FACS: Don't Buy It (Mktg)

Summary

This is an interactive web site where a student or class can make marketing choices and see the results. They can also see how advertisements are made for food, models, and other items.

Materials

computer with Internet and projector if using the lesson with the whole class, or computers for each student if they are doing it individually. Handout for teacher use or for students to fill out individually if they are doing this lesson alone.

Background for Teachers

The teacher should be familiar with the website and the different activities. The ones that are most fun are "Create a Pop Star", "Create a Cereal Box", "Food Advertising Tricks", and "Cover Model Secrets". Look over the other sites to see which ones you like the best. There is not enough class time to do all of them. For the interactive ones I poll the class by having them raise their hands to see what the majority prefers. This lesson can be done individually with each student at a computer and filling out the handout or as extra credit or homework. The teacher can use the handout as a guide for questions to ask. This is a loud and fun lesson and the students really love seeing the outcomes of their choices.

Student Prior Knowledge

The students are very familiar with advertising, but not often aware that advertising often distorts reality. This lesson helps them to be aware of that.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Students will learn that many tricks are used to get people to think they need to buy a product. Advertising is a career to make people buy products,and many methods are used to convince people that they need these products. Students should realize that reality is often distorted in advertising and doesn't represent what the product contains or can do. They should think before buying and decide if they really need it, and think of the reasons that they are buying it.

Instructional Procedures

At the beginning of class the teacher can ask- What is the coolest tech gadget you own or want to own? Why do you want or have it? How did you first find out about it? What are some gadgets you thought were fun to have at first then you lost interest? Why did you loose interest in them? The teacher then shows the website and goes through each site and asks the questions from the worksheet and discusses their choices as a class. Do the interactive ones several times so the students can see the different outcomes. If the teacher is doing this as a class activity, the worksheet doesn't need to be used, just have fun with the activity. At the last 5 minutes of the class discuss that advertisers do a lot of surveying and studying shopping habits to see what will get people to buy their products. Discuss how was reality distorted in some of the products and the model. Also ask student if they would like a career in advertising.

Strategies for Diverse Learners

The gifted student could do a homework assignment to watch different commercial or magazine ads and write the tricks used to make people want to buy them or how reality is distorted. For below level students they could answer only one or two questions from the handout or they could be asked by the teacher to select options from the site to make sure they participate. They could be asked their opinion on why these tricks were used during class time if the handout is not used.

Extensions

Students could write their own advertisement and use some tricks that they have learned about to distort reality or to get people to want or need their product. Or they could use a magazine ad and describe the tricks used or describe a TV commercial and write the tricks used. This could be a homework assignment or done the next day in class and the students show and describe their work to the class.

Assessment Plan

The students can fill out the worksheet working as a class or alone. They can also do the extended activities as homework or a class activity the next day.

Bibliography

www.pbskids.org/dontbuyit