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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.

Arizona Academic Standards learning standard: 8.SL.2; 8.RI.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 Arizona

In the Arizona Academic 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: Arizona Department of Education

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 reaction does a charity ad using hopeful music and smiling children aim for?

    • confusion
    • fear
    • hope that inspires people to give
    • boredom

  2. Question 2

    Why might a brand create an online quiz like “Which snack matches your personality?”

    • to report news
    • to collect attention and information while promoting its product
    • to teach science
    • to grade students

  3. Question 3

    Which technique uses credibility?

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

  4. Question 4

    Which technique appeals mainly to logic?

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

  5. Question 5

    What does a media message's subtext mean?

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

  6. Question 6

    Why might a feed show you more and more extreme videos on a topic?

    • the system recommends content that keeps attention
    • it is random
    • the videos are more accurate
    • your teacher chose them

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