Media Lessons Help Students to Better Understand Persuasive Language

It’s not often that students buy into a lesson right from the start. Sometimes we are able to grab their attention in the beginning, but then their enthusiasm fades. Or sometimes we find we can hold their interests just up until the time where they must stand up in front of the class and speak persuasively. But I have found that the media unit is one that students seem to love from the beginning, even all the way through to the oral presentation.  I like to take their enthusiasm and help them run with it.

The first thing I do is present them with unfinished ad slogans like “Expedia…….” Most chime in with “dot com”.  Or “Two all beef patties……..” and most will chime in with the “special sauce, lettuce, cheese….”  It’s great.  How often do we get to start a lesson with things that most of the students know something about?

I let my students know that they are targeted and bombarded daily by the media through a variety of persuasive techniques designed to convince them to "buy" a product, idea or belief.  I also tell them we are going to study some of the persuasive techniques used by the advertisement media so that they will have the tools necessary to recognize them, and make educated decisions about what they see or hear. We look at techniques, such as using beauty, peer pressure, scientific claims, rhetorical questions and about 10 others being used to "sell" to the consumer.  In this lesson students learn about persuasive techniques being used by the media, analyze different types of ads using the correct vocabulary, and use some of the techniques effectively in an ad that they create and present to the class.

After introducing the purpose of the lesson, I give students a list of the persuasive terms we will be using to analyze ads.  I copy several ads onto a MS Power Point that we review each day while they try to figure out what techniques are being used. They also work with partners to find specific techniques in ads in papers and magazines like a treasure hunt.  I finally show them a series of spoof ads (which they love.) I assign them the task of creating their own spoof ad with a certain set of guidelines.  I let them know they will present their ad to the class in a couple of days.  Their imaginations gear up and before I know it, markers are out, scissors and glue are out and smiles are all around.  We finish with an oral presentation.

I videotape their presentations for the class to view at a later date for a peer evaluation. I have the students evaluate each presentation on eye contact and a projected voice only. I love this time with the students because we are always smiling and always engaged. If you want to get those creative juices flowing, spend some time in your media unit with some advertisements.  Here are some media lesson plans to help get your creative juices flowing.

Media Lesson Plans:

Watching the Watchers - In this "New York Times" lesson plan, students identify, explore, and analyze the effects of their daily exposure to advertising. It’s a very interesting look at how advertisers use data from people’s TiVo. In this lesson teachers also can use movie clips to discuss this idea. You would want to view the clips first and then have them available to you for your lesson.

TV Without the Television - In this lesson, students will consider their own understanding of advertising on the Internet. They then examine the latest form of advertising online, create "How it Works" posters for a variety of Internet technologies, and reflect on how these technologies have affected their own lives. This is a change of pace from TV and paper ads since its focus is Internet ads. It offers a variety of creative ideas.

The Science of Selling- In this lesson, students discuss the efficacy of various advertising techniques, create advertisements for books, and then observe and analyze people's reactions to their creations.