Description
Starting on March 19, 1979, the cable television industry started C-SPAN as a public service providing unfiltered, unbiased coverage of Congress and the nation’s politics. Forty five years later we continue to be your unfiltered view of government. In this lesson, students will first reflect on how the world has changed in the last 45 years and how it might change in the next 45 years. Students will then hear about the history of C-SPAN from its co-CEO Susan Swain. Next, students will engage in a choice activity where they will select a notable political event covered by C-SPAN from the past 45 years, viewing a video clip and responding to related questions. From there, students will form small groups to reflect on why their selected events may have been chosen for inclusion in C-SPAN's list. Finally, students will respond to a culminating summative prompt that asks them to "assess the political, social, or cultural impact of C-SPAN’s coverage of public affairs."
Procedures
SET UP
This lesson offers several options for you to use with your students whether you are teaching in class, using a hybrid model, or engaging through distance learning. It can be completed in steps as a class or students can move at their own pace and complete the activities independently.
You can post links to the videos in the lesson along with the related handout and engage in discussion to share responses on a discussion board or learning management system.
You can also save and share the following Google resource for students to use with this lesson.
Handout: Graphic Organizer (Google Doc).
See AlsoPresidents Who Don't Seek Reelection : CSPAN3 : August 11, 2024 1:25pm-2:01pm EDT : Free Borrow & Streaming : Internet ArchiveFormer President Trump Campaigns in MontanaOur History | C-SPAN.orgCelebrating 40 Years Since C-SPAN's First BroadcastIn Google, choose "File" then "Make a Copy" to get your own copy. You can make any needed adjustments in the instructions such as which activities students need to complete, when it is due, etc. and then make it available to them via Google.
WARM UP
Pose the following brainstorming questions to your students, directing them to record their responses in their graphic organizer, share with a partner, and then with the class if they choose.
- How has the world changed in the last 45 years?
- How might the world change in the next 45 years?
INTRODUCTION
Play the following introductory video clip of C-SPAN's co-CEO Susan Swain discussing the history of the organization, its impact, and its future. Direct your students to answer the related question on their graphic organizer and share their findings with a partner, small group, or the class when finished.
Clip #1: Founder's Day - C-SPAN Turns 45 (6:37).
- When did C-SPAN begin providing “gavel-to-gavel coverage” of the U.S. House of Representatives?
- Why is C-SPAN’s 45th anniversary “significant?”
- Based on the clip, how did C-SPAN get its start?
- Summarize what you see and hear in the clip excerpt of the House of Representatives.
- According to C-SPAN’s co-CEO Susan Swain, what steps were taken in the lead up to March 19th, 1979?
- How was C-SPAN’s beginning a “revolution?”
- Why is C-SPAN celebrating a “Founder’s Day” for its 45th anniversary?
- How do “viewers” engage with and support C-SPAN?
CHOICE ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITY
C-SPAN has covered many notable political events during the past 45 years and its video archive serves as a valuable resource for those studying U.S. history, government, economics, and many more disciplines.
Direct your students to the Choice Engagement Activity section of their graphic organizers. Using C-SPAN's 45th anniversary webpage, have them select one such historical event and view the related video clip. Have your students respond to the questions that follow in their graphic organizers and prepare to share their findings with the class, possibly through the jigsaw method.
Questions:
- Why did you select this event?
- What is the title of the event you selected?
- When did the event occur?
- Where did this event occur?
- What topic(s) is/are being discussed in the clip?
- Who is speaking, and what do you know about them?
- Summarize how each speaker views this topic. What action(s) does he/she propose?
- What is his/her reasoning for the proposed action(s)?
- How does this video relate to topics discussed in class?
- What might be other perspectives on this topic?
- How might related perspectives have changed since this event occurred?
- Do you agree with the views of the speakers? Why or why not?
REFLECTION
After your students finish sharing their findings from the letter activity (either in a jigsaw activity or otherwise), direct them to the Reflection section of their graphic organizers. Instruct your students to form small groups of three or four and reflect on the following question: Why might these events have been selected for inclusion in C-SPAN’s 45th anniversary webpage?
Have students share out their individual and group rationales, and encourage the class to compare each other's perspectives.
CLOSURE
After your students are finished with the lesson, direct them to complete the final culminating writing prompt and have students share their responses, comparing their perspectives with their classmates' perspectives: Having examined a historical event that has been covered by C-SPAN from the last 45 years, assess the political, social, or cultural impact of C-SPAN’s coverage of public affairs. Be sure to include evidence from the video clips in the lesson to support your argument.
Related Article
- C-SPAN 45th Anniversary (C-SPAN.org)
Additional Resources
- Video Clip: C-SPAN Turns 40
- Bell Ringer: Growth of Digital Television
- Bell Ringer: Modern Television Viewing and the Digital Revolution
- Bell Ringer: TV and the Senate
- Bell Ringer: Do Historians Watch Enough TV? Broadcast News as a Primary Source
- Bell Ringer: Evolution of the State of the Union Address
- Bell Ringer: Changes in the Way Media Platforms Cover the News
- Bell Ringer: Pennsylvania Cable Network and State Government
- Lesson Plan: The Televised Presidency
