Southern Poverty Law Center
Analyzing Gender Stereotypes in Media
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 activity.
Curated OER
Media Timeline
Young scholars study websites about the media and disabilities and identify places on a timeline where the media has influenced society with disabilities. In this disabilities lesson plan, students make a large timeline out of craft...
Curated OER
Marketing to Teens: Parody Ads
High schoolers deconstruct advertising messages by analyzing parody ads and exploring the purpose of satire. Then they create their own parodies based on real ads discussed in class. A creative activity to extend any study of media,...
Classroom Law Project
Should we believe everything we read? Becoming a discerning consumer of media
Class members investigate the role media should play in a healthy democracy. As part of this study, groups analyze political advertising, use FactCheck to assess not only the veracity of but the persuasions techniques used in candidates'...
Curated OER
Cartoons for the Classroom: What's Replacing Our Newspapers?
What is happening to print media? Use this political cartoon analysis handout to facilitate pupil exploration of the online-media takeover and the decline of newspapers. Background information gives them context, and 3 talking points...
Media Smarts
Truth or Money
Two compelling texts about tobacco companies' influence over editorial content in print media introduce readers to the concept of advertising censorship. After study and discussion, class members compose a mock "final column" by a...
Curated OER
Campaign Ad Critique
Students analyze current campaign TV ads and literature. They identify the ad by "type." They learn to look beyond the ad to understand its intended purposes and its real content.
Curated OER
Advertising
Students explore the advantages/disadvantages of advertising and all it entails for the consumer. Public relations is examined in depth. In addition, media, slogans, promotion and elements of print and color are examined in detail.
Teaching Tolerance
Listen Up! PSA for Change
Challenge scholars to speak up about a topic by creating a public service announcement or social media blitz about an issue they feel passionate about. Have them research their issues, then decide the best way to take their messages to...
Media Smarts
Kellogg Special K Ads
Foster class discussion about body image with the resources and questions provided here. Focus on Special K's "look good on your own terms" ad campaign. Learners start by reading about this campaign and analyze a series of print ads,...
Curated OER
Privacy and Online Life: Protect Yourself
Help your class protect privacy, security, and their online profiles with this examination of social media, especially Facebook, and who can see what about each of us. Resource contains useful links for learners to conduct their own...
Visa
The Influence of Advertising
Pupils become informed consumers and citizens with this lesson plan on the influence of advertising, identifying basic advertising techniques and discriminating between fact and claim in modern advertisements and commercials.
Curated OER
Food Advertising Tricks
Students recognize techniques used to make food look appealing on television and in advertising, and explore the separate elements that compose media messages and products.
Curated OER
Ad Awareness from Admongo.gov
Learners explore mass media by completing worksheets in class. In this consumerism instructional activity, students discuss the meaning behind advertisements and how they are used in television, the Internet and print. Learners analyze a...
Curated OER
Life as a Legend: Marilyn Monroe: What is Beautiful?
Students consider the notion of beauty and what impact the media and popular culture have on it. In this cross curricular lesson, students examine print ads, write down and share their thoughts on them. Then students form literary groups...
Curated OER
Creating Your Own Ad
Students analyze the effective advertisements in print and Internet ads. In this advertisements instructional activity, students create a collage of original and repurposed words, graphics, and images of advertisements. Students create a...
Curated OER
"The Merchants of Cool"
Why are so many advertisements geared towards the teenage population? Watch a video with your class (link included), and have them fill out the attached listening guide. Then discuss persuasion, presenting biased information, and where...
Curated OER
An Honest Cigarette Ad?
Students recognize the intended audience for a certain advertisement They recognize advertising techniques aimed at the intended audience and create their own advertisements about the truth of cigarette smoking. Students begin to see...
The New York Times
Super Brand
Children can recognize popular brands from an early age, but these images symbolize much more than what they advertise. Take a journey through the design of a logo with a lesson that focuses on the history and ubiquity of the Super Bowl...
Curated OER
Analyzing Advertising
Students critically examine advertising. They investigate how to become wiser consumers. They explore the topic of advertising more deeply by using the reports called "Web of Deception" and "Selling America's Kids: Commercial Pressures...
Curated OER
Design Your Own Cereal Box
Students explore the ways in which media messages work and the ways in which consumers are targeted.
Curated OER
The Media
Students explore political advertising. They discuss what informed voters should know about upcoming elections and identify the four main types of ads and view a video to identify the types of ads. Evaluating the ads, they identify...
Curated OER
Advertisements and Commercials
Learners analyze advertisements. In this advertising lesson, students share their favorite print advertisements and commercials and explain why they like them. Learners view more print or television advertisements aimed at children and...
Curated OER
Magazine Dollars and Sense
Students analyze magazine advertisements that appeal to them. They explore how tobacco companies continue to target teens in magazine advertisements. They explore how advertisers select magazine ad space.