How To...Put Advertising to Work

For Reproducible click here. PDF 64KB

We live in a consumer society and advertising makes the economics of that world go 'round. As the target audience for advertisers gets younger and younger, and more and more advertising appears online, it's necessary to prepare our students to be aware of ads as a marketing tool and to be more discriminating about advertising claims.

When I find a website with instructional content that supports the curriculum, sometimes the advertising on the site is a distraction to the children. I teach my students what banner advertisements and button advertisements are and I review any ads with them when I introduce the site. If students are knowledgeable and prepared, then less time is spent off task exploring the advertisements.

Kid-created ads
We know kids are influenced by consumer advertising, so let's use advertisements to build our students' reading comprehension skills and consumer awareness. Analyzing an advertisement begins with knowing the basics of designing a print ad. Key elements include a headline, a visual, text copy to tell about the product and a signature with the company's name and contact information. These elements are outlined in the downloadable reproducible.

Have students review and categorize advertisements in newspapers and magazines. This is a good way to get your students focused on analysis and ready to create their own advertisements. Once students are familiar with the print advertising elements of headline, visual, text copy and slogan, have students create an advertisement for a product that they think would appeal to kids. You can print their designs in the school's end-of-year Parent Newsletter. Visit Trackstar at trackstar.4teachers.org and type in Track ID 194270 ("The Language to Use in Advertising") for vocabulary to use in advertisements.

Timely resources
To extend our discussion of advertisements into current events, I use the PBS resource "P.O.V.: Dissect an Ad," which examines political advertising.

Another terrific resource, a web-quest titled "Ad Dissection 101," assigns roles for investigating ads and uses slideshow presentations to guide students in reading an advertisement and recognizing the appeals and claims in advertising. For even more about this lesson, visit Field Trip Earth for Advertising Campaigns.

You can also motivate advertising awareness by having students explore the Museum of Advertising Icons at www.advertisingiconmuseum.com. (Be sure and explore the Gallery and Links.) Students can choose a group of toys and survey friends and family to see how many of them recognize these famous characters from advertisements past and present. Post graphs of their results in the classroom or hallway.

Don't Buy It, Get Media Smart
pbskids.org/dontbuyit
This interactive PBS Kids unit on advertisements invites kids to learn about "Ad Tricks" and "Buying Smart." Kids can also "Be the Ad Detective," "Create an Ad" and "Design a Cereal Box."

Advertising in the Media
www.cln.org
This site features links to lessons and activities for studying advertising.

Visit artsedge.kennedy-center.org and type "media" and "advertising" in the lesson search box. You'll get three lessons on advertising techniques, with handouts and links.

Emergence of Advertising in America
scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/eaa
This timeline of advertising 1850- 1920 features 11 categories for advertising and primary source materials showing ads from each era.

For Reproducible click here. PDF 64KB

Linda K. Lindroth is Technology Editor and Web Coordinator for Teaching K-8. She is also a Technology Resource Teacher in a K-5 computer lab in Lexington, KY.

Updated February 2009
May 2004, Vol.34, No.8