Level(s): Grades 10 - 12

Author: John A. Macdonald is with the Toronto Catholic District School Board. This lesson was adapted from The AML Anthology (1990), produced by the Association for Media Literacy.

Overview:

This unit helps students become more aware of the media’s use of hype and its influence on them. This will be achieved through:

• class and group discussions of reactions to various examples and aspects of hype.
• a variety of oral and written responses
• a role-play scenario to investigate the ways in which hype shapes what we value in society.
• an examination of a media event.
• discussion and examination of our tendency to favor strong, emotional appeal over factual information.
• discussion and examination of the commercial aspects of hype.
• opportunities to talk about hype with a guest speaker from a marketing outfit or advertising agency.

Learning Outcomes

Students will:

• explore and reflect upon ways in which promotional techniques and marketing strategies determine the content of the media and the values it presents.
• appreciate the methods, strategies and techniques used by the media to create an atmosphere of excitement surrounding an event.
• understand how hype affects our relationship with, and interpretation of, the media.
• understand the commercial implications of media hype.

This lesson and all associated documents (handouts, overheads, backgrounders) is available in an easy-print, pdf kit version.