As well as encouraging a more critical attitude towards adverts, this KS2 lesson develops children’s media skills. They’ll work in multi-role teams to produce a short advert promoting a cause that they care about.
The children in your class are exposed to many adverts across a range of media. Do you ever wonder how critical they are in their viewing or reading of such messages? How easily are they persuaded to buy things they don’t need?
Sustainability and other environmental topics would provide a rich source of ideas and material for the topic, as would an anti-bullying campaign.
Alternatively, children might wish to create adverts to promote a school event, such as the summer fair or a school play.
KS2 adverts learning objectives
- Develop a critical awareness of the techniques used in television adverts
- Develop video shooting and editing techniques
- Develop skills in working as part of a multi-role team
Starter activity
Familiarise yourself with any free video editing software you have available, and the tools that are most accessible to your class.
Begin by asking the children to discuss television adverts they consider particularly effective or persuasive. If possible, use YouTube or the Telly Ads archive to share these examples with the class.
Invite children to discuss what it is about each advert that makes it effective. Comment on the technical aspects of the advert.
Brief the children on the topic for their adverts. Invite them to spend some time researching this area independently to find out more about the cause they are to promote. Get familiar with existing approaches to advertising in this area.
A plenary at this stage would allow children to share this ‘market research’ with their classmates. The market research idea can be extended to include some surveys of children throughout the school (and perhaps further afield via the Internet), using paper or web-based surveys and using Excel or InspireData to analyse their data, and to set priorities for their adverts.
This lesson plan is an edited extract from the ‘We are advertisers’ unit in Switched On Computing from Rising Stars.
