Note: When you’re creating a post, you can either copy and edit this template or you can create a post and copy over just the elements from here that you want to use.
To create a new post in WordPress, go to Posts > Add New and give your post a final title. This title creates the permalink.
To duplicate this post, go to Posts and find this post. Select “Duplicate” and change the post title above.
On the right-hand side of the screen, go to the Post section. Click on the featured image and replace it with the image you want to show when linking to your post. Be sure that “Show featured image in the posts lists only, but hide it in the single post view” is checked.
See the My Flying University Publishing Style Guide for helpful links, tips, and best practices for creating posts.
Add introductory text here in medium size font, along with an image, video, or interactive element next to it.
Make sure the text is on the left as it is here, and include key words and phrases about the post/lesson to help us improve the SEO of the post.
To change this image, select it, then choose “Replace” from its pop-up. You’ll have the opportunity to select an item from the media library or upload your own image.
Please ensure you have the necessary rights and permissions to use any image you upload. Also, ensure that all images you upload to the media library have alt text and that full attribution information (if needed) is also included in the description.
Modern Issue
Add Section Title Here
This template is designed for a post/lesson that compares a modern and historical event. If you are using a different approach, you can change the text in the page dividers (including the “Modern Issue” one above) in its Settings in the Block tab.
You don’t need to use every block shown in this template. They are here to help you understand how they work and to make it easy to copy the blocks you want and delete the ones you don’t.
This block contains an image with a link to the sample page that uses this template so you can see examples and use cases.
If the reader needs to click on or interact with something, ensure that the background color of the surrounding box is changed to yellow. Examples include embedded YouTube Videos, embedded social media posts, internal or external links, H5P elements, sliders, polls, interactive calendars and timelines, forms, and buttons.
To change the color of a block, select the block, then select the Settings icon in the upper right of the screen and select the Block tab. Click on “Background” in the Color section, and choose one of the colors in the theme. Depending upon the type of block, you may need to select the style icon to find the color settings.
Most other boxes should have a white background or no background.
You can populate each section with any combination of text, images, videos, and interactives you want.
To add a new block, first select an existing block and choose “Add Before” or “Add After” from its popup menu (located under the triple dots on the far right).
You can choose the type of block you want by using the / key and typing in the name of the block, or by selecting the + icon in the upper left part of the screen and browsing through the types of blocks that are available. You can also hover your mouse between two blocks and press the + icon that appears to add a block in between those two blocks.
One useful block is “Columns”. You can add a column like any other block and select the column layout you prefer. This column block is set up with the 50/50 layout, so it contains 2 blocks of the same size.
This is a columns block with a 33/66 layout. You can change the number of columns by selecting the columns block and going to its settings under the Block tab. Drag the slider to change the number of columns.
Sometimes it can be difficult to click on a block (such as Columns) that contains other blocks. One easy trick is to click on one of those sub-blocks, then select the far left icon on its pop-up menu. That will select the block that contains the block you clicked on. If you continue doing this, you will eventually have the entire white block for the section.
To copy a block, select it and choose “Duplicate” from its popup menu (located under the triple dots on the far right). The copy of the block will be placed right after the original block.
To insert a YouTube video, you can start typing /youtube embed, or search or browse for “YouTube Embed” in the + icon menu in the upper left part of the screen.
You’ll just need to paste in the web address for the video and click the Embed button.
Click Here to Go Deeper: Deep Dive Format – Replace With your title here. (Optional)
If you have a resource that is a deeper dive into the content of this section, you can include it here. This accordion block is a good place for longer videos, research papers, articles, simulation games, and more. This keeps the page from being overwhelming and offers more to those interested in learning more.
You can insert any blocks you want into an accordion. This one contains a column with a 50/50 layout. When possible, use this standard format for describing content you are linking to in an accordion:
“A quote from the resource” (bold, italicized)
A background of the topic, person, or specific thing being discussed in the content and how it relates to the main topic
A brief description of the video for people who don’t end up watching it or just need a summary (bold)
You can use normal hotkeys to bold and italicize text, or select the text and choose the B or I in the pop-up menu.
To add more accordion click-reveals, just select the “Add Accordion” button to the lower left of this block.
Historical Parallel
Add Section Title Here
Here are a few more tips.
Please check your spelling and grammar as you go. Grammarly offers a free version of its app. Although it’s not as comprehensive as the premium version, it does provide some assistance.
Source your articles. If you’re using another site or social network post as a source, make sure you link to it within the text of your article.
You can set up columns where the image or video is on the left instead of the right.
As you are typing text, you may notice that every time you hit the Enter key…
… a new text block is created.
If you want to avoid this, use a soft return (Shift-Enter) instead.
Feel free to add subheaders (/header; choose the H4 option in the pop-up menu) within sections.
Using columns can sometimes lead to weird spacing issues on different screens (especially phones). The Columns blocks included in this template have margins, buffers, and alignments set to minimize this effect.
However, be sure to preview your post/lesson on mobile as you go, by selecting the “View” icon in the upper right corner of the screen and choosing “Mobile”.
Note that some blocks (like H5P elements) don’t function correctly in the preview screen. To see what the reader will experience, you can select the “View Post” icon in the same menu.
SAVE YOUR DRAFT POST REGULARLY!!!
“You may find this quote block to be useful.”
If you’re including an interactive piece (like the slider below) that can’t be placed in a yellow-background block, just add a paragraph block with a yellow background like this before the interactive.
Click Here To Go Deeper: Image Management – Replace With Your Title Here (Optional)
More About Images
You can upload images using the Image block or simply drag and drop them into the editor to create an inline image. 
Use royalty-free or Creative Commons Zero (CC0) images when possible.
If you’re using an image that requires attribution, be sure to include the attribution in the caption.
When uploading an image, add meaningful Alt Text in the block settings. Title and Description can be added in the Media Library, but are not shown in the post.
Make sure to preview your post on mobile—sometimes, left- or right-aligned images can look awkward on a phone.
Please do not use Full Size resolution images, as this is awful for page load times.
WordPress resizes and crops any images you upload in a variety of sizes and aspect ratios, offering both cropped and non-cropped variants. Click on an image and go to its block settings to adjust its resolution. Choose one of these pre-generated image sizes:
- Medium (300×300): Not cropped; max width and height 300px
- Large (600×600): Not cropped; max width and height 600px
- 600×400: Cropped version with 600px width and 400px height
Block Editor also allows you to manually set the image resolution. We strongly recommend sticking to the pre-generated thumbnail sizes. However, if you choose to manually set the resolution, please ensure that you follow the guidelines below.
- Tall/vertical images: set to a max width of 300px.
- Wide/horizontal images: set to a max width of 600px.
History’s Warning
Add Section Title Here
This is a good place to include an instructional summary and lead into the action steps in the next section.
Make a Difference
Add Section Title Here
This section should include specific actions that readers/students can take to address the issue described in the post.
Here is a “List” block with tips for action steps (Note: The List block contains sub-blocks for each bullet, so, when you finish writing the first bullet item, you’ll need to use a hard return (Enter key instead of Shift-Enter key) to create the next bullet.)
- Before proposing an action, briefly link it back to the harm or issue described in the post and the power the student/reader has to push back.
- Keep the list realistic. Actions should be small enough to complete in under 30 minutes, big enough to feel meaningful, and clear enough that a 13-year-old could follow the instructions.
- When possible, highlight people and organizations that are doing good work and offer ways to support them.
- Consider providing more than one option for action, especially since some types of actions may be out of reach for certain readers/students. For instance, you could suggest donating, volunteering, or attending an organization’s virtual event.
- Vary the types of actions across lessons/posts. If each one just says to call your reps, it becomes noise.
- If you’re narrowly targeting a specific audience with your post, tailor the action steps to that audience.
- For high school students: Don’t assume access to money, transportation, time, or adult-level privacy. Prioritize creative output opportunities, peer-to-peer activities, and low-risk actions that can be done anonymously.
- For college students and other young adults: Minimize requests for donations from this group, and keep in mind that college students are currently facing numerous restrictions on campus organizing. Suggest skill and resume-boosting activities (such as volunteering and digital classes), offer meaningful social opportunities, and help them find ways to use their voice to shape the movement.
- For educators: Teachers are already navigating professional and legal constraints. Suggest subtle ways to integrate content into the curriculum, encourage school-based policy advocacy, highlight collective actions to reduce risk, and link them to professional development opportunities.
- For parents: Offer suggestions for engaging with their local schools and community, but refrain from suggesting actions that could compromise their child’s safety or standing in school. Consider including actions that can involve the whole family.
- For first-time activists: Newcomers often bring fresh energy but may feel intimidated. Avoid using jargon or insider language and provide clear, beginner-friendly instructions with step-by-step guidance and a way to ask questions. Suggest private or small-group activities to get started.
- For long-term activists: Many of these folks are feeling burned out, so be careful about asking for yet another big push. Offer low-key solidarity actions alongside restorative or reflective tasks (quiet activism). Offer opportunities for them to share their experience, but don’t assume they always want to step into high-effort leadership roles.
- For skilled professionals: These folks often want to help but don’t know where to plug in. Provide them with a clear point of entry by offering discreet, skill-specific requests. Guide them towards infrastructure building, consultation, or behind-the-scenes assistance. Keep the actions small and impactful, since they may have limited time available to help.
- Be careful about how you introduce the action steps. Many MFU readers/students are already feeling overwhelmed and frozen. Don’t add to that with language that evokes guilt or panic.
- Good phrasing: “Here’s one small thing you can do this week, and how it will make a difference.”
- Not so good phrasing: “Everyone needs to contact their representatives in the next 24 hours or democracy is as good as dead.”
- Even worse phrasing: “If you care at all about the future of democracy, you’ll stop making excuses and call your representatives right now. Every minute you delay is another step toward fascism. If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.”
- When possible, close the loop at the end (e.g., by framing their actions as being part of a growing movement or that doing something small still matters).
If you’re providing a template, script, detailed instructions, or a list of steps, consider using an accordion to avoid the sense of a wall of text like the one above.
Use imagery to make the section visually appealing. One easy trick is to use an organization’s logo to link to their site.
Be sure to use the yellow background to highlight interactives, including links to organizations.
Each Lesson/Post Should Include a Discussion Where Students Can Share Their Thoughts and Build Community.
You can include this in the same section as the action steps, or put it in its own section.
Reddit (r/flyinguniversity) is the default location for these discussions because it provides significant moderator controls while still offering opportunities for outreach and engagement.
Before creating your Reddit post, copy the permalink for your WordPress lesson/post. You can find this by selecting the “Settings” icon in the upper right corner of the screen, then choosing the “Post” tab. Click on the “Slug” link, then right click to copy the permalink at the bottom of the popup menu.
Ensure you’re logged into the Reddit account you want to use (feel free to create a burner account for MFU if you prefer).
Navigate to r/flyinguniversity and click the “Create Post” button at the top. Choose the “Link” post type.
Write a short, compelling title, and paste the permalink of your WordPress lesson/post into the link field. In the description field, add a brief summary or teaser of the topic, along with a discussion question. Feel free to get creative, but keep the post concise. Reddit users are more likely to skim than scroll.
Below is a sample Reddit post. To replace it with your Reddit post, select it and choose the “Edit URL” icon in the pop-up menu to the URL for your post. Or, just add a Reddit Embed block and paste in the URL.
There are some situations where you may want to use a different platform for your discussion. Below is a Table block showing the use cases for discussions on different platforms. Please reach out to “Owlett” if you’d like to use one of the alternative platforms, or if you’d like to post the discussion through your own channel instead of MFU’s channel.
Note: To create a table, insert a Table block and choose the number of columns and rows you want. You’ll then be able to directly add content to each cell, and can adjust the table settings in the pop-up menu and the Block settings.
| Platform | Best For… | Advantages | Risks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reddit (r/flyinguniversity) | Engaging broad or politically diverse audiences; public comment threads | Strong moderation tools; built-in community; posts can gain visibility fast | Trolls, pile-ons, and brigading on political content |
| Substack (TBA) | Deep, thoughtful conversation; longform reflection | Readers expect nuance; supportive of essays and critical engagement | Low discoverability of discussion threads; fewer spontaneous replies |
| Discord (https://discord.gg/HzY8hNTJ) | Sensitive, identity-based, or ongoing conversations requiring safety | Full control over privacy and access; ideal for safe, closed discussion | Private channels aren’t public or easily discoverable |
| Tumblr (TBA) | Creative or values-driven dialogue; fandom-style discourse | Inclusive, anti-authoritarian community; low harassment risk | Poor threading for dialogue; viral sharing can take content far outside intended circles |
| Bluesky (TBA) | Short-form public posts among left-leaning users | Strong moderation; left-leaning user base | Limited threading makes conversation tracking difficult |
| Facebook (TBA) | Local organizing; reaching older or less online-savvy users | Widely used by parents, educators, and community groups | Low privacy; high potential for right-wing disruption in comment threads |
| Twitter (X) (TBA) | Real-time monitoring and pushback; calling out disinformation | Direct access to politicians, media, and public attention | High harassment risk; platform amplifies extremism and suppresses marginalized voices |
Quick Shareables
Add Section Title Here
Use one or more Accordion block to provide resources for readers/students to share with those who don’t know much about this issue (or who are swamped with disinformation about it).
Focus on quick, highly engaging content.
Use formats that stop the scroll and can be digested in seconds:
- Short blurbs (with emotional clarity or sharp facts)
- Infographics or timelines
- Short-form video clips (under 2 minutes)
- Interactive tools or clickable quizzes
Choose content that meets people where they are, without assuming they already agree.
Frame the issue in a way that:
- Sparks curiosity, not confrontation
- Starts with shared values (safety, fairness, freedom, kids’ futures)
- Uses plain language (avoid activist jargon or academic tone)
Use sources trusted by skeptical or right-leaning audiences when possible.
Lean into shared identities, like “parent”, “working class”, “person of faith”, “educator”, “veteran, “small business owner”, “college student”, “rural resident”, or “Bloomingtonian”.
Avoid sources that are explicitly left-leaning. When possible, look for supporting resources from dissenting republican politicians, right-leaning news sites, or regretful Trump voters.
Disrupt the narrative. Don’t debate it.
Focus on:
- Calmly dislodging the lie without repeating it too much
- Offering a clear, memorable counter-frame (e.g., “It’s not about safety. It’s about control”)
- Sparking next-step curiosity, not instant agreement
When combating disinformation, it’s acceptable to use screenshots or videos of political figures being caught in lies or contradicting themselves. However, keep in mind that by doing so, you’re platforming them and repeating the lie (along with the truth), which can sometimes cause more harm than good.
Aim for a message that someone can easily remember and repeat (even if they’re not yet ready to agree).
Use the formula:
1 fact +
1 feeling +
1 prompt to think more
Note: You can insert icons like these using the Icon block. Once you’ve added the block, you can select the image of the icon in the Block settings to change the icon. Note that each icon is its own block, so you would need to use columns to create something like the formula above.
Self-Check
Add Section Title Here
This section is optional, but can be a fun way to drive in the point while winding down. Think of this section as a quick, creative recap that reinforces the key ideas of the lesson, invites personal reflection or deeper thought, uses humor, irony, or art to help it stick, and shows the student what they know instead of what they got wrong.
Make it crystal clear: This is for you. Not for us. Not for a grade. Not for an algorithm.
Let students take it, laugh, learn, or walk away. That’s fine. You’ve already won if they’re still here.
Note: You can’t create H5P content here in the block editor. Instead, select H5P Content (towards the bottom of the left-hand menu in the WordPress homepage) and select the “Add new” button. You can use any H5P content you like.
To create a series of questions in one block, like this, select “Quiz (Question Set)”. Give it a title and set the pass percentage to 0. At the bottom of the page, in the Finished section, un-check the first three check boxes and and a send-off statement in the “No results message” box. Then, in the Settings for “Check”, “Show Solution” and “Retry” section, select “Disabled” in both dropdown menus. Then you can start adding questions to your quiz.
Feel free to use this sample quiz to help you figure out how to adjust settings for different question types.
Before you head off to build your own self-check (the fun kind, not the soul-sucking kind), here’s a handful of quick interactive questions to help the main ideas about this section stick.
.
When you’ve finished creating your post (including the final section below), please take these steps before you submit it for review:
- Select the “Settings” icon in the upper right.
- Ensure that you have a featured image added and the box directly below it is checked.
- Make sure Access is set for “Everyone”.
- Select the “Improve Your Post with Yoast SEO” button.
- Add a focus keyphrase (search term for your post)
- Select “SEO analysis” and scan through the Problems and Improvements identified. If they make sense and are easy to complete, go ahead and make those changes.
- Select “Readability analysis” and pay close attention to the Problems or Improvements suggested. If they make sense and are easy to complete, go ahead and make those changes.
- Select “Search appearance” and add a meta description of 150 characters or less in the pop-up. Ensure the entire description appears in the mobile result view.
- Write an excerpt of about 50 words. This will be shown with your post where it’s linked. Consider using all or part of the text from your introductory section.
- Make sure the appropriate categories (names of the page and/or subpage that will link to your post) are checked off in the Categories section.
- Make sure the “Primary Category” is the name of your hosting page.
- Add a new category with the name of your hosting page if it is not already in the list.
- Ensure the “My Flying University” box is checked.
- In the Add Tag box in the Tags section, type in tags/keywords related to your post, separated by commas.
Cool Down
Add Section Title Here
After diving into heavy history, systemic injustice, or just plain infuriating current events, students need more than a call to action… they need a way back to themselves.
The Cool Down is your chance to offer that. It’s a soft landing: something funny, hopeful, grounding, or beautiful to close the loop and help the reader step out of activist mode without shutting down completely.
Think of it as a pressure release valve. It can:
- Offer emotional closure
- Invite a smile, a laugh, or a breath
- Remind readers that they’re not alone
- Prevent that crash landing into doomscrolling, apathy, or despair
If we want people to come back, stay connected, and act from a place of clarity (not panic), we have to build in exits that feel like care, not collapse.
Some ways to do that:
- A short, sharp piece of political humor
- A feel-good or inspirational video
- A cartoon or piece of advocate art
- Examples of people and organizations that are also fighting the good fight
Whatever tone you choose, just make sure it feels like an exhale.
It’s nice to end with a final supportive statement to close out the lesson, like this one for you:
You’re not alone in this work. You’re part of a growing community of educators refusing to let silence win. Thank you for helping to build spaces where we don’t need to cover over the truth.