Lesson Plans

Lesson Plan One

Identifying the fifteen basic appeals

Students will need to have spent at least a class period familiarizing themselves with Jib Fowles' fifteen basic appeals, a copy of which may be found here: http://www.cyberpat.com/shirlsite/education/essay2/jfowles.html

The teacher should gather around forty print advertisements from a variety of sources. After identifying the basic appeal(s) used in each ad, the ads should be divided evenly between eight stations. Students should then be split into groups of three or four. Their task is to circulate around the room and reach a consensus within their group as to the basic appeal(s) used in each print ad at each of the stations. Upon conclusion of the task, the class will come back together as a group to discuss discrepancies between what basic appeals each group associated with each ad. In all likelihood, some trends will emerge - e.g. lots of appeals to sex, etcetera - this can serve as a segue into what all this material is communicating to and about the culture in which it is found.

Lesson Plan Two

Journalistic ethics

Students will need to have spend at least a class period familiarizing themselves with the basics of journalistic ethics, e.g. libel, provisions in the constitution, etcetera.

The teacher should procure four or five codes of ethics from major newspapers and magazines. Students will be given time in expert groups to review these codes. The teacher should then hand out four or five ethical dilemma scenarios. Working from their expert groups, students will need to use their assigned code of ethics to determine the ethical line of action. After arriving at consensus, students will reassemble into groups with other students with dissimilar codes of ethics. As a followup discussion, students may consider what sorts of specific guidance for journalists is not legislated and how codes of ethics do or do not fill the void.