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The MediaB

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Each integrated unit contains:� 6 pages of teaching notes in an integrated

teaching sequence� 10 practical blackline masters� National Profile outcomes� A useful resource list

IU42 � The MediaUpper Primary

by Merryn Whitfield

© Blake Education – Media Integrated Unit

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UPPER PRIMARY

National Profile Outcomes Students will:� SOSE 4.3 Portray an event or occasion from a

particular perspective.

� SOSE 4.12 Show how information is used as aresource to make and record decisions.

� SOSE 4.16 Identify the types of data and sourcesrequired by a task and decide how they will beused to gain information.

� English 4.1 Interact confidently with others in avariety of situations.

� English 4.12a When prompted, use a range ofstrategies for planning, reviewing and proofreadingtheir own work.

� Technology 4.5a Identify the form, structure,style and presentation used in particular mediaproducts and processes.

� Technology 4.5b Describe how processing andtransmitting information have evolved and arecontinuing to change.

� Technology 4.6 Select and use recognisedprocedures, conventions and language to processinformation and create media products.

� Arts 4.11 Make media productions thatexperiment with ideas.

� Arts 4.12 Select, combine and manipulate mediaelements using a range of skills.

The Mediaby Merryn Whitfield

� Arts 4.13 Draw upon a range of skills to presentmedia productions for a variety of purposes.

� Arts 4.15 Identify features of media texts.

ResourcesFiction BooksGary Crew and Craig Smith, Troy Thompson’s RadicalProse Portfolio, Lothian Books

Factual booksJohn D Fitzgerald, Shaping the News, SpectrumElizabeth Halley, TV News: An Interview with GeraldineDoogue, SpectrumElizabeth Halley, Radio Current Affairs: An Interviewwith Paul Murphy, SpectrumB Mann, Media Watch, Wayland Publications

Web SitesAustralian Film, Television and Radio School:http://www.aftrs.edu.au/school

The Australian: http://www.theaustralian.com.au

About Australia – News: http://www.about-australia.com/news.htm

Radio Online (USA): http://www.radio-online.com

ABC Radio Networks (USA): http://www.abcradio.com

ABC News (USA): http://www.abcnews.com

MSNBC (USA): http://www.msnbc.com/news

Learning Area Focus Studies of Society and EnvironmentTopic This unit encourages students to examine a variety of information sources, and to explore thedevelopment of different communication methods and why they are necessary in our global community. Studentsare also encouraged to consider technological changes in the media over time and to evaluate the positive andnegative aspects of these changes. The culminating activity involves a group presentation of a media product,through which students can demonstrate their understanding of the media, and how it can be used to entertain,inform and influence the general population.

For all your teaching needs visit www.blake.com.au


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What is the media?With students, discuss what they believe the mediais, who creates it, why people and communities useit, what its purpose is and what different forms itcan take. Record the information on a class chartfor future reference.Together, use the class chart to construct a form tosurvey the types of media students use and theprograms they choose, and why. (Students can usethe form they construct, or the form on BLM 1.)Ask each student to complete the survey form overthe next two to three days. Have students sharetheir results, to compare and contrast personaltastes and influences.

The influence of the mass mediaWith students, discuss the impact that the massmedia (in all its different forms) has on their lives –what they watch, what they buy, where they go,what they like etc. Ask students whether the mediahas always been as important as it is today. Recordstudents’ comments and reasons for latercomparison with other group research activities inthe unit.Provide students with research resources (books,Internet sites and computer software) on the historyof the media. Divide the class into interest-basedgroups to research the development of one area ofthe mass media, for example, radio, television,newspapers, or the World Wide Web.Each group’s research report should contain: � a time line of significant events in the history of

the area of the mass media they haveresearched;

� short biographies of significant people or groups;� an explanation of the consequences of the

development of the chosen form of media onsociety and individuals within society; and

� an explanation of the impact of technology onthe chosen form of media.

Have each group prepare and give a briefpresentation of their findings to the rest of the class.Display the groups’ materials around the classroom. Once all the groups have finished theirpresentations, come together as a class and makesome generalisations about the development of themedia and how it influences our lives. Speculate onhow this continued development will affect thefuture, focusing in particular on the increasingpopularity of the Internet and the World Wide Web.

Who listens to the radio?With students, discuss their patterns of listening tothe radio. Ask questions like:� What do you listen to?� Where do you listen?� When do you listen?� Why do you choose a particular station?Have students, in small groups or as a class,develop a questionnaire to interview radio listeners(or use BLM 2).

The Media TeachingNotes

Did you know...1609 The earliest known newspaper published

in Germany (Early newspapers were justone page with no headlines oradvertising.)

1702 The first daily newspaper published inEngland

1844 The American telegraph line established,enabling the quick transmission of newsacross large distances, using morse code

1879 The first demonstration of thetransmission of radio signals

1895 The first official radio with antenna1899 Commercial radio communication

between England and France1905 Ship to shore radio used1965 The first direct satellite communications

between USA and Soviet Union1927 The first public television broadcasts in

England; regular service from 19361930 Television broadcasting begins in USA;

regular public broadcasts begin in 19391956 The first Australian television broadcast



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Then ask students, in pairs, to interview people ofdifferent ages and backgrounds to find out howtheir listening habits differ.Divide the class into groups of about six studentsand ask them to combine their interview results ona chart. Then ask each group to make somegeneralisations about how age, culture and socialfactors influence people’s use of the media. Haveeach group present their findings to the class.Collate and display everyone’s interview results on alarge chart.

Radio slogansHave students collect a variety of verbal and writtenslogans from local radio stations. Ask students towrite these slogans on a large classroom chart andindicate whether the slogans are from commercialor non-commercial, AM or FM stations.In small groups, have students compare some of theslogans to decide what, in their opinion, makes agood slogan. They can discuss questions such as:� What sort of language is used in the slogans to

make people listen?� What sort of people are the slogans targeting?

How does this relate to the student gatheredinterview data (see BLM 2)?

� How do features such as choice of words, length,rhythm and added music affect a slogan’seffectiveness?

� Come together as a class to share and discusseach group’s findings.

Have students imagine that they are starting aschool-based radio station. Divide the class intosmall groups (perhaps the same groups as earlier)and ask each group to develop a slogan for theirnew radio station. They will need first todecide on a target audience, aname for the station, andwhether the station shouldbe AM or FM. Ask eachgroup to present theirslogan to the class. Then, asa class, discuss the specificfeatures of each sloganand how effective theslogan might be with thetarget audience.

Calling all announcers!Record a few radio announcers. Listen to them withthe class and then together construct a mind map ofthe way the announcers speak, for example, the useof very short pauses; use of a team of announcers toallow for social interplay; and particularpronunciation, emphasis and intonation.Divide the class into pairs of students. Give onestudent in each pair the role of radio announcerand the other the role of a famous person. Havestudents choose the famous person they want to be.Give students time to prepare some relevantquestions and issues to discuss during the interview,and to practise their interview. Have studentspresent their interview in front of the class, or,alternatively, to make it more realistic, record theirinterview on tape and play it back to the class. Havestudents swap roles and repeat the activity. After allstudents have had a turn, discuss and compare theinterviews.

What’s on the box?Have students develop and complete a televisionviewing sheet to record their daily television habits.Share and discuss these with the whole class.Ask students to bring in a weekly television guidefrom a magazine or newspaper. Use this guide tocategorise different types of shows using categoriessuch as news, sport, entertainment, infotainment,cartoons, serials, drama, comedy. Discuss why thereis such a wide variety of television viewingavailable. Discuss the role of foreign televisionproductions and the development of the Australiantelevision industry. Together place significant events,with a brief explanation, on a media time line thatcan be added to over the course of the unit.



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In small groups, have students examine the use ofcodes to classify viewing suitability of differenttypes of programs eg G, PG, M. Ask students todiscuss questions such as:� Why are codes necessary?� When were they introduced?� How are they determined?� Who makes the decisions?Invite someone from the Advertising StandardsCouncil or a local television station to talk to theclass about the requirements when programmingtelevision shows and how a program’s classificationis determined. Then have each group construct amatrix chart to show the correspondence betweenviewing time and viewing rating.Provide students with the profile of a fictionalperson, including factors such as his or herinterests, age, and perhaps job and othercommitments. Ask them to prepare a good day’stelevision viewing for this person using BLM 3.Share and discuss students’ choices with the wholeclass.

News news newsHave all students watch the news on a particularnight of the week. (It is important that it is thesame night for all students so that comparisons canbe made later.) Ask students to use BLM 4 torecord the story headlines in the order in whichthey appear, and to categorise each story accordingto whether it is international, national, humaninterest, sport, weather, political, environmental etc.The following day, group students according towhich channel they watched. Ask students within

each group to comparehow they categorisedthe news items and to

discuss anydifferences of

opinion. Bring the class back

together to compareand contrast howdifferent channelsorganise their news.

Together: � examine and speculate on why these differences

might occur and what impact, if any, they haveon the viewers;

� make a list of the top five news headlines fromeach channel;

� discuss the content of the stories and whether ornot the headlines were appropriate, accurate oreven misleading;

� examine the language used in these headlinesand discuss whether it sensationalises, distorts,informs or influences;

� talk about the impact of the visual images; and� look at gender stereotyping and racial or other

bias.Then have students, individually or in pairs,examine one of the top five news items using BLM 5.

Follow-upAsk students to watch the news again on the samechannel as they did the night before. Ask them tosee whether there is a follow-up story to one of thestories from the night before, or one with a similarstory-line. If possible, record an example of afollow-up story to use in an initial class discussionto compare techniques used by news presenters.Make a class chart of such techniques. Have students, individually or in small groups,choose an area of the news that they are interestedin, for example sport, the arts, finance. Have themwrite a short script for a news item on a currentissue or event in this area, and develop props orvisual aids to accompany their story. Give studentstime to rehearse their presentation, and then havethem present their news item.

What do we get fromnewspapers?Ask students to bring in a newspaper from homeand bring some extra newspapers in yourself, toensure a variety. Hold a class discussion aboutnewspapers, asking questions such as: Who readsnewspapers? Which papers do students read? Why?How often?Organise an excursion to a local newspaper plant tofind out how a newspaper is developed and printed.



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Then focus on the types of articles found innewspapers. Ask small groups of students to cut outexamples of different types of articles. Havestudents highlight examples of specific vocabularythat identify the type of article. Share and discussthe different types of articles and the specificvocabularies with the class.

School newsDivide the class into small groups. Have each groupcreate the front page of a newspaper, using real-lifeexamples as models. Students could use the formatof a local newspaper, a daily paper, or a Sundaypaper. Perhaps they could set up their own schoolnewsletter (which could be continued after this unithas been completed). Encourage students to includevisual aids, headings and borders. This is also anexcellent opportunity for students to develop theircomputer design and word-processing skills.

What’s special aboutmagazines?Bring in a selection of magazines. (If you askstudents to bring some in, make sure that you viewthe contents beforehand.) With students, discusswhich magazine they would buy for information ona specific topic, for example to find out aboutpopular music, or how to keep a healthier lifestyle,or for information on television programs. Talkabout the similarities and differences betweenmagazines. Discuss why magazines are morevisually attractive than newspapers, and how thisrelates to their purpose and readership, and affectstheir cost. As a class, make generalisations aboutthe effectiveness of magazines as a form of media.

Analysing print mediaSo far students have examined newspapers andmagazines, the two most popular forms of printmedia. With the assistance of the class, gather avariety of other examples of print media, such asbrochures, pamphlets, leaflets, catalogues and evenbusiness cards. Have small groups of studentscompare and contrast these with both newspapersand magazines. Ask students to record what theyobserve. Using BLM 6, have groups of students examinevarious types of print media and discuss thefeatures that are the most effective in grabbing thereader’s attention, and why; and the features thatare not effective, and why. Ask each group to sharetheir findings with the whole class.

What is advertising?With the whole class, brainstorm what advertisingis, who creates it, why, what its purpose is and whattypes of media it involves. Record comments andissues on a large chart. Discuss popular productsand services and how people find out about themand choose to buy or use them. List sources ofinformation about these products and services andadd them to the brainstorming chart.Ask students to select a product. Have them, insmall groups or as a whole class, record informationthey can recall about that product based onadvertising they have seen, heard or read. Whatmakes the product appealing? What drawsattention to it? What encourages people to choose itover its competitors?

Print advertising Gather a variety of newspapers and magazines. Asksmall groups of students to cut out advertisementsfor particular products, such as fruit juice, breakfastcereals and toothpaste. Group the ads in categories,and display them on large class charts.Examine the use of language, colour, layout anddesign in the advertisements and have studentscomplete BLM 7. Hold a class vote to decide whichad in each category (for example fruit juices,breakfast cereals) they believe is the most effectivein influencing people to buy it. As a class, construct a questionnaire to surveyparents, friends and teachers about their knowledgeof these product groups, including the particularproducts voted for by the class as having the mosteffective advertising.



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Discuss the results of these surveys and determine ifstudents’ generalisations about the effective featuresof print advertising are correct or if they need to beamended (see BLM 7).

Creating an adWith students, examine the different roles andresponsibilities within an advertising company –drafting and developing ideas, editing, layout,graphic design and printing. Ask students to formsmall groups of four to six people to create theirown advertising company.In these groups, have students conduct someconsumer research using BLM 8 to identify theappropriate target audience for various newproducts. Encourage students to add their ownproducts to the existing list, and to be inventivewith the products they suggest. Talk to studentsabout how they might make sure their advertisinggets to a particular target audience. For example, ifthe product is a new computer game, and theirresearch shows that the people most likely to try itare 10-14 year old boys, a good strategy might beto run an ad campaign on television duringprograms this group is likely to watch, or toadvertise on an Internet site.After each group has completed their survey,collated the results, and decided on a product, havethem develop packaging and a slogan. Ask eachgroup member to draw up a rough design forpackaging on BLM 9, and pitch it to the group,saying why they think it will be effective. (As arough, it need not be perfect artwork, but shouldconvey the general idea.) The groups may decide touse elements of several of the proposals in theirfinal design.Once the groups have decided on packaging andslogan, have them develop a print ad for theproduct, using many of the language and layoutfeatures examined in the earlier magazine andnewspaper examples. If appropriate, encouragestudents to make use of computer technology whenconsidering the ad’s layout and graphic design. Askstudents to label the special features of their ad andsay why they chose them, and how they hope thead will influence the consumer. Display the ads inthe classroom.

The World Wide WebMany students will be familiar with accessing theInternet and will have been using it in this unit toresearch other areas of the media. Ask students tomonitor each other and members of their familyover a week to record their Internet usage: who usesit, when, for how long, what sites or types of siteswere visited. As a class, collate the results. Comparethe results of this survey with the results of othermedia surveys, such as the television viewing survey.As a class, or in smaller groups, construct a list ofpositive and negative aspects of using the Internet togather news, sporting results, financial information,weather details, and for locating and/or purchasinggoods and services. If this is done in groups, havethe groups compare their lists.With the class, speculate on the future impact of theInternet on our increasingly global society, and itseffect on people’s use of other forms of media.

Evaluating the role of the mediaBefore the final activity, review the content andlearning processes students have been developingsince the beginning of the unit. Revise the classcharts and use these to list focus areas of mediainvolvement: news, human interest, finance,advertising, entertainment etc. Using this list as abeginning point, brainstorm with the class a varietyof media products students could develop as theirfinal task, such as:� performing a segment in a television current

affairs show� presenting a segment of a radio show or music

countdown� role playing a newsworthy event and writing the

corresponding newspaper article about it� developing an advertisement on a particular

product for television or radio� creating a pamphlet to advertise a current

community or school fundraising event. Ask students to choose one of these tasks or anyother task the class has listed. Also have themchoose their groupings – individual, pair or smallgroup. Different activities will require differentgrouping strategies. Give students BLM 10 to helpthem plan their media product. Have students present their media product to theclass.


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BLM 1

Name:................................................................................................................Date:............................................................

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Day: .........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Print media Item read Why?

........................................................ .........................................................................................................

........................................................ .........................................................................................................

........................................................ .........................................................................................................

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Television Program watched Why?

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Radio Program listened to Why?

........................................................ .........................................................................................................

........................................................ .........................................................................................................

........................................................ .........................................................................................................

........................................................ .........................................................................................................

Share your results with the class. What can you say about the class’ media use?

.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Personal media profile




BLM 2

Name:................................................................................................................Date:............................................................


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Listener’s name: ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................

Age: .................................................................................................................................................... Sex: Female Male

Country of birth: ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................

Languages spoken at home: .........................................................................................................................................................................

How many radios do you have at home? .......................................................................................................................................

Does your car have a radio? .........................................................................................................................................................................

Where do you listen to the radio? .............................................................................................................................................................

When do you listen to the radio? ...............................................................................................................................................................

Why do you listen at those times? .............................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

What radio station do you usually listen to? ....................................................................................................................................

Why do you listen to that station? .............................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

What’s your favourite radio program? Why? .................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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Who’s your favourite radio personality? ..............................................................................................................................................

What do you like about radio? ....................................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

What don’t you like about radio? .............................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Radio listener interview



BLM 3

Name:................................................................................................................Date:............................................................


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Summarise the profile of the person your teacher has given you.

Name: ..................................................................................................... Age: .......................................... Sex: ...........................................

Cultural background: .............................................................................................................................................................................................

Special interests: ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................

Other important factors: ..........................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

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Using this week’s television guide, develop a viewingplan for a particular day to suit this person.

Complete the plan below. Decide which programsthe person should watch and which ones he or sheshould videotape.

A good day’s viewing

Channel Program Time it starts Time it finishes To watch or to videotape?


News news news!


BLM 4

Name:................................................................................................................Date:............................................................


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Watch the news on television tonight – all the way through.If you are going out, videotape it and watch it when you get home.Write down all the headlines in the order in which they appear onthe news. Then categorise each news item according to its topic.Some items will cover more than one category, for example, thestory may be an international and a political one. Possiblecategories are: international, national, local, human interest,sport, weather, political, environmental, finance, social. Thengive a short description of what the news item was about.

Item headline: ........................................................................................................... Category: .............................................................

Summary of content: ...........................................................................................................................................................................................















BLM 5

Name:................................................................................................................Date:............................................................

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With your class, you have been looking at five of the top news stories from yesterday.

Choose one of those stories to analyse in more detail, and complete the form.

News item headline: ...........................................................................................................................................................................................

Position in news (1st, 2nd etc): ................................. Approximate length: ..........................................................

Summary of content: .........................................................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Was the headline appropriate for the item? Why do you think this? ......................................................

Was the language used to: inform, sensationalise, or influence?

Give some examples:.........................................................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Comment on the visual images used in the item: ..........................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Was there any evidence of gender stereotyping? If so, what? .....................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Was there any evidence of racial bias?

If so, what? .........................................................................................................

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News: fact or fiction?




BLM 6

Name:................................................................................................................Date:............................................................


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Media Features

newspapers

magazines

brochures

pamphlets

catalogues

business cards

other

Analysing print media

Features found in all or most print media: .........................................................

...........................................................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................................................

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In each box in the chart below, list one significant feature of the relevant print medium.

Make sure you examine several examples of each kind first. (For example, look at

several different brochures before you record the significant features of brochures.)

Are there any significant features you found to be common to all or most types of

print media?



BLM 7


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Choose an advertisement that you find interesting andcomplete the review below. Then compare your reviewwith a friend’s review of a different advertisement. Whatwere the similarities and differences?

Product advertised: ..........................................................................................................................................................................................

Advertising media (eg print, TV, radio): ...................................................................................................................................

Size of print ad/Length of TV or radio ad: ............................................................................................................................

Target audience: ..................................................................................................................................................................................................

Effective layout and design features: ........................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Informative language used: ..................................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Persuasive language used: .....................................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Use of modality: Low Medium High

Most effective features: ...............................................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Least effective features: ..............................................................................................................................................................................

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Comparison with a friend’s review – similarities and differences: ..........................................................

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Advertising reviewName:................................................................................................................Date:............................................................



BLM 8

Name:................................................................................................................Date:............................................................


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Carry out some consumer research using the tally chart below. Ask a variety ofpeople whether they would buy a new product of each kind. Put a tick for yes or across for no in the relevant box. You can add some products of your own to thosealready listed. Each group member could survey people of one particular age group,or group members could survey randomly and combine their results at the end.

Who’ll buy what you sell?

Age

Sex

a new chocolate bar?

a new kind of toothpaste?

a new computer game?

a book that reads to you?

a robot that does homework?

......................................................................................................

......................................................................................................

......................................................................................................

On the basis of your results, decide as a group which kind ofproduct you are going to develop, who you are going to pitch it to,and how. Record on the back of this sheet your new product, and someideas you have for advertising it.

Wou

ld y

ou b

uy .

. . ?

Interview tally5–9 10–14 15–19 20–29 30–39 40+

F M F M F M F M F M F M



BLM 9

Name:................................................................................................................Date:............................................................


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In the box below, sketch in your rough design for the packaging of your group’sproduct. Below it, write the reasons you think this design will be effective with yourtarget audience.

Buy me!

Target audience: ..................................................................................................................................................................................................

Why this design will be effective: .....................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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BLM 10

Name:................................................................................................................Date:............................................................

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Use the headings below to help you plan your media product. Remember tomake use of the class charts and work you have already completed.

Names of students in group: .................................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Type of product (eg brochure, radio advertisement, TV news segment): ................................

.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Target audience: ..................................................................................................................................................................................................

Topic: ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Key information to be included: ......................................................................................................................................................

Features to be included (eg for a radio ad, you could include spoken information,

background music, and a slogan or jingle): ....................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Tasks involved in preparing presentation: .............................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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Group/individual responsibilities: ......................................................................................................................................................

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Planning your media product



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