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Learning area: English
Level: Years 5 and 6
Advertisements
1 Nature of the assessment task
Students will identify and discuss the appeals and persuasive strategies used in a number of print advertisements before designing their own advertisement concept for a magazine or newspaper. They will then present their concept orally to a group or the class and explain the persuasive strategies they have used.
The completed assessment task is expected to demonstrate the following qualities:
- the ability to develop a concept design of an advertisement for an audience
- an awareness of the target audience
- relevant and appropriate content in the oral presentation
- the ability to structure an oral presentation
- effective skills of oral presentation.
2 Links with State and Territory curriculum
3 Prior teaching and learning
For this task students should have an understanding of:
- the design and development of advertisements, including the role of concept designs.
In addition, students should have had experience of:
- analysing visual texts
- using a graphic organiser to summarise persuasive strategies
- working in collaborative groups
- making short oral presentations.
4 Teacher preparation
Download, read and photocopy the resource material for this assessment task. In addition, overhead transparencies of the resource material would allow for the whole class to share viewing and discussion. An enlarged list of persuasive techniques (Part 2 of the Advertisement analysis sheet), displayed in class during the task, would remind students of the tools they could use in their own design. A laminated version of this list could remain on display for an extended period of time and continue to be used as a reference.
Student resources
Teacher resources
5 Scaffolding: Preparing students for the task
Inform students of the nature of the assessment task and explain or clarify the criteria against which they will be assessed. Click here for the Student rubric for advertisement task.
Activity One
Distribute the advertisement analysis sheet to students. Explain each of headings on the analysis sheet and discuss the common persuasive techniques listed. Students will probably be able to suggest examples of advertisements that make use of these techniques.
Activity Two
The advertisements for analysis could then be distributed to students in pairs or groups for discussion and completion of the advertisement analysis sheet, and followed up with whole-class discussion.
You might use the overhead projector to model the analysis of an advertisement as an example before asking students to complete the others in pairs or groups.
Alternatively, teachers might use their own selection of magazine advertisements for analysis, in addition to or instead of the advertisements provided.
Teachers might also consider asking students to generate a class list of persuasive techniques as they view advertisements instead of using the provided list of persuasive techniques.
Informal opportunities to assess for learning will occur during these activities. Teachers will be able to observe students as they work in pairs or in groups, and to note the levels of student understanding of persuasive techniques.
At some point during this preparatory stage, teachers might consider inviting a speaker from the advertising industry to speak about the process of designing an advertisement.
6 The task
- Introduce the task to the class by showing them the example of a concept model and the advertisement that was made from that model. Explain to them that they are going to produce a concept model for a product and then present that model to a group or the class. They might like to imagine themselves as employees of an advertising agency.
- As a class, brainstorm a list of products from which each student can choose one to be the subject of their advertisement, or provide students with a list of products.
- Either nominate a target audience for the product or allow students to select their own.
- Encourage students to use the Advertisement analysis sheet Part 2, where they will find examples of persuasive techniques as a reference, and remind them that in their oral presentations they will need to highlight the persuasive techniques that they have chosen to use in their concept model.
- Specify the time students have to produce the concept model and the duration of the oral presentation. Prior to the presentation of their concept models to the class or group, students will need to share the oral explanation with a partner to give an opportunity for rehearsal of the assessment task. Another informal opportunity to assess for learning will occur at this point, and teachers could provide appropriate oral feedback to students.
- Where facilities permit, teachers could also consider videotaping the oral presentations, as this would provide a useful tool for self/peer assessment.
7 Professional advice
The following diagnostic grid could be used by teachers to record students' performance on each of the expected qualities to obtain a snapshot of those areas in which students will need further instruction. The teaching and learning activities that follow the grid are also related to each of the expected qualities and suggest some ways in which teachers could consolidate or extend student performance. Click here to view how the grid might be completed.
Teaching and learning activities linked to the expected qualities listed in the rubrics, and in the diagnostic grid, can be found at the following links:
Teaching and learning activities
Ad concept
(a) Development of a concept design for an advertisement
- If students performed at a low level on this aspect of the task, provide them with more opportunities to sketch concept maps. Use existing locations such as the classroom, the playground, a section of the school, the oval, or a group of students standing at the front of the class as materials for a sketch. Model sketching. Apply time limits to encourage students to work quickly and remain at the level of a 'concept sketch'.
- If students performed at a high level on this aspect of the task, provide them with opportunities to go into production. Publish or display their concepts and, in cooperation with the Art Department, allow them to realise their designs. Where facilities and circumstances allow you may think of integrating technology for this task. You may also invite the whole class to present concept maps of an ad for the same product to challenge and stimulate their creativity.
(b) Demonstration of an awareness of audience for an ad concept
- If students performed at a low level on this aspect of the task, provide them with more opportunities to analyse advertisements focusing on identifying persuasive strategies used for the target audience. Use ads from newspapers and magazines. Display these in class. Model identification of persuasive strategies and explain their pertinence to the target audience. Create opportunities for students where they attempt to persuade each other to buy a product or service or go to a place which they don't particularly like. You may tape these activities and use them as material for analysis of the effectiveness of the persuasive strategies to the target audience. Ask students to think of ways to persuade their parents or teachers to grant them a concession, such as being out for a longer period of time or extending the due date for an assignment.
- If students performed at a high level on this aspect of the task, provide them with opportunities to examine more sophisticated advertising campaigns. You could also provide examples of ads from different historical periods to allow students comparisons and contrasts of persuasive techniques. You could extend students by inviting a graphic artist or use the expertise of art teachers to extend their knowledge of visual tools of persuasion. Students could be asked to produce ads for the same product but targeting different audiences. Students could be introduced to the notion of 'ad campaigns' and asked to design one.
Oral presentation
(a) Relevant and appropriate content
- If students performed at a low level on this aspect of the task, use selected newspaper and magazine advertisements as models of relevant and appropriate content. You may consider 'adjusting' or redesigning print advertisements so that the content does not match the target audience, for example, an ad for men's shavers featuring garden furniture. Use these 'adjusted' ads as a basis of a discussion about appropriateness and relevance of content. Make a list of content from ads that use appropriate and relevant images and slogans. Encourage students to refer to this list as they design their own ad.
- If students performed at a high level on this aspect of the task, provide them with opportunities to discuss the concept of 'appropriate content'. Use this opportunity for critical literacy exercises, tapping into the values inherent in images. You may consider leading a discussion on the subject or have a class debate. You could point students to the Advertising Standards expected in Australia. If you haven't done so before, you could invite a representative from the advertising industry to talk on this matter. An extension activity would be to consider the whole issue of censorship.
(b) Awareness of the audience of the presentation
- If students performed at a low level on this aspect of the task, provide them with more opportunities to speak in pairs, small groups and class. Use their own photographs as a basis for an informative talk. Students could move on to 'explain' photographs from magazines or newspapers. You could invite them to bring along an interesting object and explain some facts about it. Or, in conjunction with SOSE, students could explain the parts of a scientific instrument or a map. Once students are comfortable and confident in speaking to an audience, you may consider videotaping them and using the tape to highlight the skills they have acquired and draw attention to future improvements that still need to be made.
- If students performed at a high level on this aspect of the task, provide them with opportunities to speak about more complex material. Give them an opportunity to persuade small groups or the class about specific products or ideas. The material could be from any subject area. In Geography, for example, a topic such as this may be chosen: 'We must protect the rainforest at all cost' or 'The cane toad is a menace'. You may also consider challenging students with impromptu talks.
(c) Appropriate structure of the presentation
- If students performed at a low level on this aspect of the task, consider using a variety of graphic organisers to assist them with planning and structuring of their presentation. The following URL provides examples of graphic organisers.
http://www.graphic.org/goindex.html
Students may be encouraged to write each separate persuasive technique on a card and then invited to sequence these in the order of the most important to the least important.
- If students performed at a high level on this aspect of the task, ask them to consider other ways in which they might structure presentations, particularly in order to appeal to the interests and concerns of different audiences. For example, ask them to imagine that the client belongs to a particular group in society with very specific characteristics.
(d) Effective oral presentation skills
- If students performed at a low level on this aspect of the task, provide them with opportunities to speak in front of a small group of friends. Use film footage of a range of speakers to draw attention to effective oral presentation skills. Model effective non-verbal language or role-play inappropriate non-verbal language and discuss its impact. For example, make a short speech while staring at palm cards. Play communication games in which students communicate with each other using only non-verbal language.
- If students performed at a high level on this aspect of the task, set them challenging fun scenarios in which they must use both verbal and non-verbal language to explain and to persuade.
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