It's important to know what the ratings mean on the video games your children play. The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is an industry organization that has developed a rating system for computer, Internet and video games. Most games sold in North America are rated using this system.

In this lesson students identify how we associate social status with  brand name products, and how we believe others perceive us by what we wear. Students will also explore the notion of “brand identity” and how companies use social networks, and advertising strategies to create parasocial relationships with their consumers. To assess their learning, students then independently analyze the identity of a brand of their choice and create a mock ad that more openly communicates its implicit appeal. 

In this lesson students discuss their online experiences and learn how to minimize the potential risks that may be associated with them.

In this lesson, students consider the idea that a news source can be “accurate but misleading” through the concept of framing. Students learn about the different ways that news stories may be framed, identify examples of framing in a news story, then find and evaluate examples of framing in news stories on a particular issue.