Course Profile Basic Literacy Skills,
ELDBO, Level 2, Open, Public
Unit 1: Ad Smart
Time: 25 hours
Activity 1 | Activity 2 | Activity 3 | Activity 4 | Activity 5
Students identify and begin to analyse advertisements found in environmental print, newspapers, magazines, radio, and television. Students locate and understand key information found in ads; design coupons; write and illustrate simple ads; and create and perform dialogues. The writing activities focus on descriptive words, completing charts and forms, and creating vocabulary and response logs. Teachers assist students in using word-processing and graphics software to enhance their print advertisements. As a culminating activity, students individually create a print ad and present it to the class.
Overall Expectations: BORV.01L, BORV.02, ˜BORV.03L.
Specific Expectations: BOR1.01L, ˜BOR1.02L, ˜BOR1.03L, BOR2.01L, BOR2.02L, ˜BOR3.01L, BOR3.02L, ˜BOR3.03L.
Overall Expectations: BREV.01L, ˜BREV.02L, BREV.03L, ˜BREV.04L.
Specific Expectations: BRE1.01L, BRE1.02L, ˜BRE1.04L, BRE1.05L, BRE1.06L, BRE2.01L, BRE2.02L, BRE2.03L, BRE3.01L, ˜BRE3.02L, ˜BRE3.04L, ˜BRE4.02L, BRE4.03L.
Overall Expectations: BWRV.01L, ˜BWRV.02L, ˜BWRV.03L.
Specific Expectations: ˜BWR1.01L, ˜BWR1.02L, ˜BWR1.03L, BWR1.04L, BWR1.05L, ˜BWR2.01L, BWR2.02L, ˜BWR2.03L, BWR2.04L, BWR2.05L, ˜BWR3.02L, BWR3.03L, BWR3.04L.
Overall Expectations: BSCV.03L, BSCV.04L.
Specific Expectations: ˜BSC2.01L, ˜BSC2.05L, BSC2.06L, BSC2.07L.
|
Activity 1 |
Fabulous Food |
300 minutes |
|
Activity 2 |
In the Name of Fashion |
300 minutes |
|
Activity 3 |
Famous Faces |
300 minutes |
|
Activity 4 |
Promotional Programs |
300 minutes |
|
Activity 5 |
My Own Ad |
300 minutes |
· This is the first unit of the course and the class may have students with a wide range of previous knowledge. Some may have completed other courses in Ontario while for others it may be an entry point into the Ontario school system. Spending time to create a welcoming atmosphere to help students feel comfortable in their school environment is important. It would be beneficial for the students to review their timetables early in the unit to ensure that they are appropriate for each individual. Changes and adjustments may need to be made as the course progresses. Continuous intake requires this to be an ongoing responsibility of the teacher in conjunction with the Guidance department.
· Throughout the unit students are introduced to a variety of teaching/learning strategies, methodologies, and classroom groupings: full class, small groups, heterogeneous and homogeneous groups, and pairs. The hands-on appeal of working with authentic materials promotes comfort and curiosity in learners. There are many opportunities for them to get to know each other better, to share prior knowledge, and to learn new teaching/learning strategies. Some students may still have difficulty with the expectations of a well-kept notebook. Students may need to be reminded that a notebook can be seen as a reflection of the work done in class and can be a valuable study aid. Participation and discussion are key components of all activities. The various tasks and activities promote the 3Rs of media literacy - review, reflect, and react. Students are gradually led from the most basic reviewing of ads to locate key information through reflecting on both the content and the format to reacting to the message that permeates the ad. Students become aware of the impact of advertising. Some of the activities extend into everyday family life. The concepts taught in the school aid students in helping their families make smart consumer choices.
· A wide assortment of magazines is necessary for the success of this unit. Approach your teacher-librarian, colleagues, friends, and family for magazines to be used in class. Ensure the materials provided reflect and respect the cultural diversity of the class and Canadian society. If it is not possible to obtain the wide variety of materials needed, special attention must be paid to the fact that the materials are not representative and why. Students should be given opportunities to discuss biases found in ads.
· Many of the tasks require teachers to find their own materials and create their own worksheets based upon specifically chosen materials. It is best to use authentic materials found in the students’ community. Another reason for the suggestions being generic is the restrictions on the use of brand names, corporate logos, and slogans. It would be helpful to start a folder to collect samples of powerful ads, logos, slogans, subscriptions, rebates, and book/video club forms prior to starting the unit. Friends and colleagues may be able to provide you with samples as well as the school teacher-librarian.
· Throughout the unit there are three ongoing logs. The response logs are similar to dialogue journals which allow students to voice opinions freely. A good description of dialogue journals can be found in the text Caribbean Students in Canadian Schools by Elizabeth Coelho. A response journal is used to react to material. It gives students the opportunity to voice their opinion about the advertisements they are deconstructing. It also allows them to express how they feel about being involved in certain activities such as group presentations. This is the introductory unit for ELDBO therefore the beginning entries may be simple sentences. The advertising logs are a place to record their findings and examples found through their research. These logs are used to review examples of the techniques used in advertising which are helpful in the culminating activity. They also help students learn to organize information into different categories. The vocabulary logs are a simple personal theme dictionary in which students record new terminology learned throughout the unit. This allows students to have the words readily available to look back on. It identifies challenging words and focusses on finding the meaning of a word in context. The logs are assigned marks for completion only.
· This unit is built around the persuasive techniques used in advertising such as incentives, slogans, celebrity endorsements, layout, emotions, visual appeal, and use of colour. When analysing and creating advertisements students need to be aware of the components of a successful ad. The ad needs to get the attention of the target audience. The ad may use large bold type, a promise of being improved, or play on the emotional response created by pictures of babies or kittens to reach the intended audience. The ad needs to understand the target audience so it can address the consumer’s wants or needs or solve problems with promises to save time, save money, or improve appearance. The ad needs to differentiate the brand from others on the basis of quality, uniqueness, past successes, or other categories which show value. The ad is designed to bring about a change in the consumer’s brand preferences or buying habits and usually includes some sort of call to action such as an invitation to visit their web-site, use a coupon, or send in for a complimentary sample. The texts and web sites listed in the Resources provide background information and teaching suggestions.
· Students clip and trade coupons from their magazines. Start a coupon exchange box. Encourage students to put any coupons that are not wanted into the exchange box. This box could be maintained throughout the unit.
· The style of language found in ads is often quite different from the fiction and non-fiction students are familiar with. The purpose is to be brief and to the point; ad copy often uses sentence fragments. The verbs usually are active and the adjectives attempt to add clarity or excitement. The pronouns need to be consistent and the second person is preferable. It is important to compare and discuss how the layout may vary in different media (e.g., in magazines you have to consider the editorial style). You may have the students discuss whether the magazine is formal or casual, modern or traditional. In a newspaper it is often better to have a simple concept and be visually bold to make it stand out from the columns of type. You can point out that some ads use a border while others use white space. When students are critiquing their ads, they want to ensure that the ads grab attention, build interest, create desire, motivate action in the consumer, and ultimately make the sale. Students need to be aware that the ads are addressing their target audience and must state the benefit to that audience of their particular product by emphasizing the brand name.
· Computer access may need to be pre-arranged. The teacher may wish to become familiar with the word-processing and graphics software available prior to the activity.
· Students need to be aware of the culminating activity while working through the unit. This awareness provides both focus and purpose for the activities which allow many opportunities for them to become familiar with various ad techniques. Reading and rereading their ads help students practise much of the sight vocabulary they have been exposed to and improve their literacy skills. Special attention to verbs, adjectives, and pronouns provides a grammar focus to assist in internalizing language. The culminating performance assessment task is the creation of an ad to be used in a magazine or newspaper. Students make short oral presentations displaying and explaining their ads. The purpose of the creation of an ad is to demonstrate the students’ knowledge and understanding of persuasive advertising techniques including use of language and how they affect consumer buying habits. To promote the successful completion of this activity, expose students to a wide variety of ads. Reassure students that artistic talent is not being assessed. Promote their use of clip art and magazine pictures for inclusion in their ads. Maintain a good supply of magazines and art supplies. Have storage space for work in progress. Collect samples of completed ads as exemplars for the future. Whenever possible use an exemplar or partially completed model to help students have a concrete example of what they are working towards.
· adapts to some key teacher expectations and school routines
· writes simple texts following some conventions of standard Canadian English
· understands some basic facts and concepts about printed texts
· reads a variety of simple written materials
· participates in discussions about personal information and experiences
· responds appropriately to oral instructions and information in a classroom setting
· obtains key information from media sources
· understands use of symbols
· brainstorming, categorizing, checklists, comparing, co-operative learning, copying, listening to radio, role playing, inquiry approach, modelling, advertising logs, response logs, vocabulary logs, patterned writing, viewing television, authentic materials, guest speakers, oral presentations, homework, teacher-directed questions, charts and visual organizers, co-operative writing, guided reading and writing, read-along tapes, small group/pair work, word search, cognitive mapping
|
Activity |
Type |
Tool |
Categories |
|
Activity 1 |
Diagnostic Summative |
Cereal box assembly Coupon checklist |
Knowledge Know/App |
|
Activity 2 |
Formative |
Advertisement analysis checklist |
Think/App |
|
Activity 3 |
Summative Formative Summative |
Written biography rubric Group presentation checklist Group presentation rubric |
Know/Think/Com Communication/App Know/Think/Com/Application |
|
Activity 4 |
Formative Summative |
Magazine subscription form Quiz |
Communication Application |
|
Activity 5 |
Formative Summative |
Ad checklist Ad rubric |
Com/App Know/Think/App/Communication |
Dougherty, D. JAM session: Michael
Jordan. Minnesota: ABDO Publishing Co., 1999.
ISBN 1-57765-340-8
Dougherty, T. JAM session: Sammy Sosa. Minnesota: ABDO Publishing Co., 1999. ISBN 1-57765-346-7
Dougherty, T. JAM session:
Tara Lipinski. Minnesota: ABDO Publishing Co., 1999.
ISBN 1-57765-344-0
Dougherty, T. JAM session:
Tiger Woods. Minnesota: ABDO Publishing Co., 1999. ISBN 1-57765-343-2
These are a few of the titles in a biographical series. They have vivid photos
and layout which would appeal to students. They have positive messages from the
athletes about how they have achieved success in their lives.
Hunter, N. Gandhi. East Sussex: Wayland Publishers Ltd., 1986. ISBN 0-85078-888-9
Kramer, S.A. Ice Stars.
New York: Grosset & Dunlop Inc., 1997.ISBN 0-448-41590-9
Short biographies on Kristi Yamaguchi, Nancy Kerrigan, Michelle Kwan, and
Oksana Baiul
Morgan, T. Gabrielle Reece:
Volleyball’s Model Athlete. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications Company, 1999.
ISBN 0-8225-9828-0
This athlete was chosen one of the 20 most influential women in sports in 1997.
She is not only a top athlete on the pro beach volleyball tour but also a top
model with her own show on MTV and a Nike spokesperson. This tells her exciting
life story.
Rediger, P. Great African
Americans in Music. Niagara-on-the-Lake: Crabtree Publishing Co., 1996.
ISBN 0-86505-814-8
This is one in a series on Outstanding African Americans and has short
biographies on Ray Charles, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin,
Hammer, Sarah Vaughan, and Stevie Wonder. Other books in the series focus on
literature, business, civil rights, entertainment, and sports.
Webb, M. Superstar of Science: David
Suzuki. Mississauga: Copp Clark Pitman Ltd., 1991.
ISBN 0-7730-5046-9
This is one in a series on scientists and inventors.
Coelho, E. Caribbean Students
in Canadian Schools. Toronto: Pippin Publishing Ltd., 1991. ISBN
0-88751-031-0
In this professional resource for teachers the emphasis is on practical advice
for working with Caribbean students and it contains good information on strategies
for language instruction.
Fair, J., et al. Kids are
Consumers Too! Toronto: Addison-Wesley, 1988. ISBN 0-201-22227-2
This text has activities to do with students related to how they spend their
money.
Cortese, Anthony J. Provocateur:
Images of Women and Minorities in Advertising. Maryland: Rowman &
Littlefield Publishers Inc., 1999. ISBN 0-8476-9175-6
This text includes many examples of print ads. It deconstructs the ads based on
categories such as sexism, racism, and body display.
Klein, Naomi No Logo: Taking
Aim at the Brand Bullies. 2000. ISBN 0312203438
This text demonstrates how brands are found not only in the media but also in
the schools.
O’Malley, J. Michael and Lorraine Valdez Pierce. Authentic Assessment for English Language Learners: Practical Approaches for Teachers. Toronto: Addison Wesley, 1997.
Pecora, Norma Odon. The
Business of Children’s Entertainment. New York: Guilford Publications Inc.,
1998. ISBN 1-57230-280-1
This text deals with the development of children both as a media audience and
as consumers of material culture. It includes case studies showing the
relationships between the toy industry and the media industry.
RADIO Marketing Bureau Inc. Radio
Script Book: Volume 1. 146 Yorkville Ave., Toronto, ON, M5R 1C2;
Fax(416)922-6542 TEL(416)922-5757 or 1-800-ON-RADIO
This text contains generic scripts which would be helpful for the students to
practise with.
Rees, Nigel. Dictionary of
Slogans. Glasgow: Harper Collins Publishers, 1997.
ISBN 0 00 472042 3
This is a collection of slogans and their history.
Media Literacy is a book with ideas for teaching strategies, divided by genre: television, radio, newspapers, etc. It is available from the Government of Ontario Bookstore, 50 Grosvenor Toronto, M7A 1N8. Telephone: 1-800-668-9938
Radio Impact Awards: 1998
Creative Gallery: Exhibiting a collection of outstanding radio commercials from around the world.
Radio Renaissance: A Revival of Radio
Advertising by Today’s Top Writers
Available from the Radio Marketing Bureau, 146 Yorkville Ave., Toronto, ON, M5R
1C2; Fax(416)922-6542 TEL(416)922-5757 or 1-800-ON-RADIO $10.00 each.
Buy Me That! The Kid’s
Survival Guide to TV Advertising. 1989.
This is an award winning series, produced by HBO and Consumer Reports. It
exposes the tricks advertisers use to make their products seem more attractive
and desirable. 29 minutes.
Buy Me That Too! 1992.
It is a second video to complement the above series. 30 minutes.
Street Cents Series is a television series produced by the CBC. It is also available through Cable in the Classroom. It increases awareness and encourages action of youth consumer advocacy.
Don’t Be a Television Victim by Media Watch. McIntyre Media Limited, 1992. 18 minutes.
Invisible Persuaders: The
Battle for Your Mind by Learning Seed. McIntyre
Media Limited, 1994.
22 minutes.
Media and Society is a three-video series divided into four thematic collections. It was created in 1989. It was created for an audience from Grade 8 to adults. One of the themes is on Advertising and Consumerism which is 81 minutes in length. They are available from the National Film Board of Canada.
Psycho-Sell: Advertising and Persuasion by Learning Seed. McIntyre Media Limited, 1991. 25 minutes. It contains compelling images found in advertising. It is a BBC production.
All of the above videos are available from the Toronto public libraries. Check with your local library as well as your Board of Education video selections.
www.adbusters.org
is the site for the Adbusters organization and has samples of its magazines.
www.cableducation.ca
is the site for Cable In The Classroom. It provides commercial-free,
copyright-cleared, educational television programming free of charge to public
schools across Canada. It offers programming on a wide variety of subjects.
Lesson plans are available for some of the programming.
www.cbc.ca
is the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation site. It has a link to the Street
Cents Series. It offers information on the programs available.
http://alphaplus.ca
is the AlphaPlus Centre site. It is an organization that provides information
and resources to practitioners working with second language learners. They have
a library collection of more than 35,000 titles including books, audio tapes,
videotapes, and educational software available for loan to individuals.
Adbuster., Journal of the Mental Environment.
YTV Newsletter is available from YTV Canada, Inc., 64 Jefferson Ave Unit 18, Toronto, ON, M6K 3H3
Advertising Standards Canada, 350
Bloor St. East, Suite 402, Toronto, ON, M4W 1H5. Telephone:(416)961-6311
Advertising Standards Canada provides reports on complaints they have received
based on various ads in the media. They give an explanation of the complaint,
how it violated the Code of Standards, and what the resulting action was.
Students find it interesting to see that public opinion is listened to and can
affect the display of an ad in the media.
Canadian Association for Media Education
Organizations, 300-47 Ranleigh Ave., Toronto, ON,
M4N 1X2. Telephone: (416) 488-7280
Time: 300 minutes
Students are introduced to language skills and patterns used in advertising. They examine flyers, coupons, and magazine ads and identify the key information and persuasive tactics such as photos and coupons used to market food. Common abbreviations and adjectives are covered. The class reads and responds to passages. Students construct charts and posters, complete activity sheets, and design coupons.
Strand: Oral and Visual Communication
Overall Expectations
BORV.01L - participate in discussions about personal experiences and opinions;
˜BORV.O3L - create and analyse simple media works.
Specific Expectations
BOR1.01L - use appropriate language to facilitate classroom and group discussions;
BOR1.02L - use common expressions and language patterns for a variety of language functions;
BOR1.03L - present book talks or projects using visual aids;
˜BOR3.01L - participate in discussions about the effects on consumer buying habits of television commercials and other forms of advertising.
Strand: Reading
Overall Expectations
BREV.01L - read and listen to others read a variety of materials;
˜BREV.02L - use some strategies to build vocabulary;
BREV.03L - use some key reading strategies, with teacher guidance.
Specific Expectations
BRE1.01L - read along while listening to stories and other materials being read aloud;
BRE2.01L - use thematic word lists and knowledge of word families to build vocabulary;
BRE3.02L - use a variety of strategies to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words;
˜BRE3.04L - use background knowledge and context clues to make inferences and predict outcomes;
BRE4.02L;- record key words and information;
BRE4.03L - use discussion to clarify understanding of information located.
Strand: Writing
Overall Expectations
BWRV.01L - write for a variety of purposes in a variety of simple forms, with teacher guidance;
˜BWRV.02L - use some elements of the writing process to plan writing.
Specific Expectations
BWR1.02L - participate in shared writing activities in small groups;
BWR1.04L - write daily to record personal learning, experiences, and feelings;
BWR1.05L - write in a variety of forms;
˜BWR2.01L - participate in structured prewriting activities;
BWR2.05L - use simple graphics software to format and embellish pieces of writing, with teacher guidance;
BWR3.02L - capitalize the beginning of sentences and frequently occurring proper nouns.
Strand: Social and Cultural Competence
Overall Expectation
BSCV.04L - respond with increasing confidence to a variety of teaching and learning situations.
Specific Expectations
˜BSC2.01L - use school and community resources to support classroom learning;
BSC2.05L - participate in directed group work;
BSC2.07L - express opinions appropriately in teach-led classroom discussions;
˜This symbol indicates an expectation which is assessed in the activity.
· Collect a variety of coupons, grocery flyers, and family and food magazines to use as resources. A recycling box should be available to reinforce the proper way to discard unwanted or excess paper at the end of the activities.
· Seating should be arranged in groups for the duration of this activity to encourage discussion and the sharing of knowledge and materials. Interpersonal skills and group dynamics need to be taught and monitored by the teacher to maximize the participation of all students.
· Collect cereal boxes with special promotions, endorsements, or cartoon characters for each group. Cut the box along the folds and seams so that the box is in eight pieces, and put them into an envelope for Task 1.
· Prepare a partially completed grocery chart which organizes food according to the units of measure by which they are sold.
· Make a class set of copies of Appendix 1A – Units of Measure Word Search.
· Prepare a T-chart to compare food information found in flyers and magazine ads.
· Make copies of Appendix 1B – Taste Test.
· Make a class set of copies of Appendix 1C – Shopping With Coupons.
· Give careful consideration to the selection of the food product for the taste test. Students may have severe allergies or be prohibited from eating some foods, and others may simply choose not to participate. Individual portions need to be prepared.
· Coupons are a common advertising technique and a popular means of economizing. Consider starting a coupon exchange box and establishing a partnership with the home, encouraging families to understand, use, and share coupons.