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8th grade · English Language Arts · Unit 11 of 12

Media Influence

Appeals, feeds and echo chambers

What your child practices

Children explain the purposes of media messages and the techniques behind them (appeals to emotion, logic and credibility, editing, subtext, sponsorship) and how feeds and echo chambers affect people's reactions.

Alabama Course of Study content standard: 8.11; 8.19 · the motives behind media messages and the techniques they use

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Media appeal to emotion, logic and credibility. Editing and music shape how we feel.
  2. Look for what’s left out, like how many people gave a rating.
  3. Echo chambers show you only views like yours, which can make people less open.

Example: An app says “4 stars!” but only 10 people rated it. What is the problem? Ten ratings is a tiny number. A few people may not represent most users. Answer: the rating is based on very few people

Media Influence in Alabama

In the Alabama Course of Study, this is unit 11 of 12 in 8th grade English Language Arts, after Precise Words & Spelling and before Weigh the Evidence.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Which technique appeals mainly to logic?

    • showing a sunset
    • giving statistics from a named study
    • playing upbeat music
    • using a famous singer

  2. Question 2

    Why might people from different generations react differently to the same ad?

    • different experiences and values shape reactions
    • younger people never watch ads
    • ads only work on one age
    • older people cannot see ads

  3. Question 3

    What is a media technique?

    • the price of a message
    • a type of computer
    • the length of the message
    • a choice in how a message is made, like camera angle, music or word choice

  4. Question 4

    Why might a company sponsor a popular online creator?

    • to teach grammar
    • to fix computers
    • to reach the creator's audience with its message
    • to share news

  5. Question 5

    What does a media message's subtext mean?

    • the small print price
    • the title
    • the date
    • the hidden or implied message

  6. Question 6

    Which question best helps analyze how a message was constructed?

    • How long is it?
    • Is it my favorite?
    • What techniques were used, and why?
    • Who is watching it?

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