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4th grade · English Language Arts · Unit 11 of 20

Media and Sources

Target audiences, techniques and good sources

What your child practices

Children practice naming the target audience and purpose of a message, spotting techniques like close-ups and “hurry” words, telling facts from opinions, searching with keywords and judging whether a source is reliable.

New York State Learning Standards learning standard: 4W6; 4W7; 4R7 · searching, judging sources and reading the purpose of media messages

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Ask who a message is for (the audience) and why it was made (the purpose).
  2. Ads use tricks like close-ups and “hurry” words to make you act fast.
  3. Check that a source is reliable and up to date, and compare it with another source.

Example: An ad says “Hurry! Only three left!” What technique is this? “Hurry” and “only three” push you to act now. It makes you feel you must act fast. Answer: making you feel you must act fast

Media and Sources in New York

In the New York State Learning Standards, this is unit 11 of 20 in 4th grade English Language Arts, after Grammar Gears and before Spelling Rules.

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: New York State Education Department (NYSED)

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 a target audience?

    • the price of the product
    • the place an ad is shown
    • the people who made the message
    • the group a message is made for

  2. Question 2

    A video game ad shows only the best graphics. What could it be leaving out?

    • that it is a game
    • the name of the game
    • the pictures
    • how long the game takes to load

  3. Question 3

    An ad says “Hurry! Only three left!” What technique is this?

    • showing a fair comparison
    • telling a funny story
    • making you feel you must act fast
    • giving expert advice

  4. Question 4

    Which source is most likely accurate for facts about the planet Mars?

    • an ad for a space toy
    • a post by a stranger
    • a science-fiction movie
    • a space agency website

  5. Question 5

    Why might a news website and a store website describe the same new bike differently?

    • they have different purposes
    • one is always lying
    • bikes change every day
    • they are the same website

  6. Question 6

    Kenji reads a post that says “Dogs can't see any colors.” How can he find out if it is accurate?

    • check a science book or animal expert site
    • ask the person who posted it
    • share it
    • count the likes

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