OGT Prep: Propaganda (Two Day Lesson/ First Day)
Concept: Students will look at many different forms of pop culture media in order to
analyze and recognize different forms of propaganda. To extend their thinking and to
reach different learning styles, they will create a collage of propaganda found in
magazines and arrange them into their own categories.
Objective/ Goals:
1. Students will analyze propaganda through watching popular commercials
2. Students will deconstruct propaganda by cutting out ads in magazines
3. Students will create their own understanding by synthesizing the pieces of propaganda
they have cut out of a magazine
Ohio Academic Standards
- Reading Applications: Informational, Technical and Persuasive Text,
benchmark #1 “Identify and understand organizational… and reach their
intended audience”
-
Reading Applications: Informational, Technical and Persuasive Text,
benchmark # 4 “Access the adequacy, accuracy…bias and stereotyping”
-
Reading Process: Concepts of Print, Comprehension Strategies and SelfMonitoring Strategies, benchmark #2 “ Answer literal, inferential, evaluative
and synthesizing…electronic and visual media.”
Materials:
1. Smartboard
2. Two commercials from YouTube.com:
- “Super bowl 2009 Pepsi Commercial: Refresh Anthem HD (Bob Dylan &
Will.I.Am)” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7T_IpCVf3cA
- “Apple "Get a Mac" ad: Sad Song Long”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knxqqrrEEmI&NR=1
3. Magazines (various)
4. Construction paper, scissors, glue, coloring supplies
5. Measure Up book pg. 127-128
6. Example of collage
Motivation:
1. Greet students at the door as they come in
2. During this time, speak with students who have missing assignments, students who
have been absent, and any general classroom management duties that may need to be
addressed, etc.
Transition: “As we have been looking at informational texts, we will also look how this style of text
can use rhetoric to persuade its reader”.
Lesson:
5. Ask the students to draw their attention to the smartboard
6. Have students watch the Pepsi commercial first, while they focus their attention to
“What is the overall message here”
7. When it is done, discuss with the students what they believe was the purpose of this
video, who is the audience it is intended for, and how affective it was in achieving its
goals (some answers may include: “the audience is for a young generation or children
whose parents were young in the late 60’s”, “the purpose of this video is to say that
drinking Pepsi makes you innovative”, etc.)
8. Next have the students open their Measure Up books to pg.127-128. Quickly review
these terms with the students answering any questions they have about each term
9. When they are comfortable with the terms, show the students the PC/Mac commercial
and see if they can break down the use of persuasive propaganda in the video
Time: 20 minutes
Extended Thinking/Assessment:
10. When the students have finished analyzing the videos, have them take out the
magazines they brought for homework while you pass out construction paper
Transition: “Now, that we’ve seen how commercials use these techniques, I would like you to chart
some different styles of at least 3 different methods of propaganda through a collage”
11. Show the class an example that you made to help them visualize what you are asking
them to create
12. For the remainder of the class, have students work on this project in groups of 2 or 3
13. Inform the students that if they are not done, tomorrow( after a quick activity on war
and propaganda), they will have some class time tomorrow to work on it and will give a
short presentation of their materials and how they found certain propaganda was being
used
Time: 10 minutes
Homework: Continue thinking about the concept of the collage and find pieces of propaganda to add to
it