Grades: 7-10
Subject: Reading
Standards:
Content (AZ State Standard)
- Strand 3: Comprehending Information Text
- Concept 3: Persuasive Text – Explain basic elements of argument in text and their relationship to the author’s purpose and use of persuasive strategies.
- PO 3. Describe the intended effect of persuasive strategies and propaganda techniques (e.g., bandwagon, peer pressure, repetition, testimonial, transfer, loaded words) that an author uses.
NETS*S
- 1c. Promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students’ conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes
- 1d. Model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others face-to-face and virtual environments
2009 AZ Technology Standards
- Strand 1: Creativity and Innovation
- Concept 4: Original Works
- PO1- Create innovative products or projects using digital tools to express original ideas.
- PO2- Use digital collaborative tools to synthesize information, produce original works, and express ideas
Overview
Students will identify various types of persuasive strategies and propaganda techniques that an author uses by analyzing advertisements, commercial ads, and info graphs. Students will create their own advertisement and Info graphs to encourage consumers.
Essential Questions
What does it mean to be persuasive?
What are some ways you can persuade someone to do something?
What does the term propaganda mean?
Give examples of bandwagon, peer pressure, repetition, testimonial, transfer and loaded words.
How can you create an ad using one of the strategies above to get consumers to ‘opt’ in on your products?
Vocabulary (Eric, Lennie)
- author's purpose – an author’s reason for writing about a particular topic (e.g. to inform, to entertain, to persuade)
- inform – to tell or teach the audience about something
- entertain – to make the audience laugh
- persuade – to convince the audience to believe in something
- evidence – resource used to prove something is true
- support – to argue and defend against
- Propaganda – information or ideas spread for the purpose of creating a belief
- Strategy – a plan
- Technique – a method used to accomplish something a trick that produces a result
- bandwagon–gives the idea that ‘Everyone is doing it’ (e.g., Everyone else is doing it, so it must be a good thing to do!Everyone else owns one, so I better get one, too!)
- peer pressure – pressures the younger readers that ‘Everyone is doing it or is Cool’ (e.g., All the kids on the block have the newest scooter.)
- testimonial – a famous person's experience or opinion on a topic, product, issue, or cause, writer associates a famous person to the product (e.g., Micheal Jordan recommends the new NIKE Air Shox shoes)
- transfer – the write places their products into a ‘feel good’ place (e.g., the scent of Laundry detergent will make you feel like your on a cool breezy beach)
- loaded words –intense emotional impacted words that an author uses (e.g., Chunky Chocolately Milk Chocolate Cereal Bar)
- repetition – a message that uses the same phrases of words to promote a product (e.g., "We have the BIGGEST savings, the BIGGEST selection, the BIGGEST deals of the century and it's all going on this Saturday at our BIGGEST sale ever!")
Day One (computer lab)
Teacher will Introduce the Unit by having students log onto: (teacher will have created a discussion room for her students prior and provide the url name). Teacher monitors the backchannel on her monitor screen. Ask the students what ways does a company persuade their customers to buy their products? Give one example and place into the discussion room. Teacher will show a presentation on ‘Author’s Purpose’ using the interactive board or projector.
Students will:
- Log onto
- Students enter their name and click ‘Join’
- Students enter one example of how a company persuades their customers to buy their products.
- Students take notes in their Reading notebooks as they watch the presentation on ‘Author’s purpose’
- When students are done they will find news articles (topic selected by teacher) and they will give the title, 5 pieces of evidence that supports the main idea, and the author’s purpose.
Student will:
- Log onto
- Students will enter a 2 sentence summary of what they learned about Author’s Purpose
- For homework students are to find one each of the three types of author’s purpose in a newspaper from home
Day Two
Teacher will
-Introduce the lesson by identifying student’s articles they brought from home.
-Present ‘Propaganda Techniques and Examples’
-Model different examples
Students will
-Discuss for 3 minutes the articles they brought from home
-Share out to the class
Student will
-Listen/watch presentation on ‘Propaganda Techniques’
-Take notes on the different types of techniques
Student will
-Bring back three different advertisements from home or the internet and give the type of technique used in the advertisement
Day Three (computer lab or class computer rotations)
Teacher will
-Instruct students to log onto:
-Have students enter one example of a propaganda technique they see most often
-Have students will logon to: and sign up for an account using their school email address
-Give students a theme or historical topic to use for brainstorming
Students will
-Logon to and enter information
-Logon to and sign up for an account using school email
-Students will browse the topics given by teacher
-Students will explore the site and create a ‘play’ page using Glogster
-By the end of the class period students should have their ideas turned into teacher
Day Four (computer lab or classroom computer rotation)
Students will
-Logon to and start on their Info graph for their presentation on the given topic
Day Five
Teacher will facilitate and monitor
Students will
-Present their info graphs using the project or Interactive board. Using a propaganda technique
Students will
-Identify which type of propaganda they presenter used
-Identify the presenter’s purpose