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LESSON PLAN—The Power of Media
Suggested Grade Levels – Grades 5-8
Learning Objectives
Learners will understand the power the media has in changing perceptions and behavior and acknowledge how
youth can utilize the media to make a difference in issues that matter to them.
Enrichment Goal
In this lesson, learners will be provided with information on media options to complete a media project on an
issue of their choice.
Materials/Preparation
• copies of the reference pages (mini-workbook) for each student Lesson Procedures
Introductory Activity:
• Ask students to take out a sheet of paper and list as many
media sources as they can think of. (Examples: blogs, magazines, billboards, etc.)
• Survey students to see who has the most listed. Read and
share lists. Emphasize that media is everywhere.
Workbook
• Hand out the workbook pages to students.
• As fits your class arrangement, allow students to complete
workbook individually, in small groups or as a large class.
• When finished discuss as a class the following:
> Have students name media campaigns they have seen
that, in their opinions, have made a difference or have
advocated for an important issue. (Some of note include
anti-smoking campaign, get moving campaign, etc.)
> Discuss why they feel these are important campaigns.
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Concluding Activity
• Allow students to work individually or in small groups to select an issue of importance to them.
• Instruct students to select a media format of their choice to inform others on their issue. Some
suggestions include:
> Blogging
> Setting up a Web site
> Creating a Public Service Announcement (PSA)
> Filming a skit
> Writing a newspaper article
> Creating a bulletin board mock-up
• Have students share their finished product and suggest ways for them to publish works.
Enrichment Activity
Arrange to publish student works.
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WORKBOOK—The Power of Media
The Power of Media
Media is an important and powerful tool. Every day, people are affected by the media images they see – sometimes they rush out and
purchase something, other times they are influenced to laugh and cry,
and sometimes the media even influences behavior.
In fact, media so influences behavior it is often directly used by the
government and public service campaigns to reach out and change
people’s behavior.
Think about it: Think about some current and ongoing public service
campaigns you might have seen on television, in magazines or online.
(Examples: anti-smoking, physical exercise, etc.) Name one campaign
that sticks out in your memory. What was it? Why was it impactful?
Did it change the way you thought or behaved?
Historical Differences
The fact is certain public service campaigns have made a huge difference in history. Look back to World War
II. A national ad campaign featuring “Rosie the Riveter,” a woman in work attire posing with her bicep flexed,
was launched in 1942. Posters and a wartime song helped lure over 2 million women into the workforce. The
effort didn’t just stop there however, national magazines led cover stories of women in war jobs; motion pictures,
newspapers, radio, trade press, and employee publications also showcased women at work. The ad campaign
was designed to enact social change. It took something that was out of the norm for the time period – women
working outside the home – and made it seem socially acceptable, and more importantly, patriotic. The result
changed American economics and family dynamics as women entered the work place in force.
Go Online
Visit http://www.adcouncil.org/default.aspx?id=61 to view historic and impactful public service media campaigns, including the “Rosie the Riveter” campaign. Which campaigns do you recognize? The
point is, media is a powerful tool for getting important messages across. It’s not just about laugh tracks or
social networking.
Think about it
As a youth, do you ever feel powerless? After all you can’t vote, don’t have a say in many things you do, and life is
mostly about school, friends, home, and hobbies. Would you like to make a difference? What issues spark you?
It’s important to know that just because you can’t vote doesn’t mean you can’t make a difference. Everyday youth
utilize the media to help shape the world around them. They find interests and issues to get involved in. In a day
and age when negativity surrounds youth and messages of teen angst, teen violence, and teen failure abound in
the news, youth are also finding ways to utilize the media to their advantage. And, with the Internet, never have
teens had an easier way to develop an audience and make a difference.
Youth are turning to media – video, audio, print, photography, online works, digital art, flash animation, and
more – to speak out and make a difference in their world.
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Brainstorm
What are issues that interest you?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
How could you utilize media to get a message out on an issue of your choice?
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