Activity Introduction
In this lesson, students will learn new skills that will allow them to critically consider the messages conveyed in visual advertising.
They will note their first impressions of a printed advertisement, then take part in a jigsaw classroom activity to build their knowledge of persuasive techniques used in advertising. Students will then apply their new understanding to their analysis the printed ad. They will use their new skills to subvert the message of a printed advertisement using words or images, then engage in a reflection activity to consider how applicable the learning in the lesson is to their everyday lives.
We’ve taken elements of this lesson and adapted them for remote learning. You can find these activities here and here.
- Students understand how printed advertisements use visual language to persuade.
- Topic: Consumption.
- This lesson is part of the wider unit of work SugarByHalf – English – Years 9-10.
- Time required: 90 mins.
- Level of teacher scaffolding: Medium – facilitate student movement around the classroom and guide class discussions.
- Keywords: Critical literacy, metalanguage, visual text, visual meaning, language analysis, advertising, SugarByHalf, marketing, graffiti.
To view our Australian Curriculum alignment click here.
To view our NZ Curriculum alignment click here.
- Student Worksheets – one copy per student
- Class set of magazines or newspapers that feature advertising of food products
- Example advertisement – printed in colour, one copy per student
- Visual language factsheets:
- Web-enabled devices (optional).
Cool Australia’s curriculum team continually reviews and refines our resources to be in line with changes to the Australian and New Zealand Curriculums.
