Image credit: Antonio Lopez CC 4
Students observe and reflect on photographs of “nature” and then explore how nature imagery is used in advertising. This activity consists of two parts. First, students view images of nature and write words or phrases they associate with the images and they engage in a discussion about their word choices. Next they explore how nature imagery is used in print advertisements.
Learning outcomes
- Media Literacy: Students will develop media literacy skills by critically analyzing how nature is utilized in advertisements to convey messages and influence perceptions.
- Emotional Intelligence: Students will enhance their emotional intelligence by recognizing and articulating the emotions and feelings evoked by nature imagery.
- Critical Thinking: Through discussions and analysis, students will practice critical thinking skills in evaluating whether the portrayal of nature in advertisements is realistic or idealized, fostering a deeper understanding of media representations.
- Message Decoding: Students will learn to decode and interpret the values and messages advertisers aim to communicate through the use of nature imagery, promoting a nuanced understanding of advertising techniques.
- Persuasion Awareness: By identifying techniques and strategies used to make nature imagery more appealing or persuasive, students will gain insights into the persuasive power of advertising and its impact on consumer behavior and decision-making.
Common Core standards
English Language Arts Standards
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.1: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.7: Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person’s life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.1: Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9-10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.4: Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.7: Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person’s life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account.
Media Literacy Standards
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.2: Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.6: Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.7: Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person’s life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.2: Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.1: Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.