Purpose: The purpose of this assignment assignment is for students to think critically about news broadcasts on television. More specifically, students will look at how television typifies gender by looking at co-ed news broadcast teams.
Procedures:
- Students will be assigned to watch a local news broadcast that features both a male and female newscaster. During the viewing, students are to keep a log on which stories are told by the male and female newscaster. Students are also to make note whether or not the male or female newscaster received the same amount of air time and equal amount of stories. Also, students should note what the "big stories" were and who told those stories.
- After viewing the broadcast, students are to write a summary of their findings. In the summary students are to discuss the following: What types of stories did the female newscaster tell? Male? Who told the most important stories? Who claimed the most airtime? Or was airtime equal?
- During the next class, students would talk in small groups about what they found. Then as a whole class, students would discuss whether or not women are gender typed in the news: Do women tend to tell more sentimental stories? Do the men tell the more important news?
- After this discussion, the class would view a few clips of the character Robin from the TV show "How I Met Your Mother," to look at the types of news segments she's assigned to discuss and the only types of news jobs she can find. (This will require some organization and preparation from the teacher)
- After viewing the clips, students would reflect in writing on whether the scenarios parodied on the TV show hold any truth to their news viewings.
Activity #2: Advertising Persuasion
Purpose: The purpose of this activity is for students to demonstrate their understanding of how advertisements persuade consumers to buy their products. This activity would likely come at the end of a unit on media literacy as it assumes the student knows and understands how the consumers are influenced to buy.
A great resource for helping students to understand advertising persuasion is to watch the video "The Persuaders" from the Frontline series on PBS. This show touches on many aspects of the influence of the media, and would be a great companion to this activity.
Procedures:
- With an understanding of media influences students will utilize the techniques advertisers use today in order to make a print ad for "school."
- To help students better prepare for this assignment, students will view an assortment of billboards, posters, TV commercials, radio commercials, and internet advertisements. At this point in the unit, these forms of advertisements will be familiar to students.
- After viewing each ad, students will discuss the following: What is the advertisement trying to sell? How is it trying to sell it? What persuasive strategies is it using? What is the motive behind the advertisement?
- After viewing all of the selected ads, students will discuss the following: How are these ads similar/different? Which ones are effective? Which ones are not effective? Which ones are most memorable? Why?
- Next, students will work in small groups to make a print ad persuading people to consume education (to go to school, stay in school, etc). They will use the same techniques advertisers use to make profit, in order to "sell school." Such persuasive strategies include humor, fear, sex appeal, logical arguments, emotional arguments, celebrity sponsorship, and using popular music. Each group will choose a different strategy to focus on.
- After completion of the ads, students will present them to the class, where the class will answer the same questions they asked about advertisements above.
Possible Modifications: Make an advertisement for a novel read in class, or do the above in a TV, radio, or online advertisement.
Abigail I really liked your first assignment! There is so much media to analyze during a news broadcast, I think it's a great idea to narrow the focus down to just gender. I also liked that you applied the gender roles the students observed in the news and analyzed them within the context of other television shows. I think it's important for the students to see how gender roles are also portrayed in the wider community.
ReplyDeleteMay I suggest you look at the basic principles referred to in the broadcast, and to the extent that they ignore or refer to them. Principles are critical to education, but tend to be ignored. See "Teaching and Helping Students Think and Do Better" on amazon.
ReplyDelete