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6th grade · English Language Arts · Unit 11 of 12

Media Techniques

How messages persuade and why we react

What your child practices

Children name persuasion techniques such as bandwagon, testimonials, fear and scarcity, notice camera angles, music and what is left out, and think about why people react to the same message differently.

Maine Learning Results learning standard: Reading 9; Speaking and Listening 2 · an author's purpose and the techniques media messages use

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Bandwagon: everyone is doing it. Testimonial: a famous person says so. Scarcity: only a few left.
  2. Music, camera angles and what is left out all shape the message.
  3. People react differently to the same message because of their own experiences.

Example: A video plays slow, sad music while showing a lost puppy. What reaction does it aim for? Sad music sets a feeling. A lost puppy makes people feel sorry for it. Answer: sympathy

Media Techniques in Maine

In the Maine Learning Results, this is unit 11 of 12 in 6th grade English Language Arts, after Check the Source and before Spelling: Endings and Sound-Alikes.

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: Maine 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

    What is the purpose of a public service announcement?

    • to tell a funny story only
    • to sell a product
    • to inform or persuade people for the public good
    • to report sports scores

  2. Question 2

    What does “what is left out” mean when analyzing media?

    • the advertiser's logo
    • the end credits
    • the title
    • information the maker chose not to show

  3. Question 3

    A video uses slow, sad music while showing a lost puppy. What reaction does it aim for?

    • anger at puppies
    • boredom
    • sympathy
    • laughter

  4. Question 4

    A cereal box says “Part of a balanced breakfast.” What is the purpose of this phrase?

    • to tell a joke
    • to explain farming
    • to make the cereal seem healthy
    • to give a recipe

  5. Question 5

    What is a target audience?

    • the people who made it
    • the advertisers' friends
    • everyone in the world
    • the specific group a message is aimed at

  6. Question 6

    How can a person's past experiences affect how they read a news story?

    • they cannot understand it
    • they may notice different details or feel more strongly
    • they forget it instantly
    • they read the same as everyone

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