propaganda poster assignment

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Propaganda Posters

This is a primary source activity.  The students will use American World War I propaganda posters to evaluate how individual citizens were encouraged to support the war effort.  Students will work both individually and cooperatively during the course of this lesson.

Students must be able to interpret both written and visual primary sources to understand history.  This activity will introduce students to numerous visual primary sources, and will require the students to evaluate the posters based up its illustrations, colors, and use of symbols and words.  Point of view, stereotypes and bias will also be used in the students’ analysis.

• The student will interpret World War I propaganda posters and identify their persuasive messages.
• The student will analyze how the U.S. government used propaganda to influence American public opinion.
• The student will create a World War I propaganda poster using the propaganda techniques observed in the World War I-era posters.
• Kansas State Social Studies Standards – High School:  U.S. History – Benchmark 1, Indicator 7
• Kansas State Social Studies Standards – High School:  U.S. History – Benchmark 5, Indicator 3
• Kansas State Reading Standards – High School:   Reading Standard 1, Benchmark 4, Indicator 15

SHOW ME STANDARDS

 2. Continuity and change in the history of Missouri, the United States and the world

6. Relationships of the individual and groups to institutions and cultural traditions

7. The use of tools of social science inquiry (such as surveys, statistics, maps, documents)

• The Americans (McDougal Littell), chapter 11, section 3
• American World War I Posters: 24 Cards, published by Dover Publications, Inc. (2003).  This card set includes 24 full color postcard-sized reproductions of World War I propaganda posters.  If this resource is not available to you, World War I poster images can easily be found on the Internet.

LCD projector and access to PowerPoint software

1.      Begin class with a discussion of the material presented in The Americans, chapter 11, section 3.  This section covers the American homefront, and discusses a number of the government organizations created to coordinate the war effort.  Brainstorm of a list of the ways in which the American public mobilized behind the war effort. 2.      Use a PowerPoint presentation (attached) to introduce the students to the propaganda posters of the World War I era.  Guide the students through an analysis of each poster, mirroring the questions on the “War Poster Analysis” handout.  Encourage the students to describe how the illustrations, colors, words and symbols communicate the poster’s intended message. 3.      Give each student a copy of the “War Poster Analysis” handout and one postcard-sized propaganda poster.  There should be 2 examples of each poster in the class, which will eventually allow the students to work together in pairs.  The postcards should be distributed randomly. 4.      Each student should complete his/her “War Poster Analysis” handout individually.  Allow 5-10 minutes for this to take place.

• Once the students have individually completed the poster analysis, have them find the person who was working with the same poster.  The two students should compare their analysis of the poster, and discuss the analysis handout.  Allow 5 minutes for this discussion.
• Each student pair should find two more pairs to create a group (six students total per group).  Each pair will interpret its World War I poster to the other pairs in the group.
• In conclusion, allow the whole class to discuss the activity.  Which poster provoked the strongest response in each group?  Why?  How were illustrations, colors, symbols and words used to communicate the intended message?  Were the posters effective?  Why or why not?
• The students will create a propaganda poster for one of the World War I topics mentioned below.  The poster must be drawn on an 8 ½ x 11 sheet of paper and will be graded on the student’s use of color, images and words.  Neatness will also factor into the final grade. 
• The students may create a poster for one of the following topics:
• enlistment and recruitment
• financing the war
• the role of women
• Food Administration
• Fuel Administration
• War Industries Board
• Committee on Public Information
• aiding our allies
• The poster will be graded according to the criteria outlined on the attached rubric.

World War I Propaganda Poster

Grading Rubric

Name: _______________________

                                                            TOTAL POINTS EARNED (40 points possible):  ____________

Lessons of Liberty: Patriotism - Analyze WWI Propaganda Posters

This lesson plan asks students to examine their understanding of "patriotism" by analyzing over 60 primary source propaganda posters that called America to action during World War I.

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History Resources

World War II: Posters and Propaganda

By tim bailey, unit objective.

This unit is part of Gilder Lehrman’s series of Common Core State Standards–based teaching resources. These units were written to enable students to understand, summarize, and analyze original texts of historical significance. The lessons are built around the use of textual and visual evidence and critical thinking skills.

Over the course of three lessons the students will analyze a secondary source document and primary source documents in the form of propaganda posters produced to support the United States war effort during World War II. These period posters represent the desire of the government to gain support for the war by shaping public opinion. Students will closely analyze both the primary source artwork and the secondary source essay with the purpose of not only understanding the literal meaning but also inferring the more subtle messages. Students will use textual and visual evidence to draw their conclusions and present arguments as directed in each lesson.

In this lesson the students will carefully analyze an essay that discusses both the purpose and the impact of World War II posters on the American war effort on the home front. This essay will give the students background knowledge that will make close analysis of the actual posters more effective over the next two lessons. A graphic organizer will be used to help facilitate and demonstrate their understanding of the essay.

Introduction

With the attack by Japan on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the United States found itself suddenly involved in a war that was raging across nearly every continent of the globe. As the American military ramped up its war effort, support from the American public became crucial. The need for more soldiers, more factory production, more government funds, and less consumption by civilians of crucial war resources led to a public propaganda campaign. In an age before the widespread use of television the two best ways to reach the public were radio broadcasts and print. President Roosevelt was a pioneer in using the radio to sway public opinion, and soon colorful posters promoting the requirements of the war effort began appearing all over the United States.

• "Every Citizen a Soldier: World War II Posters on the American Home Front," by William L. Bird Jr. and Harry Rubenstein (abridged from The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History website; complete essay is here )
• Graphic Organizer: Every Citizen a Soldier: World War II Posters on the American Home Front

At the teacher’s discretion you may choose to have the students do the lesson individually, as partners, or in small groups of no more than three or four students.

• Hand out "Every Citizen a Soldier: World War II Posters on the American Home Front," by William L. Bird Jr. and Harry Rubenstein.
• "Share read" the essay with the students. This is done by having the students follow along silently while the teacher begins reading aloud. The teacher models prosody, inflection, and punctuation. The teacher then asks the class to join in with the reading after a few sentences while the teacher continues to read along with the students, still serving as the model for the class. This technique will support struggling readers as well as English language learners (ELL).
• Hand out Graphic Organizer Lesson 1: Every Citizen a Soldier: World War II Posters on the American Home Front.
• Using the graphic organizer, the students analyze the secondary source document. This can be done as a whole-class activity with discussion, in small groups, with partners, or individually.
• Discuss different interpretations developed by the students or student groups.

In this lesson the students will carefully analyze ten primary source posters from World War II. These posters come from a variety of sources but all of them reflect the themes developed by the United States government and the Office of War Information (OWI). These themes were introduced in the essay used in lesson one. The students will determine which of the six themes recommended by the OWI the poster best represents. They will use the visual evidence as well as the textual evidence to analyze the theme presented in the poster. A poster analysis sheet will be used to demonstrate their understanding.

The development of posters to promote American patriotism during World War II is an example of propaganda. Propaganda is a form of communication that usually bypasses the intellect and motivates a target group by appealing to their emotions. The posters developed for the home front during World War II were designed to motivate American citizens and develop a sense of patriotism that would turn the United States into an unstoppable war machine. These posters called on all Americans to be part of the war effort, not just by carrying a gun into battle, but in many other important ways. Government programs such as metal and rubber drives may not have meant the difference between winning or losing the war, but the camaraderie and sense of unity generated by such drives was very important to the war effort.

• World War II Posters #1–#10
• Analyzing the Poster  (each student or group will need five copies)
• Hand out World War II Posters #1–#2 and Analyzing the Poster
• The students answer the questions on the Analyzing the Poster handouts for each poster. For the first two posters this will be done as a whole-class activity with discussion. After analyzing the first two posters with the class, hand out posters #3–#10. These posters will be analyzed by the students in small groups, with a partner, or individually.
• Discuss different interpretations developed by the students or student groups. Discuss the information in the introduction.

In this lesson the students will carefully analyze ten primary source posters from World War II. The students will determine which of the six themes recommended by the Office of War Information the poster best represents. The students will use the visual evidence, as well as the textual evidence, in order to analyze the theme presented in each poster. A poster analysis sheet will be used to demonstrate their understanding. In addition, the students will synthesize, analyze, and present an argument about what they have learned in a short essay.

In 1942 President Franklin Roosevelt created the Office of War Information to distribute and control pro-American propaganda during World War II. To accomplish this goal the Office of War Information recruited Hollywood movie studios, radio stations, and the print media. In a general sense, the goal of this effort was to promote hatred for the enemy, support for America’s allies, and a greater support for the war by the American public through increased production, victory gardens, scrap drives, and the buying of US War Bonds. Of all the propaganda produced during the war, the posters had the widest national reach, with more than 200,000 different types produced during the war.

• World War II Posters #11–#20
• World War II Posters and Propaganda Essay Form

At the teacher’s discretion you may choose to have the students do the lesson individually, as partners, or in small groups of no more than three or four students.  

• Hand out World War II Posters #11–#20 and Analyzing the Poster.
• The students analyze the posters and answer the questions on the worksheet.
• Discuss different interpretations developed by the students or student groups and the information in the introduction.
• Hand out the essay form. Students will answer the prompt in a short argumentative essay that uses what they have learned from their analysis of the posters. This assignment should be done individually.

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Module 10: World War II (1941-1945)

Assignment: wwii propaganda poster.

Step 1:  To view this assignment, click on  Assignment: WWII Propaganda Poster .

Skip to Main Content of WWII

A lesson in wwii propaganda posters.

The Museum's collection of wartime posters inspires Iowa students to draw their own.

The National WWII Museum strives to help teachers explore the history and lessons of World War II with their students. Using  an object-based learning experience, educational technology, and its world-class exhibits, artifacts, archives, and oral histories, the Museum takes history beyond the pages of textbooks and into the hands of curious students . 

Recently, one teacher used Museum resources related to WWII propaganda posters to take a lesson a step further by turning it into a hands-on, student-created art project. Andrew Bouska and Nick Nelson, teachers at Ankeny High School in Ankeny, Iowa, showed examples of WWII Allied propaganda posters to his students before challenging them to design posters using their own original ideas and slogans. Bouska mailed copies of his student’s artwork, several examples of which are presented here. 

The National WWII Museum always loves to see how teachers and students are using its lesson plans, resources, and materials. If you are using WWII history in your classroom in unique and exciting ways, please email us so that we can share your good work in making history come alive: [email protected]. 

Among the participating artists: Kassidy Adams, Kiana Baccam, Joya Cleven, Hallie Evans, Carly McCoy, Riley Owen, Samantha Parr, Katelyn Schaeffer, Maddi Schulte, Alyssa Smith, and Bre Steim.  

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• Source Criticism
• Interpretation
• Propaganda Posters

How to interpret propaganda posters

Interpreting a visual source , like a propaganda poster, is very different to interpreting words on a page, which is the case with written sources .

Therefore, you need to develop a different set of skills.

What is a 'propaganda poster'?

Propaganda is an attempt to influence peoples’ opinions or behaviour through the use of specific images and words.

It usually gives limited information which is heavily biased in its presentation. Propaganda typically achieves its aims by generating an emotional reaction in the viewer.

For much of the twentieth century, public posters were a common way for governments to use propaganda to persuade their citizens.

They often relied upon simple images in order to manipulate people through fear or guilt. 

Further information

Propaganda in the First World War:

Propaganda in the Second World War:

How do I understand the meaning of a propaganda poster?

Understanding what a historical propaganda poster means can be difficult for us because we did not live through the events that inspired them.

However, many propaganda posters rely upon a limited number of elements to persuade their audience . Once we learn those elements, we can begin to understand the specific message of a particular poster.

Propaganda Poster Elements

1 . Stereotypes

It was common for posters to represent a particular group of people (usually in a very racist way) using stereotypes. A stereotype is an over-simplification of what a particular racial group looks like. For example, Chinese people in the 19th century were drawn with a long pony-tail in their hair. Propaganda uses stereotypes so that audiences can readily identify which people group is the target of the poster. Getting to know common stereotypes can be quite confronting for us, since they can be very racist in nature. However, once you become familiar with common forms of stereotyping, you can identify the appropriate people group being targeted in a particular poster.

Common Stereotypes: 

People Group:

Australians

Jewish People

Exaggerated Features:

Pickelhaube (the spiked helmet), gorilla-like body

Long pony-tail, narrow eyes, thin moustache, traditional Chinese clothes and hat, two large front teeth

Circular glasses, narrow eyes, toothy grin

Slouch hat, clean-shaven, khaki clothes

Large nose, kippah (Jewish prayer cap)

2 . Symbolism

Just like political cartoons , propaganda posters use simple objects, or symbols, that the general public would be familiar with. These symbols are used to represent important concepts or ideas. For example, using a ‘skull and crossbones’ could represent ‘death’ or ‘danger’. While you’re interpreting a poster, identify any symbols and try to work out what concept the image is meant to represent.

Here are some common symbols used in propaganda, along with their common meanings: 

Posters will often include short sections of information: either statistics or statements. This information is meant to provide the audience with just enough data for them to draw the conclusion the creator wanted them to make. When you are looking at the poster, it is worth asking whether the information provided is completely accurate or what other information has been left out. Finally, try to work out why the propaganda wanted the audience to know about the specific information they have presented. For example, how does this information help persuade the audience?

Posters will try to connect directly with their audiences though a number of techniques. They will either use the second person pronoun "you" in the text, ask a rhetorical question that the audience is meant to think about, or it will have people in the poster looking directly at the viewer. Propaganda does this in order to make the audience feel like they need to respond in some way.

Propaganda will try to play on a person's emotions in order to prompt them to respond. The most frequent emotional responses posters try to generate are:

• guilt (e.g., making the audience feel like they have failed),
• patriotism (e.g., appealing to the love of their country),
• fear (e.g., that if they don't act, something bad will happen),
• or shame (e.g., that they are weak, cowardly or selfish).

6 . Call to Action

Almost every propaganda poster has a statement about what their audience should do after seeing the poster. For example: 'Enlist Today!' or 'Buy War Bonds'. The call to action is often the best way to determine the poster's purpose and intended audience . 

How do I write an interpretation?

Once you have deconstructed the poster, you can start creating your explanation. To do so, answer the following questions:

• Who or what is represented by the stereotypes and symbols?
• What information is provided by the text in the poster?
• How does the poster try and connect directly with the audience? (Using "you", asking a question, or by 'looking at the audience'?)
• What does the 'call to action' say?
• What emotion is the viewer supposed to feel? (e.g. Shame, guilt, patriotism, etc.)

Once you have answered these questions, you are ready to answer the final one:

• What did the propaganda want their audience to believe and do? 

What do I do with my interpretation?

Identifying the message of a propaganda poster shows that you understand the primary source, which means that you can use it as an indirect quote in your historical writing.

Your interpretation can also help you in your analysis and evaluation of the source. For example, identifying the source's message can help you ascertain:

• The purpose of the propaganda
• The intended audience of the poster
• The accuracy of the information presented in the image

Parliamentary Recruiting Committee. (1915). 'Daddy, what did YOU do in the Great War?'. London. © IWM (Art.IWM PST 0311). Source: https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/17053

Demonstrating interpretation of propaganda posters in your writing:

This propaganda poster produced by the British government in 1915 sought to persuade British citizens to enlist for military service. It does this by employing a range of propaganda techniques. First of all, the main character is an idealised middle class British family man. The use of this stereotypical character is an attempt to connect with British middle-class men who had not yet joined the war effort. Secondly, the poster uses the symbolism of the toy soldiers, which the young boy is depicted as playing with. The fact that the man's son is more impressed with symbols of war than his own father begins to play on the audience's emotions. Thirdly, the text that accompanies the image, which is spoken by the daughter, inquires about the man's role in the war. The use of the second person pronoun of "you" is a clear attempt to engage personally with the audience. This is reinforced by the fact that the man's eyes are looking directly at the viewer. Therefore, although the girl is talking to her father, the poster intends to directly address the viewer. The clear intent is to make the audience the target of the question so that they will wonder what role they will play in the contemporary conflict. All of these techniques combine with the intention of generating the feelings of shame and guilt in the viewer. The propaganda hopes that young men will feel embarrassed to admit to their future children that they were 'too cowardly' to join the war effort. Even though there is no explicit 'call to action' for the viewer on the poster, the tacit expectation is that the guilt would result in young men enlisting to fight in the hopes of being able to allay the shame produced by the picture. The overall message produced by the propaganda poster is that real men will enlist in the war effort in the belief that their future children will be proud to know that their fathers did their part.

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Create a Propaganda Poster

Web content display web content display, create a propaganda poster activity.

Posters are an eye-catching way to convey important information quickly and easily and can help remind people to be part of the solution in dangerous and trying times.

CATEGORY: Visual Arts, Research, Current Events, Writing

GRADE LEVEL: Elementary, Middle and High School

SUGGESTED TIME: 30-60 minutes

MATERIALS/RESOURCES REQUIRED:  Paper, pencil, crayons, colored pencils, computer

DISCOVERY OBJECTIVES: To learn how simple images, colors and words can evoke powerful emotions, transmit complex information and inspire action, or inaction.

TAG US IN SOCIAL MEDIA: Post a picture of your work to social media with the hashtag #fdractivities

Historic Context:

America entered World War II as a result of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Millions of young men and women rallied to their nation’s defense by joining the armed forces, or taking to the machines of production back on the homefront. Some fought the war with machine guns, others with machine presses, but still others fought with pens, palettes and paint brushes as a great need arose to rally and inform every citizen that their help and cooperation was necessary to win the war.

The word was spread by powerful propaganda and information posters that appeared almost everywhere overnight. With eye catching colors and images, emotions like fear, patriotism and a call to duty were awakened in ordinary citizens. Other posters served as reminders to do everything from conserve gas, purchase war bonds to help finance the war, and to keep information secret. These posters made every person in the country an active part of fighting, and winning, the war.

To see examples of WWII posters, explore our digital artifact collection of posters from our 2018 special exhibition “ THE ART OF WAR: American Poster Art 1941-1945 ."

Activity Steps/Procedures:

• Wash their hands often
• Cover coughs and sneezes with their elbows
• Keep six feet of distance from others
• What colors would you use? 
• What images would you draw?
• What words would you use?
• What emotions would your posters evoke?
• What makes this such a powerful and inspiring poster?
• Why do you suppose the image of a woman is used and not a man?
• What feelings and emotions does the poster make you feel?

 Questions to Consider:

 questions to consider:.

• How do the propaganda/information posters we see around us today differ from those used during World War II?
• Why is it important for the government to share information and keep people informed?
• Why is it important for everyone to do their part in a national crisis?

A Step Beyond:

• What action is the poster designed to get people to do, or not do?
• Why would doing, or not doing, that action be important?
• What emotions does the poster stir up? 
• What images, colors or words does it use to do so?

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• My Storyboards

Propaganda and Animal Farm

In this activity, activity overview, template and class instructions, more storyboard that activities.

• This Activity is Part of Many Teacher Guides

As students read Animal Farm , they may find it helpful to analyze propaganda both as a technique used in history, and also in the novel, as the use of propaganda is essential to both the revolution on the farm and Napoleon's takeover.

After discussing what propaganda is, students can select examples of propaganda, such as one of Squealer's speeches, and create a poster that could have been hung somewhere on the farm. The posters should not have to directly quote any speeches, but students will want to draw imagery and inspiration from them, and they should be able to explain their choices of rhetoric.

If you'd like to extend the activity to connect with history, students can research propaganda from the Russian revolution and adapt it to the Animalism movement of Animal Farm .

For additional templates to add to this assignment, check out our poster template gallery .

(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)

Student Instructions

Create a propaganda poster for Animal Farm .

• Click "Start Assignment".
• Identify an example of propaganda in Animal Farm .
• Using appropriate text, images, and scenes, create a poster for your chosen example.
• Save and exit when you're done.

Lesson Plan Reference

Grade Level 9-12

Difficulty Level 3 (Developing to Mastery)

Type of Assignment Individual

Type of Activity: Propaganda

• [ELA-Literacy/RL/11-12/3] Analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed)
• [ELA-Literacy/RL/11-12/4] Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. (Include Shakespeare as well as other authors.)
• [ELA-Literacy/W/11-12/4] Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above.)
• [ELA-Literacy/W/11-12/6] Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information

(You can also create your own on Quick Rubric .)

How To Analyze the Use of Figurative Language in Conveying Propaganda

Choose a reading, identify the propaganda, spot figurative language, analyze the persuasiveness of the language, reflect and discuss, frequently asked questions about propaganda and animal farm, how does "animal farm" employ propaganda, what impact does propaganda have on the farm's animals, animal farm.

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These World War II Propaganda Posters Rallied the Home Front

By: Madison Horne

Updated: August 10, 2023 | Original: October 12, 2018

When Britain and France went to war with Germany in 1939, Americans were divided over whether to join the war effort. It wouldn't be until the surprise attacks on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 that the United States would be thrust into  World War II . Once U.S. troops were sent to the front lines, hundreds of artists were put to work to create posters that would rally support on the home front .

Citizens were invited to purchase war bonds and take on factory jobs to support production needs for the military. As men were sent to battlefields, women were asked to branch out and take on jobs as riveters, welders and electricians.

To preserve resources for the war effort, posters championed carpooling to save on gas, warned against wasting food and urged people to collect scrap metal to recycle into military materials. In the spring of 1942, rationing programs were implemented that set limits on everyday purchases.

While many posters touted positive patriotic messages, some tapped fear to rally support for the Allied side and caution against leaking information to spies. "Loose lips sink ships" became a famous saying. Meanwhile, graphic images depicted a blood-thirsty Adolph Hitler and racist imagery of Japanese people with sinister, exaggerated features.

Today, the posters a offer a glimpse into the nation's climate during World War II and how propaganda was used to link the home front to the front lines.

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