Lesson #4: Why Propagate?
Lessons Page
Date of Lesson: Wed. April 28th – Mon. May 3rd 2010
Teacher: Alexis
Grade Level: 3rd
Subject Area: Social Studies
Time Needed: 1 hour
Class Size: 16
Topic: Why Propagate?
UW-Madison Standards Addressed:
§ Standard #2: Understands the Social Context of Schooling – Teachers understand how local, state, national, and global social and political contexts differently affect schooling and its outcomes for students.
§ Standard #9: Manages Learning Environment -- Teachers establish and maintain an environment that engages students in learning while providing for their physical and socio-emotional well being.
§ Standard #10: Employs Varied Instructional Strategies -- Teachers understand and use a variety of instructional strategies to enhance students’ learning.
MMSD Standards Addressed:
§ Political Science and Citizenship #2: Identify three of the rights that people have under our system of government (freedom of religion, speech, right to have personal belongings, etc.)
§ Economics #1: Describe the ways people participate in the community in order to provide goods and services whether through paid or volunteer activities.
§ Behavioral Sciences #4: Explain how the media may influence behaviors, opinions, and decisions.
§ Behavioral Sciences #8: Apply and practice skills of conflict resolution (persuasion, compromise, debate, and negotiation).
NCSS Standards Addressed:
§ III: People, Places, and Environments
§ V: Individuals, Groups, and Institutions
§ VI: Power, Authority, and Governance
§ VII: Production, Distribution, and Consumption
§ VIII: Science, Technology, and Society
§ X: Civic Ideals and Practices
Materials Needed:
§ Computers
§ Video Camera
Objectives – SWBAT:
§ Critically think about advertisements in media and find areas of propaganda.
§ Take on a devil’s advocate perspective.
§ Create an advertisement with an opposing message to media that they have investigated.
Context:
Previously, the students have investigated what propaganda looks like in various media outlets and also, how propaganda can be presented specifically in television commercials. Now, the students will be pushed to think critically about the advertisements that they have been investigating and why the company would use propaganda in advertising.
Essential Questions:
§ Why would a company use propaganda in their advertising?
§ What are the negative and positive effects of propaganda?
Lesson Opening:
§ Before the students break up into groups of four, they will briefly review what they covered the previous day with propaganda in media and the specific ways that propaganda can be played out in media.
§ After that, the students will break into groups of four according to the types of Superbowl advertisements that they were most interested in (EX: sports ads, food ads etc.).
Procedures:
§ The students will be responsible for finding one advertisement from the Superbowl that they would like to investigate further. Each of the groups needs to find a different advertisement by a different company.
§ The students will then research more about the company and the ad:
o What are they advertising?
o Where is the propaganda?
o Why would this company need to use propaganda?
o What is the target audience for the advertisement?
o What is the company that is advertising?
o Describe the company in more detail.
§ After having researched more about the advertisement the students will create their own advertisement as the devil’s advocate for the company. For example, if it was a Starbucks commercial, they could create a McDonald’s coffee commercial. Or if it was an advertisement for skydiving, there could be a counter commercial made for the true statistics of skydiving.
§ There will be room for the students to write and practice their commercial for a few days and at the end of those days they will video tape their commercial.
Closure:
§ The students will present their commercials as well as the advertisements that they researched that inspired them with their own propaganda commercials. They will also explain why they chose to present the commercial as they did and why they feel that their commercial is a good counter example of the advertisement they researched.
Special Considerations:
§ It’s important that the students remain open and knowledgeable about the differences between opinion, persuasion, and propaganda.
§ This is a more lengthy and involved lesson so flexibility in structure and time are important.
Assessment:
§ Students will be assessed upon their final commercial as well as their presentation of their findings and justification for their commercial.
§ Students will be informally assessed on their understanding of the material throughout the lesson.
§ Students will be informally assessed on their ability to discuss thoroughly the propaganda aspects of the commercials that they researched.
Lessons Page
Date of Lesson: Wed. April 28th – Mon. May 3rd 2010
Teacher: Alexis
Grade Level: 3rd
Subject Area: Social Studies
Time Needed: 1 hour
Class Size: 16
Topic: Why Propagate?
UW-Madison Standards Addressed:
§ Standard #2: Understands the Social Context of Schooling – Teachers understand how local, state, national, and global social and political contexts differently affect schooling and its outcomes for students.
§ Standard #9: Manages Learning Environment -- Teachers establish and maintain an environment that engages students in learning while providing for their physical and socio-emotional well being.
§ Standard #10: Employs Varied Instructional Strategies -- Teachers understand and use a variety of instructional strategies to enhance students’ learning.
MMSD Standards Addressed:
§ Political Science and Citizenship #2: Identify three of the rights that people have under our system of government (freedom of religion, speech, right to have personal belongings, etc.)
§ Economics #1: Describe the ways people participate in the community in order to provide goods and services whether through paid or volunteer activities.
§ Behavioral Sciences #4: Explain how the media may influence behaviors, opinions, and decisions.
§ Behavioral Sciences #8: Apply and practice skills of conflict resolution (persuasion, compromise, debate, and negotiation).
NCSS Standards Addressed:
§ III: People, Places, and Environments
§ V: Individuals, Groups, and Institutions
§ VI: Power, Authority, and Governance
§ VII: Production, Distribution, and Consumption
§ VIII: Science, Technology, and Society
§ X: Civic Ideals and Practices
Materials Needed:
§ Computers
§ Video Camera
Objectives – SWBAT:
§ Critically think about advertisements in media and find areas of propaganda.
§ Take on a devil’s advocate perspective.
§ Create an advertisement with an opposing message to media that they have investigated.
Context:
Previously, the students have investigated what propaganda looks like in various media outlets and also, how propaganda can be presented specifically in television commercials. Now, the students will be pushed to think critically about the advertisements that they have been investigating and why the company would use propaganda in advertising.
Essential Questions:
§ Why would a company use propaganda in their advertising?
§ What are the negative and positive effects of propaganda?
Lesson Opening:
§ Before the students break up into groups of four, they will briefly review what they covered the previous day with propaganda in media and the specific ways that propaganda can be played out in media.
§ After that, the students will break into groups of four according to the types of Superbowl advertisements that they were most interested in (EX: sports ads, food ads etc.).
Procedures:
§ The students will be responsible for finding one advertisement from the Superbowl that they would like to investigate further. Each of the groups needs to find a different advertisement by a different company.
§ The students will then research more about the company and the ad:
o What are they advertising?
o Where is the propaganda?
o Why would this company need to use propaganda?
o What is the target audience for the advertisement?
o What is the company that is advertising?
o Describe the company in more detail.
§ After having researched more about the advertisement the students will create their own advertisement as the devil’s advocate for the company. For example, if it was a Starbucks commercial, they could create a McDonald’s coffee commercial. Or if it was an advertisement for skydiving, there could be a counter commercial made for the true statistics of skydiving.
§ There will be room for the students to write and practice their commercial for a few days and at the end of those days they will video tape their commercial.
Closure:
§ The students will present their commercials as well as the advertisements that they researched that inspired them with their own propaganda commercials. They will also explain why they chose to present the commercial as they did and why they feel that their commercial is a good counter example of the advertisement they researched.
Special Considerations:
§ It’s important that the students remain open and knowledgeable about the differences between opinion, persuasion, and propaganda.
§ This is a more lengthy and involved lesson so flexibility in structure and time are important.
Assessment:
§ Students will be assessed upon their final commercial as well as their presentation of their findings and justification for their commercial.
§ Students will be informally assessed on their understanding of the material throughout the lesson.
§ Students will be informally assessed on their ability to discuss thoroughly the propaganda aspects of the commercials that they researched.
Lessons Page
