Website Review: The Living Room Candidate

THE LIVING ROOM CANDIDATE from the Museum of Moving Image features U.S. presidential campaign commercials from 1952 though 2016.

The website includes both political advertisements as well as educational resources and tools.

The Commercials section is organized by election year. Each election features background information, candidate information, results, and commercials.

The Type of Commercials section explores ads by topic such as commercials that backfired. Users can learn about the topic and view videos.

The Issue section features topics including civil rights, corruption, taxes, war, and welfare.

The Curator’s Choice section examines examples of effective strategies.

Users can also view playlists and create their own projects. Teachers can download lessons. The Admaker tool can be used to edit videos. Additional resources are also available.

Librarians will find this website to be a valuable tool for government and history classes. The resources are easy to access and use.

To visit the website, go to http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/.

Website Review: Scholastic News - Election 2016

SCHOLASTIC NEWS: ELECTION 2016 provides timely, youth-friendly information and resources about the US presidential election.

The Home page provides links to the project’s key elements.

The Latest News page includes short articles about current events related to the presidential campaign, an interactive timeline of events, and a map showing state elections.

The Kid Reports area features youth reports including questions and answers, behind-the-scenes, and other topics of interest.

The Election Central section provides useful vocabulary associated with the election, a fun infographic showing the election process, and a Meet the Candidates page featuring the candidates.

Librarians will find this to be an age-appropriate way to introduce children to the key concepts associated with the presidential election. The user-friendly format will draw student interest. Use the short articles for informational reading activities.

Use the timeline, map, and infographics to discuss different ways that information can be presented. Invite youth to create their own visuals to share their understandings.

To visit the website, go to http://election.scholastic.com/.