-
"emotion", using words or images that will make you react very strongly about someone or something.
-
"testimonial", using the words of a famous person to persuade you.
-
"transfer", using the names or pictures of famous people, but not including direct quotations from them
-
"repetition" - repeating a central idea or product name at least three or four times.
3. Compare the World War II posters with current public
service announcements and military recruitment posters (such as the "Be all
you can be!" recruiting ads for the Army, or government anti-smoking/anti-crime/anti-drug/drunk
driving/gun control posters), What are the goals of these announcements? Who is their targeted audience? Which of the five "techniques" do these campaigns use? You can apply the same techniques and questions when studying any contemporary advertising materials.
4. Using old magazines, students can create their own World War II propaganda/advertising posters. Ask them to focus on one advertising technique, to find and cut out images and ads that display this technique, and to create a collage with these images.
5. As a vocabulary strategy, create a visual "Idea (Semantic) Map", beginning with the word "propaganda" in the center. Add the list of five basic techniques (transfer, repetition, emotion, bandwagon, testimonial); draw lines that connect each technique to the central word, "propaganda". Focus on one of these techniques - for example, "emotion"; ask students to identify different categories of emotion (such as fear, pride, anger, enthusiasm.) Add their responses to your Idea Map. Discuss with students how the World War II propaganda posters encourage emotional responses and actions.
Back to Top