Why might toy advertisers use gender stereotypes to sell their products? Young people think critically about media messages and its role in gender stereotyping with a thought-provoking lesson.

How do advertisements evoke specific thoughts and feelings? Class members find out through the exploration of the Internet, videos, television, magazines, radio, and posters. Learners investigate commercial advertisements, political...

This is an awesome exercise. Learners use this worksheet as they examine an advertisement from a past decade (you need to provide). They answer five questions that aid them in analyzing the ad and the portrayal of women from that time...

As part of a unit on media studies, kids are asked to chart their viewing habits, observe the advertising that sponsors their favorite shows, and then to imagine what they would broadcast if given a block of airtime.

Analyze magazines as a class, looking carefully for the target audience, advertisements, and topics presented. Small groups then work as a publication team and receive a magazine that they have to "sell." Each individual has a different...

Enlighten young consumers to advertising techniques aimed specifically at their generation. Have learners answer questions about how advertisements are geared for a younger audience, then have them practice selling to other teenagers....

Converse with your class about the use of sex in advertising. Analyze the biological, emotional, and spiritual connections associated with sex, and how the media uses these affiliations to sell products. Take a closer look at...

Students examine marketing techniques used in television and magazine snack food ads. They analyze and discuss Internet kids clubs, complete various handouts that examine ads for food, and create a commercial for a food product.

Help your 21st century learners develop their media smarts with this resource that has them examine the persuasive techniques advertisers use to influence specific demographics and then to use these techniques to craft their own ads.

The verbal techniques and emotional appeals contained in the language used in political ads plays a vital role in creating the impact of the ad. As class members continue their study of Presidential campaign commercials from 1952–2012,...

Critically analyze advertising techniques, such as circular reasoning, bandwagon, testimonial, and repetition, with worksheets that effectively discuss and illustrate how the media aims to influence.

What is sponsored content? Who produces sponsored content? Why? Is it fair or unfair? What are the privacy implications for consumers? To answer these questions, class members view a model screencast before crafting their own that...

Commercial advertising—we can't get away from it, but do we realize just how often we are being advertised to? With this lesson, scholars analyze mass media to identify how its techniques influence our daily lives. Learners browse...

Class members choose an ad they want to analyze for their performance task. They then read specific text based on the ad they chose. The instructor guides learners through a Model Research Synthesis document in which they try to...

Students create Web advertisements to protect young people from online predators. For homework, they write letters pitching their ads and analyzing their effect. They discuss their own use of the Internet and how to protect young people.

Students investigate advertising by critiquing commercials in class.  In this media lesson, students view several commercials on their computers while completing a worksheet which helps them critique the ads.  Students define...

Beginning a persuasive writing unit with your middle schoolers? Approach it through something that persuades us all: advertising! Through studying video and print advertisement, your class will practice Common Core skills for reading...

Young learners today are bombarded by media manipulation. Help them develop the skills they will need to become savvy 21st century media consumers with a unit on media literacy.

Students become more savvy Web surfers by evaluating the various elements of a Web site to determine its credibility. They conduct a two-part investigation of a Web site, focusing on how one determines if a Web site is credible in...

Students explore consumerism. In this economics activity, students work with a partner to complete an Internet Research consumer scavenger hunt. Students discuss information collected and conflicting answers to various questions.

In this lesson, 8th graders analyze and compare the propaganda techniques used in informational texts, with a particular focus on the use of testimonials. Includes links to recommended resources, scaffolding suggestions, and an...

In this lesson, students will engage in multiple parts of a lesson that guide students to uncover many levels of meaning in media messages. Discussion questions and a slideshow presentation are parts of the lesson that address the...

A great lesson for students to explore commercial advertising using Cass-Clay Museum Ads and ice cream. Great resource for teachers to get lesson plans about advertising.

Images and database information for more than 7,000 ads printed in U.S. and Canadian newspapers and magazines between 1911 and 1955. Five main subject areas: Radio, Television, Transportation, Beauty and Hygiene, and World War II.