Students analyze alcohol and tobacco ads and create parodies of them. The eight lessons in this unit include discussions about why teens smoke or drink, the psychology behind the advertising, and writing persuasive letters to agencies,...

Pupils discuss the role of media in their lives and making decisions. In groups, they define violence and identify how it is represented in the type of entertainment they are accustomed to viewing. They compare and contrast behaviors...

An introductory lesson shows learners how pervasive and influential advertising is in our culture; particularly, how teenagers are actively targeted by advertisers. As teenagers, your students already have all the information they need...

Students research visual messages by completing a media quiz. In this television programming lesson, students identify the many programs and commercials which use sexual imagery to sell their program or product. Students discuss methods...

Pupils become informed consumers and citizens with this lesson on the influence of advertising, identifying basic advertising techniques and discriminating between fact and claim in modern advertisements and commercials.

Middle schoolers discuss the relationship teenagers have with the television. In groups, they watch different excerpts from various television shows and note every instance of violence including children. They also discuss the...

Why are so many advertisements geared towards the teenage population? Watch a video with your class (link included), and have them fill out the attached listening guide. Then discuss persuasion, presenting biased information, and where...

Students analyze music videos as a study on teen culture. In this teen culture lesson, students view music videos and track a different aspect of the videos for male representation, female representation, racial representation,...

Disease prevention or designer babies? Use a set of slides to introduce the growing practice of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, or PGD. Teens read related articles and then break into groups to address different scenarios. Afterward,...

Learners analyze the impact of American Bandstand on race relations. In this race relations instructional activity, students use the music and dance show American Bandstand to learn about race relations. Learners categorize pivotal...

Sixth graders examine the eight persuasive techniques, identifying them in all avenues of media including magazine, TV, Internet, and billboards, and making them aware of how advertising already influences them. They write an essay using...

Before teens head off to college or the workforce, they need to understand the world of credit. Here, they look online at credit card agreements to find hidden fees and rates. The online activity guides them through and even assesses...

Young people often get themselves into trouble with credit cards because they don't fully understand interest rates, fees, etc. This activity requires teens to research and record information on three different credit cards in order to...

Learners view and discuss the public television program, Wide Angle: Young, Muslim, and French. They research and write a position in favor of or against the headscarf ban in France, and examine the influence of media in shaping...

Eighth graders analyze the criteria used to identify "Soul of a Champion" athletes.  In this Current Events lesson, 8th graders write, edit and organize a script for a “live” documentary on the athlete. Students rehearse and perform...

Young scholars understand what advertisements are trying to do and how they do it

Students interpret information from the video "The Lost Children of Rockdale County" through a series of written questions and answers, and group discussion and evaluate the parameters of parental responsibility in the lives of teenagers.

Students watch a video about one woman who planned to commit murder because of a cheerleading scandal.