Cross-Curricular Expectations
H&PE
A1. Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Skills, D2. Making Healthy Choices, D3. Making Connections for Healthy Living
Math (Social-Emotional Learning Skills)
A1. Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Skills and the Mathematical Processes: Apply, to the best of their ability, a variety of social-emotional learning skills to support their use of mathematical processes and their learning in connection with the expectations in the other five strands of the mathematics curriculum
Mathematics (Financial Literacy)
F1.5 Consumer and Civic Awareness (Gr. 4): describe some ways of determining whether something is reasonably priced and therefore a good purchase
Language
- Oral and Non-Verbal Communication: apply listening, speaking, and non-verbal communication skills and strategies to understand and communicate meaning in formal and informal contexts and for various purposes and audiences
- Knowledge about Texts: apply foundational knowledge and skills to understand a variety of texts, including digital and media texts by creators with diverse identities, perspectives, and experience, and demonstrate an understanding of the patterns, features and elements of style associated with various text forms and genres
- Developing Ideas and Organizing Content: plan, develop ideas, gather information, and organize content for creating texts of various forms, including digital and media texts, on a variety of topics
- Media Literacy: Demonstrate an understanding of a variety of media texts (flyers, websites)
Activity Description
Students explore how advertising techniques can influence their buying decisions related to food and everyday items. Guidelines for viewing and evaluating advertisements are created.
Learning Goals
I can analyze and evaluate advertisements using common advertising techniques and decide whether claims are misleading or untrue.
Materials
- Chart Paper
- Markers
- Sample Print Advertisements
Key Concepts
- Decision-making
- How advertising affects our decisions
- Understanding the power to consume
Prior Knowledge and Skills
- The term "advertisement"
- The term "endorsement"
- The term "exploitation"
- The term “disinformation”
- The term "fraud"
- The term “influencer”
- The term "misleading"
- The term "misrepresentation"
- The term "status"
Minds On
- Display examples of print/online advertisements of food and beverages for students to reference. Have students critically reflect on three ads using an Anticipation Guide (refer to Materials). The advertisements should show common advertising techniques.
- Lead a whole-group discussion by having students share ideas and opinions after reflecting on each advertisement.
Action
- Provide a list of common Advertising Techniques (refer to Materials) to each student.
- In pairs (or small groups), students participate in a carousel activity, rotating to four different advertisements and completing a Graphic Organizer by analyzing and evaluating the four advertisements.
- The four advertisements should be different from those used in the Minds On for variety, but you may wish to have students analyze the same ones.
Consolidation
- Have student pairs/small groups share findings based on the carousel activity and discuss how they evaluated each advertisement.
- Create a class chart with student guidelines for viewing and evaluating advertisements.
Debrief
- How might social influencers potentially impact an individual’s spending patterns?
- After evaluating each advertisement, which product out of the four would you purchase? Justify your answer.
- Which advertising techniques do you think would have the most influence on various individual’s spending decisions (e.g., people your age, people younger or older than you, adults)?
