I love the Daily Show. Jon Stuart is hilarious and he brooches a lot of important topics.

Some people might scoff at it as little more than late night entertainment, but it’s news related enough that I’d rather my students watch this than just about anything else they might pick to turn on.

From a Social Studies vantage, I also love the fact that the show is full of references to history – both recent and not so recent. If you don’t know any history, you just won’t get some of the jokes.

And then of course… there’s NAMBLA.

Mid Term Elections, by the Daily Show

I was browsing through the Daily Show archives today, and I stumbled across this hilarious animated short.

It’s a spoof on School House Rocks. The topic is mid term elections, and how unimportant they are.

The video is a bit over-the-top for some classrooms, but I think I might use it in future election years. If nothing else, the point about incumbency is an all-too-imporant but oft-overlooked topic.

You know you want to play it in class…