SouthFlorida.com | Teen Link South Florida

Many print publications, particularly newspapers and magazines, feature advertising. Students read this as content. Here are some activities to help them analyze advertising messages and the structure of Teenlink.

Week 13: Analyzing Advertisements

Talk to your students about the different elements used in advertising that influence someone to buy a product. Discuss the use of propaganda tools: bandwagon, glittering generalities, snob appeal, plain folks, card-stacking, name-calling, testimonials, and transference. In small groups, clip out the display ads in Teenlink. They will rank the products based on the appeal of the ad and create a chart or graph showing how each group rated each product. Have them identify which techniques were used in each ad. Talk about what actual claims are made and what questions about the product they still have that aren't answered in the ad. As an extension, have them create their own ad to sell something in the classroom.

LA.A.2.4 – The student constructs meaning from a wide range of texts.
LA.D.2.4 – The student understands the power of language.
LA.B.2.4 – The student writes to communicate ideas and information effectively.
SS.C.1.4 – The student understands the structure, functions, and purposes of government and how the principles and values of American democracy are reflected in American constitutional government.
MA.E.1.4 – The student understands and uses the tools of data analysis for managing information.

Week 14: Ad Dimensions

Have students estimate simply by looking through Teenlink how much space is reserved for the ads. Then have them measure to find the actual ratio of ad space to news and features. How close was their estimate?

MA.A.4.4 – The student uses estimation in problem solving and computation.
MA.B.1.4 – The student measures quantities in the real world and uses the measures to solve problems.
MA.B.3.4 – The student estimates measurements in real-world problem situations.
MA.B.4.4 – The student selects and uses appropriate units and instruments for measurement to achieve the degree of precision and accuracy required in real-world situations.

Week 15: Inch by Inch

Advertising space is described in terms of "column inches". For instance an ad that is 2 columns wide and 5 inches high is a total 10 column inches (2 x 5) = 10. Based on this calculation have students measure to determine the total number of column inches devoted to advertising space in Teenlink.

MA.B.3.4 – The student estimates measurements in real-world problem situations.
MA.B.4.4 – The student selects and uses appropriate units and instruments for measurement to achieve the degree of precision and accuracy required in real-world situations.
MA.A.3.4 – The student understands the effects of operations on numbers and the relationships among these operations, selects appropriate operations, and computes for problem solving.

Week 16: "Ad" It Up

Give your students some theoretical ad costs for products like Teenlink. For instance, you can say that it costs $100 per column inch for a full-color ad, but the same size ad in black and white is half that. Working in pairs have students determine the price of various size ads that appear in Teenlink. Have them figure out the potential ad revenue for one complete issue.

MA.A.1.4 – The student understands the different ways numbers are represented and used in the real world.
MA.A.3.4 – The student understands the effects of operations on numbers and the relationships among these operations, selects appropriate operations, and computes for problem solving.
MA.A.4.4 – The student uses estimation in problem solving and computation.

Week 17: New and Improved

Have students look at the ads in Teenlink that promote a product they think could be improved. Let them re-design the product with their improvements, including a sketch or drawing and a written explanation of the changes to the product.

LA.A.2.4 – The student constructs meaning from a wide range of texts.
LA.B.2.4 – The student writes to communicate ideas and information effectively.
LA.D.2.4 – The student understands the power of language.
VA.A.1.4 – The student understands and applies media, techniques, and processes.
VA.B.1.4 – The student creates and communicates a range of subject matter, symbols, and ideas using knowledge of structures and functions of visual arts.