Lesson #1: Persuasion as a way of life

Let students know that persuasion isn't just something that they will be studying in class; it is something that they deal with on a daily bases. Make them realize that they are influenced by many things around them.

Preset activity: Have students ask their classroom neighbor what kind of commercials or advertisements they saw the previous day that they can remember. Have them jot down the commercials that they both remember, or other advertisements that they recall from the previous days. Then have students fill-out the anticipation guide.
 

Mini Lecture: Discuss the anticipation guide with the students. Question one is false because advertisements persuade using all the senses. Commercials combine visual with audio stimuli. Tell the students that persuasion is everywhere they look, even if they cant see it. There are numerous ways that we are being persuaded. Some of the techniques we recognize, the most common of these is commercials Some of the persuasion we don't recognize, like our friends saying something is good.
 

Activity: Prior knowledge posters on persuasion. Break students up into groups of five and have them write ideas on the posters. Ask the students what they think of when they think of persuasion, being persuaded, or what they think commercials do to make people like the products they are advertising. Give them a couple of minutes then have them switch to another poster and read the ideas that group has and write ideas on that poster. Keep doing this until the groups have been to every posterboard.
 

Lesson: Give overview of Postmans analysis of commercials

Commercials teach that:

1. All things are resolvable,
2. All things are solvable fast.
3. All things are resolvable fast through the agency of some technology.

Go over the students posters to see what they have in common. See if the students agree with Postman's analysis. Do the commercials that they remembered have the things that were listed on the posterboards. The things that we remember about ads are the messages that they are using to persuade you toward buying their product. They try to appeal to all of your senses so that they will be more rememberable. Are the things they listed teaching what Postman says they are teaching?
 

Reflection: Have the students write a short essay on whether or not commercials are persuasive. They should back up their argument with reasons. The lesson given says that commercials are persuasive. Do they believe the lesson? They could have good reasons not to believe that commercials are persuasive. One reason could be that they know that ads are trying to sell something, so they don't pay attention to them. (1-2 page(s) typed, or 2-3 pages written).