Packaging Tricks - Lesson Lesson Plan

Level: Primary/Junior

Author: MediaSmarts

Parts of this lesson have been adapted with permission from the Media Literacy Guide, Saskatoon Board of Education, © 1994, and from A Practical Guide for Parents: Advertising, Nurtrition and Kids, a guide created by The Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU) and the International Food Information Council (IFIC).

Duration: 40 minutes

This lesson is part of USE, UNDERSTAND & ENGAGE: A Digital Media Literacy Framework for Canadian Schools.

Overview

This lesson introduces students to the ways in which packaging is designed to attract kids. The class begins with a discussion about packaging and how the design, promotions and product placement all contribute to make a product attractive to consumers. In a series of individual and group activities, students compare similar food products based on packaging and on taste; assess the nutritional value of the foods and beverages they enjoy; and participate in a field trip to a local grocery store to see how packaging and placement affect consumer choices.

Learning Outcomes

Students demonstrate:

• awareness of the techniques used by advertisers to sell food products.
• beginning awareness of how they are affected by these techniques.
• an understanding that products may be similar, despite differences in packaging.
• an understanding of nutritional labelling on packages.

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