3rd grade · English Language Arts · Unit 13 of 13
Media Messages
Inform, persuade or entertain?
What your child practices
Children sort media by purpose (to inform, persuade or entertain), notice how ads use music, famous people and strong words, tell facts from opinions, and choose good sources for research questions.
California Content Standards learning standard: RI.3.6; W.3.8 · facts and opinions, what a message is for and choosing sources
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
An ad uses the words “amazing” and “awesome.” Why?
- to teach new words
- to give exact facts
- to tell you the price
- to make you feel excited about the product
to make you feel excited about the product
Hint: Strong feeling words persuade.
Question 2
What are the three main purposes of media messages?
- to inform, to persuade and to entertain
- to spell, to add and to draw
- to buy, to sell and to trade
- to sleep, to eat and to run
to inform, to persuade and to entertain
Hint: Think: teach, convince or amuse.
Question 3
Why do ads often repeat a catchy jingle?
- to make you sleepy
- to teach music
- so you remember the product
- to tell the news
so you remember the product
Hint: Repetition helps things stick.
Question 4
Who decides what goes into a news report?
- the reporters and editors who make it
- the computer
- the readers
- the weather
the reporters and editors who make it
Hint: People make choices about what to include.
Question 5
A toy ad shows only kids smiling. What might it leave out?
- a picture of the toy
- that the toy can break easily
- that it is a toy
- the name of the toy
that the toy can break easily
Hint: Ads choose what to show and what to hide.
Question 6
An ad says “Nine out of ten kids agree!” What does it want you to think?
- that the product is free
- that kids can count
- that you should agree too
- that the ad is a math lesson
that you should agree too
Hint: This is the “everybody is doing it” trick.