Advertising is a very powerful tool. Not only would it be a great authentic project for students to learn about how advertisements are created, but also how we are influenced by ads.
Ads are created to hit an emotional response in us. We need that, we want that, we will be better people if we have that. (Will we really?)
With one project I was involved with, the third graders wrote, created props, and filmed ads to convince other students in our school to come see their projects. The ads were filmed on a teacher’s cell phone and shared with other classes. This was a tremendous authentic learning experience on so many levels, and an off-shoot from the original project that we hadn’t planned on.
And does advertising work…well while watching the Alamo Bowl with my husband (it seems the only channels my television got during December/January had college football games on them) I saw one ad after another for visiting San Antonio, Texas. And guess where my photo above was recently taken!
The Educational Journey 