Melissa Schlegel
Kenmore Middle School
Grade 8 ELA
Propaganda Lesson (2 days)
Purpose and Description: The purpose of this lesson is to introduce the students to
propaganda and how it is used in real life and in the novel. The students will be
introduced to the topic of propaganda through a PowerPoint and a Word Wall addition.
They will be shown and told how propaganda is the use of false or over exaggerated
information to intentionally harm a person or group. They will be shown examples of real
propaganda and will be told how it was used to spread rumors to support someone’s
cause. In this lesson they will be shown examples of Nazi propaganda from World War
II. I will explain to them how Hitler and the Nazis tried to show the Jewish race and
American soldiers in a negative light in an effort to support their own cause. After our
discussion of propaganda in real life, I will ask the students how the government in
Among the Hidden has enforced its Population Law. I will ask what the initial reason for
the law was and if it is really true. They will respond with a shortage of food and that it is
not really true. On page 83, we will look at a statement made by Jen which asserts that
there really is no shortage of food; it was merely something the government said to try to
keep the population in check.
After we look at the passage, I will ask the students to list the ways that the
government enforces the Population Law; what methods does the government take to
ensure the citizens will not disobey the law? Our list will include a $5000000 fine,
execution if found harboring a shadow child, death of the shadow child, shortage of food,
and the use of the Population Police. These methods are all used to induce fear in the
population and ensure that no third children are born. I will then explain to the students
that all of these tactics are examples of propaganda. The government asserts that there is
a shortage of food and that third children are detriments to the society. They keep
enforcing this belief and use scare tactics to ensure the law is followed.
After the students have been familiarized with propaganda and its uses in real life
and its presence in the novel, the students will be allowed to create their own propaganda
posters for the novel. In small groups of four or five students, they will create a poster
which enforces the Population Law. They must also write a paragraph which explains
what their poster means and why they feel it would be effective in enforcing the
Population Law.
The students will be given the remainder of the period to finish their posters. They
will also be permitted to work on it the next day for approximately 20 minutes. It must be
finished by the first half of the period on the next day because the groups will then be
asked to present their posters and read their paragraphs to the class.
Constituent Group: This lesson will be taught in five eighth grade English classes at
Kenmore Middle School. There are nine students with IEPs, one student with a 504 plan,
and 4 ESL students. There are varying degrees abilities throughout all five classes.
Common Core Standards:
 W.8.2d: Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or
explain the topic. (Propaganda poster and paragraph)

W.8.4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development,
organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
(Propaganda paragraph)
 W.8.11b: Create a presentation, artwork, or text in response to a literary work
with commentary that identifies connections and explains divergences from the
original. (Propaganda poster)
b. Create poetry, stories, plays and other literary forms (e.g. videos, art
work).
 SL.8.1d: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one,
in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and
issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly. (Group work
and class discussion)
d. Acknowledge new information expressed by others, and, when warranted,
qualify or justify their own views in light of the evidence presented.
 SL.8.2: Analyze the purpose of information presented in diverse media and
formats (e.g. visually, quantitatively, and orally) and evaluate the motives (e.g.
social, commercial, political) behind its presentation. (PowerPoint Presentation
and class discussion)
Objectives:
1. Students will asses the validity of the Population Law by
examining a passage in the text and creating a list of tactics the
government uses to enforce the law. The students will be led to the
conclusion that the list is a scare tactic and the law has no basis; it
is propaganda.
2. Students will understand propaganda and its uses by creating a
propaganda poster which enforces the Population Law from
Among the Hidden.
3. Students will write a paragraph which explains their propaganda
poster and why they feel it would be effective.
Anticipatory Set: To begin, I will ask the students if there are anyone would like to
make an addition to the Word Wall. Next, the students will be shown a slide in a
PowerPoint presentation which has a propaganda poster from World War II. They will be
asked to write in their journals what they think the poster is an example of. I will ask the
students to share their ideas with their groups; the students will also be asked to share
their answers with the class. If we receive the correct answer of propaganda, we will
move on to the next slide which asks a student to give the definition of propaganda. I will
call on a few students to share their ideas. We will then move to the next slide which
gives a definition that they will need to write in their journals. I will also bring to the
students’ attention that I created a Word Wall definition for propaganda. Finally, I will
ask the students to try to think of reasons why people would use propaganda. We will
discuss these reasons as a class.
Lesson Plan:
After we discuss propaganda in the real world, we will move on to a discussion of
how it is used in our novel, Among the Hidden. I will ask the students to tell me why the
Population Law was put into effect and if the reasoning is truly valid. We will read a
statement from Jen on pg. 83 in which she states that there is no need for the law because
there really is no food shortage. We will then create a class list which will also be written
in their journals of all the ways the government enforces the law. We will discuss how all
of these methods are merely scare tactics that the government uses to ensure that the
citizens obey they law.
After our discussion, the students will then be told that they will need to create a
Propaganda poster. It will need to enforce the Population Law using one of the methods
we discussed (fine, death, food shortage, etc.). They will also need to write a paragraph
which explains their poster and why they feel that it would be effective. They will have
the rest of the class period and part of the next day to complete this project.
Closure: As a closure activity, the students will present their posters and read their
paragraphs to the class. The posters will be displayed throughout the classroom after
being graded.
Name:___________________________
Propaganda Poster Rubric
Poster
4
--Our poster is
neat, colorful, and
creative.
-- It is easy to
understand the
meaning of the
poster without
reading our
paragraph.
-- Our paragraph
explains our
poster and its
meaning with
detail.
-- We describe
why we believe
the poster is
effective with
detail.
-- Our paragraph
is neat.
-- Our paragraph
has correct
grammar and
spelling
Participation -- I participated in
planning,
designing, and
presenting. This
is reflected in the
way my group
graded me.
-- My teacher
noticed me
participating in
each part of the
project.
Paragraph
Group: _____
ELA 8
3
-- Our poster is
messy.
-- Our poster is
not creative.
-- It is difficult
to understand
the poster’s
meaning
without reading
our paragraph.
2
-- Our poster is
very sloppy.
-- Our poster
lacks thought
and effort.
-- Our poster
cannot be
understood
without reading
our paragraph.
-- Our
paragraph
describes and
explains our
poster, but we
need more
detail.
-- We have
minor spelling
and grammar
errors.
-- We forgot a
description or
an explanation
of the poster in
our paragraph.
-- We have
significant
spelling and
grammar errors
that affect the
reading.
-- My group’s
grade shows
that I
participated
most of the
time, but I
could have
helped more.
-- My teacher
noticed my
effort, but also
noticed I was
sometimes
-- I should have
participated
more in
creating our
poster. My
group’s grade
of my
participation
shows this.
-- My teacher
noticed that I
was often
distracted.
1
-- Our poster is
not colored in.
-- Our poster is
a copy of
someone else’s
idea.
-- Our poster is
unreadable.
Or
-- Our group
did not
complete a
poster.
-- We did not
complete a
paragraph.
Or
-- Our
paragraph has
so many errors
that it is
unreadable.
-- I did not
participate at all
This is reflected
in the way my
group graded
me.
-- My teacher
noticed that I
did not help my
group. I either
let everyone
else do the
work or was
distracted.
distracted doing
other work or
talking.