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5th grade · English Language Arts · Unit 8 of 11

Media Smarts

See through persuasive ads

What your child practices

Spotting the tricks ads use, telling facts from opinions, and asking smart questions about who made a message and why.

Alaska content standards learning standard: RI.5.7; RI.5.8 · the purposes of ads and the techniques they use to persuade

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Ads use tricks to sell. Bandwagon says everyone is doing it. A testimonial uses someone famous or happy to praise it.
  2. Emotional appeal tries to make you feel something, like fear or joy.
  3. Ask: who made this, who is it for, and what do they want me to do?

Example: An ad says, “All the kids in town have one. Don’t be left out!” Which technique is this? It says everyone has it. Joining in because others do is bandwagon. Answer: bandwagon

Media Smarts in Alaska

In the Alaska content standards, this is unit 8 of 11 in 5th grade English Language Arts, after Punctuation Power and before Create With Words, Pictures and Sound.

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: Alaska Department of Education and Early Development

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 persuasive technique does this ad use?

    A popular singer says, “This toothpaste gives me my bright smile.”

    • bandwagon
    • exaggeration
    • testimonial
    • emotional appeal

  2. Question 2

    Which persuasive technique does this ad use?

    Puppies at the shelter are waiting for a loving home. Will you give one a family?

    • bandwagon
    • emotional appeal
    • repetition
    • testimonial

  3. Question 3

    Which technique makes claims so big they can't be true?

    • exaggeration
    • testimonial
    • bandwagon
    • emotional appeal

  4. Question 4

    Which persuasive technique does this ad use?

    Crunchy crackers. Crunchy fun. Crunchy every time!

    • bandwagon
    • testimonial
    • repetition
    • emotional appeal

  5. Question 5

    Sort these ad statements into facts and opinions.

    Sort into: 📏 Fact · 💬 Opinion

    • 📖The book has 240 pages.
    • 🚲This bike has 21 gears.
    • 🚲This is the coolest bike ever.
    • 🏪The store opens at 9:00 a.m.
    • 🎲This game is the most fun you'll ever have.
    • 🏪Our store has the friendliest staff in town.

  6. Question 6

    An ad shows kids laughing as they play a new video game. It plays during a cartoon show. Who is the target audience?

    • grandparents
    • business owners
    • farmers
    • kids

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