The stories were heavy-handed, with adult situations driving the action, and the films often incorporated a moral, a civics lesson, or a patriotic theme.
The weekly story-hour was soon expanded to include discussions about history, politics, civics, economics, art, literature, and lectures given by well-known figures.
The lessons of this institute include, in addition to reading, writing and arithmetic lessons, geography, history, civics, law, and social and religious education.