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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.

Alaska content standards learning standard: SL.8.2; RI.8.7 · 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 Alaska

In the Alaska content standards, 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: 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 technique appeals mainly to logic?

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

  2. Question 2

    What is a media technique?

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

  3. Question 3

    How can an echo chamber affect people's reactions to news?

    • it makes people read more books
    • it has no effect
    • it can make them more certain and less open to other views
    • it makes everyone agree with facts

  4. Question 4

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

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

  5. Question 5

    Which technique uses credibility?

    • a cartoon dancing
    • a firefighter explaining smoke alarm safety
    • a catchy jingle
    • a giveaway contest

  6. Question 6

    How can the order of stories in a newscast affect viewers?

    • the last story is always true
    • viewers forget all of them
    • order has no effect
    • the first stories seem most important

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