Cown+video+clip+assignment

media type="youtube" key="VxhISBxSIJs&hl=en&fs=1" height="344" width="425" Video clip assignment

media type="youtube" key="0W7A4Cm82rE&hl=en&fs=1" height="344" width="425"

media type="youtube" key="Zy9j9Y0sCEo&hl=en&fs=1" height="344" width="425" =Actual assignment=

“The prize in the cereal box”

For this assignment you will be viewing two cereal commercials. Just like every advertisement and writing there is both an audience and a purpose. You will analyze the clip and determine both the audience and the purpose for the commercial (what is the commercial saying about their product). After viewing the commercials, write down on a sheet of paper the audience that each one was appealing to. Then write down two-three main ideas that the commercial was using to convince you to buy their product. We will view each commercial a few times, so just watch the first time and then begin writing down your answers the second and third times.

We will discuss your answers with the class and I will write your answers on the board as we discuss the reasoning for the company choosing those main ideas for their product over others. We will compare and contrast the selling points versus the audience and how each might change in a different situation.

Once you have been given an opportunity to analyze the commercials I will put you into groups of 3-4 and you will come up with your own commercials/advertisements. You can either create a commercial that will be recorded, or use a sheet of paper to create an ad for a magazine. Both will be assessed the same way in looking for the following items.

1.	Is your audience well defined? ____ out of 5 pts.

2.	Do you have at least 3 major selling points? ___ out of 10 pts.

3.	Do you have a main idea/selling point that is a focus? ____out of 5 pts.

=Behind the scenes=

This assignment would be for my sixth grade language arts class. I would use it during our unit on propaganda and again when we teach persuasive writing. During this unit I am using the novel “Crispin” to teach propaganda and we move into persuasive writing in the next unit.

With the “Malt-O-Meal” commercial, it is easy for kids to pick up the main ideas of why they should buy the cereal. It also teaches them audience by not using cartoons and teenagers, but an adult instead. This commercial in conjunction with the Cheerios commercial gives them an insight into the importance of audience and main idea. The main ideas are a little harder to hear in the cheerios commercial, yet it is more stimulating. Why would they make it more difficult to hear the selling points, or are teenagers more apt to picking them up when they are coated in entertainment? For the Malt O Meal commercial I will probe questions such as, "why does this appeal more to adults, what is the main selling point of the product, how can you tell this commercial is not for kids"?

I have used this assignment before, but did not use it so thoroughly. I am hoping that using it and then requiring the students to produce their own commercials will help them to develop more of their own ideas. Another idea might be that I have them write a commercial for one audience and then choose another audience but use the same product. This might help them to think more creatively and have to apply their knowledge using multiple modes.

Being that I am teaching sixth graders, they often need guiding when it comes to what I am looking for. Usually providing them with an example will help to get them started, but often times they simply regurgitate what I have just taught, rather than thinking for themselves. This is a problem I have in any lesson I teach. I feel that older students would be able to have less instruction and direction (more abstract), but mine need that structure and have a hard time moving away from it.

ELA 6R1 The student demonstrates comprehension and shows evidence of a warranted and responsible explanation of a variety of literary and informational texts.

h. Responds to and explains the effects of sound, figurative language, and graphics in order to uncover meaning in literature: i. Sound (e.g., alliteration, onomatopoeia, rhyme scheme) ii. Figurative language (i.e., simile, metaphor, hyperbole, personification) iii. Graphics (i.e., capital letters, line length, bold face print, italics).

ELA6RC2 The student participates in discussions related to curricular learning in all subject areas. The student a. Identifies messages and themes from books in all subject areas. b. Responds to a variety of texts in multiple modes of discourse. c. Relates messages and themes from one subject area to those in another area. d. Evaluates the merits of texts in every subject discipline. e. Examines the author’s purpose in writing. f. Recognizes and uses the features of disciplinary texts (e.g., charts, graphs, photos, maps, highlighted vocabulary).

ELA6W2 The student demonstrates competence in a variety of genres. b. Demonstrates an understanding of the literary work. c. Advances a judgment that is interpretive, analytic, evaluative, or reflective. d. Organizes an interpretation around several clear ideas, premises, or images. e. Supports a judgment through references to the text.