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Primary Subject Area: Health Education |
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Grade Level: 3 - 4
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Overview:
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This lesson is intended to show students the effect that advertising has on their attitudes toward food choices. The students will - examine choices at the beginning and end of the lesson,
- compare and contrast TV ads for cereal,
- compare and contrast design elements of cereal boxes, and
- design a cereal box with a certain age group in mind. This lesson can be used to teach health, nutrition, or food - related topics.
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Approximate Duration: 5 class periods (50 minutes each) |
Content Standards:
- Standard 1
Students will comprehend concepts and strategies related to health
promotion and disease prevention.
- Standard 2
Students will demonstrate the ability to access and evaluate the
validity of health information and health promoting products and services.
- Standard 4
Students will analyze the impact of the media, technology, economy,
culture, and other factors on health through the use of technological resources.
- Standard 6
Students will demonstrate the ability to advocate personal, family,
and community health.
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Benchmarks:
- 1-E-2
demonstrate personal health habits that promote optimal health;
(i.e., good nutrition, brushing teeth, washing hands, exercise, etc.)
(1,2,3)- 2-E-1
identify characteristics of valid health information and health-promoting
products and services;
(2,3,4)- 2-E-2
demonstrate the ability to locate resources from home, school and community
that provide valid health information;
(1,2,3,4)- 2-E-3
explain how media influences the selection of health information, products,
and services; and
ext> (4,5)- 4-E-2
explain how media influences thoughts, feelings, and health behaviors; (2,3,4)- 6-E-3
demonstrate the ability to communicate information that promotes
positive health choices.
(1,3,4,5)
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Interdisciplinary Connections:
- English/Language Arts : Standard 5
Students locate, select, and synthesize information from a variety of texts, media, references, and technological sources to acquire and communicate knowledge. - Social Studies : Economics: Interdependence and Decision Making
Students develop an understanding of fundamental economic concepts as they apply to the interdependence and decision making of individuals, households, businesses, and governments in the United States and the World.
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Educational Technology Standards:
- Use a variety of developmentally appropriate resources and productivity tools (e.g., logical thinking programs, writing and graphic tools,digital cameras,graphing software) for communication,presentation,and illustration of thoughts, ideas,and stories.
( 1, 3, 4 )- Gather information and communicate with others using telecommunications (e.g., email, video conference, internet) with support from teachers, family members, or peers.
( 1, 4, 5, 6 )- Use technology resources to assist in problem-solving, self-directed learning, and extended learning activities.
( 2, 4 )
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Objectives:
The students will - demonstrate and understand the basic principles and elements of media communication (e.g., television, advertising, etc.);
- explain the effects on the body of consuming too much sugar,
- identify the differences between media representation, reality, and role playing;
- translate knowledge of the design element and principles to communicate individual ideas; and
- communicate knowledge of art concepts and relationships among various cultures, disciplines and art careers.
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Lesson Materials and Resources:
- two cereal commercials on television - one for children and one for adults, taped prior to the lesson
- cereal boxes, featuring a variety of brands
- drawing paper
- crayons
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Technology Tools and Materials:
Hardware:
computer with Internet
Software:
spreadsheet program, such as The Graph Club
KidPix
Websites:
•The Breakfast Cereal Page
fuse.pha.jhu.edu/~sahnow/cereal.html
Other:
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Background Information:
The students should have a basic knowledge of graphing and using the internet for research. The students should be able to read and comprehend food labels. |
Lesson Procedures:
- Students will name their favorite cereals. The results will be graphed using a computer spreadsheet. Print the spreadsheet to use as a reference during the lesson. (For extra credit, students may bring empty cereal boxes to class for display and discussion.)
- Compare and contrast television ads for both adult and children’s cereals. Compare and contrast the design elements of both adult and children's cereal boxes. Look for design elements, such as colors used, style of lettering, promotional gimmicks (such as free prizes or coupons), focus of the package (sweet taste, prizes, or nutritional value), or the advertiser's use of real people or cartoon characters on the box. Explain how advertisers use these elements to attract certain age groups.
- The students will identify the nutrition labels on the cereal boxes. On the nutrition label, the students will identify the grams of sugar. Discuss with the students the variation in amounts of sugar. (Include in the discussion some of the health risks associated with eating too much sugar: tooth decay and excess calories.)
- The students will explore the various cereal Web pages found on the Breakfast Cereal Page Web site.
- The students will write a letter to a friend explaining the effects of advertising on cereal selections. (This activity can be conducted as an individual or shared writing activity.)
- The students will design cereal boxes using KidPix, if available. They must design the boxes to attract either a child or adult consumer. Elements to be included should be color, lettering, a promotional gimmick, and a package focus. The students either can write an explanation about their designs or give oral presentations.
- Revisit the graph made when introducing the lesson. Now that the students have studied the effects of advertisement, have them write whether they feel their original cereal choice of favorite cereal was a result of advertising.
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Assessment Procedures:
- Oral responses during class discussions
- Rubric for design elements of the commercial art project
- Written assignments
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Accommodations/Modifications:
Consider different learning styles and abilities when planning this lesson.
----- written by Division of Nutrition Assistance
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Explorations and Extensions:
- The students can have an art exhibit of their cereal box designs in the school cafeteria
- Ask the school food service manager which brands of cereal are served for breakfast.
- Students may want to look at advertisements in old magazines to see how advertising has changed.
- Assign students to watch an hour of children's television, list the commercials shown, and write a report explaining which age group the commercials are targeting.
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Lesson Development Resources:
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Reflections:
Prior to the lesson, the teacher should tape two cereal commercials, one for children and one for adults. The best time to tape a children’s cereal ad is on Saturday mornings, and the best time to tape an adult cereal ad is on weekday mornings.
Advertising has a powerful effect on children's attitudes toward food. Advertising often becomes a model which children imitate. Thus, much research has been done on the psychology of the young child toward advertising. The greatest amount of advertising time on children's television is directed toward food. Advertising tends to glorify the "sweetness" of foods marketed to young children. Advertisers make little, if any, reference to the nutritional value of the foods that they are trying to sell young viewers. Such messages may result in establishing poor eating habits. Advertising messages also discourage natural curiosity toward other food characteristics: spiciness, crispness, tartness, or blandness.
Advertisers use design principles to sell their products to children. Through the use of color, bold bright lettering, cartoon characters, and trendy clothes, advertisers play on the minds of children. In television, they have discovered that children lose interest in things moving too slowly, so they use many more frames per minute, zoom in and out a lot, and change angles of the camera often. Children need to be aware of these advertising gimmicks and understand how to evaluate a product on its own merit. |
Contact Information:
Division of Nutrition Assistance
http://www.louisianaschools.net/lde/nutrition/1667.html
Louisiana Department of Education
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Additional Contacts:
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Group: Division of Nutrition Assistance |
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MarcoPolo Lesson: No
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