What’s for Sale?

Printer-friendly version

Objectives

Activities will help students:

• define the meaning, purpose and influence of advertising.
• think about advertising as something that can be read and interpreted, like other written and visual texts.
• activate and communicate prior knowledge about the role advertising plays in their daily lives.

Essential Questions

• What is advertising?
• What role does advertising play in our lives?
• How does advertising influence the choices our families and we make?

Introduction

Children see and hear advertisements constantly. Television shows, radio stations, websites, even most streets and sidewalks are peppered with advertisements. Children need to be explicitly taught about these media messages. It is important for children to develop vocabulary and critical reading skills that allow them to talk and think about the role advertising plays in their lives, so that they can make increasingly conscious and conscientious choices about how they will respond.

Activities

1. Write the following two questions on the board or chart paper: “What is an advertisement?  What is the purpose of advertising?” Ask the students to brainstorm as many responses as they can to each question. If the conversation stalls, prompt them with the question, “Where do you see advertising in your daily life?” Create a comprehensive list of the students’ answers on chart paper; you may end up referring back to this list later in the series. At the end of the conversation, offer students this definition: an advertisement is a public announcement used to convince people to buy or participate in something.
2. Break students into small, diverse groups and ask them to complete the handout showing times and places they are most likely to see or hear advertisements. For pre-literate students you may need to write for them or do the activity as a whole group. Circulate and make note of themes that come up as students talk. Prompt them with questions such as, “What was the purpose of that advertisement?” and “How did the advertisement make you think or feel?”  Gather the group together to share results from their discussion. LINK: Link to PDF of handout.
3. Ask students to think of one time an advertisement strongly influenced them. The advertisement may have influenced a behavior, a desire, a request or a plan. Ask the students to go around the circle and share their examples. Make sure students are using active listening. At the end, ask students to discuss which themes arose repeatedly and how advertising influences our choices.

Reflection

After this lesson, students will be aware that advertising surrounding them. Instruct them to pay attention to the places and times they see advertising when they outside of the class. Tell them to think about the purpose of the advertisements, how the advertisements make them think or feel, and how the advertisements might be influencing their choices. Allow them to share briefly the next day.