The Museum of Broadcast Communications is enhancing its educational resources this Presidential election year by expanding its online exhibit The Great Debates. This exhibit explores the evolution of presidential debates across radio, television, and streaming.
The Great Debates features ten curriculum modules that align with the Common Core standards, emphasizing critical thinking, media literacy, and civic engagement. These resources are tailored for integration into civics, history, social studies, and current events classes, providing students with a context for understanding the dynamics of presidential debates.
The content, which includes workbooks and reference materials, has been distributed to over 2,000 middle and high school teachers nationwide.
Additionally, the accompanying website offers in-depth coverage of modern presidential debates. Discussion topics on the site include media neutrality, leadership during crises, the impact of social media on public opinion, and the role of late-night television in shaping political discourse.
Museum President and CEO David Plier emphasized, “The Museum of Broadcast Communications is committed to helping parents, teachers, and the American public to be more informed voters. Through greatdebates.org, we offer a curriculum that develops critical thinking and media literacy, along with links to performance highlights, commentary, and debate analysis, all designed to help you understand how today’s debates are shaped by nearly 65 years of broadcast history.”