Summary
Students will learn about the different forms of media, such as newspapers, radio, and television.
Materials
Additional Resources
Book
- Getting the News, (Newbridge, Read to Learn:
Social Studies--Communities Series, Item #821956), available from
www.newbridgeonline.com
Media
Background for Teachers
Students need to understand the meaning of
the term “media”
according to this definition:
“All the means of communication, such as
newspapers, radio, and
television that provide the public with news, entertainment, etc., usually
containing advertising.”
Intended Learning Outcomes
1. Demonstrate a positive learning attitude.
5. Understand and use basic concepts and skills.
6. Communicate clearly in oral, artistic, written, and nonverbal form.
Instructional Procedures
Invitation to Learn
In small groups, complete the sheet What Product Am I?
Instructional Procedures
Day 1
- Put a concept you are teaching to music and
teach it to them.
Discuss how simple it was to remember the concept taught. Talk
about why music is used in media and connect to the invitation to
learn.
- Listen to clips taken from the CD. Talk about how each music
clip makes students feel. Talk about how different advertisers use
music to promote their product. Example: slow music for selling
a relaxing vacation, lively for a cruise, fast for sports equipment,
etc.
Day 2
- Create a list of commercials from the homework
for each
program. Discuss the similarities and differences. Talk about
why they are different.
Day 3
- Have two cereals for students to taste;
one name brand and one
generic brand (e.g., Froot Loops and Fruity O’s OR Cinnamon
Toast Crunch and Cinnamon Toasties).
- Have students choose which cereal
they think they will like
the best just by looking at the containers. Don’t taste yet!
Make a “skewer” graph. Discuss results.
- Give each student
a plastic glove and have him/her take a
small handful of each brand of cereal (labeled A or B), not
knowing which is which. Students taste the cereal and write
down A or B for the cereal they preferred. Make a second
skewer graph. Discuss the differences between the two
graphs. Why? Point out that we frequently purchase products
that we are familiar with, whether they are better tasting or
not. That is one reason advertising is successful.
- Place a large paper
cutout of the FDA Food Pyramid on the floor.
Have the class predict what they think is in Froot Loops and write
it on the board. Then pass out the Froot Loop Ingredient slips and have them place them under the correct section of the
pyramid. They will be amazed that Froot Loops contain lots of
sugar and oil, but do not contain fruit! Does the title imply that
they do? Again, discuss how the media has influenced our
thinking.
Day 4
- From the Day 2 homework list, select the
commercials that
advertise food.
- Sort those commercials onto the food pyramid. Talk about
how
the media can negatively affects food choices.
Day 5
- Go through a current newspaper. List the
kinds of information
that can be found in a newspaper. Share with them several
interesting articles.
Example: weather forecast, sports scores, informational
advertising, etc.
Discuss what was learned and how that information could be
used. Discuss how media can affect us in a positive way.
Day 6
- Create a commercial or an advertisement
to persuade others to
buy your product. Use the Product List (e.g., jingle, poster,
video, brochure, magazine advertisement, etc.).
Extensions
- Discuss with students
what they want for their birthday or
Christmas. Students draw picture and/or write a list. Did they
learn about any of these objects from watching television
commercials? Commercials are a type of media that can be very
appealing and convincing.
- Use Getting the News to facilitate a discussion
about how media
has changed over time.
- Use PBS or ITV stations to teach concepts. Discuss
how
television can be a very positive form of media.
Family Connections
- Watch a program together as a
family and discuss how the media
affects our buying habits.
- As a family, research a topic of interest
on the Internet. Show
students how to avoid negative sites.
Assessment Plan
- Journal: What types of media are there and how does
it affect
me?
- Students write down what media means and give several
examples.
- Day 6 activity
- Homework: Before beginning this unit, assign each
student to
watch 30 minutes of a cartoon show and 30 minutes of news.
Have the student make two lists of the commercials, one from
each program. (To be used in day 2.)
Bibliography
Research Basis
Hurst, J.B. (1972). Discovery teaching and increased student motivation.
ERIC #ED088807
Abstract of research pointing out that significant differences were
found between initial and post instructional student interest in a subject
when discovery learning was used.
Levy, Yiftach. (n.d.). The effects of background music on learning: a review
of recent
literature. Education 690 Syllabus: San Diego State University. San Diego,
CA (Available at http://edweb.sdsu.edu/courses/ED690MJ/Examples/LitRev/Levy.htm)
An online article citing research confirming that loud, cacophonous
music impedes learning, while some music may be helpful in the learning
process.
Roberts, D.F., (1999). Kids and Media @ the New Millennium: A Kaiser Family
Foundation Report. A Comprehensive National Analysis of Children’s Media
Use
ERIC #ED445369
This study examined media use patterns among a large, nationally
representative sample of children ages 2-18, and explored how children
choose and interact with the whole array of media available to them,
including television, movies, computers, music, video games, radio,
magazines, books, and newspapers.