6th Grade Students
Developing Media Literacy Skills
How are Political Commercials Manipulated to Influence?
Based on the PBS website: The 30 Second Candidate
Part 1: Concept
Using "Tricks of the Trade" on the PBS website, we viewed various editing techniques that are commonly used in political commercials to influence viewers. Step by step, students saw how the same 30 second video clip could be manipulated with special effects to cast it in a positive or negative light. The concept was quite simple, but extremely effective.
"Tricks of the Trade" - the original clip
no sound - no manipulation
"Tricks of the Trade" - the original clip
manipulated to be positive
Visit the PBS website for details
"Tricks of the Trade" - the original clip
manipulated to be negative
Visit the PBS website for details
Part 2: Examples
- Students viewed samples of historic political ads from the 1952 Eisenhower presidential campaign.
- Students watched several commercials from both 2008 presidential campaigns.
- Students also examined a handful of unoffical ads created by organizations other than the official campaigns.
- In discussion, student were asked to identify which tactics were used in each commercial.
Part 3: Create Commercials
Student were teamed-up and asked to construct their own 30 second commercials. They were to incorporate various techniques they had learned to influence viewers in either a positive or negative way. Since they were currently studying Ancient Greece, they were asked to make their commercials for a Greek god.
The Problem: 12 Greek gods form the Pantheon Forum, the governing body on Mt. Olympus. This even number of gods creates the potential for the vote to be tied, often resulting in a deadlock .
The Assignment: Promote the elevation of a specific 13th god to the Pantheon OR urge the removal of 1 of the current 12 gods to reduce the number to 11.
- Students were asked to work in mixed gender groups of two to three members.
- Students were asked to identify their Greek god and decide if their ad would be positive or negative.
- Students were asked to plan their commercial by creating a storyboard.
- Students were permitted to create still images or "order" animations from the 8th grade tech club.
- Students used Adobe Photoshop, Garageband and iMovie 6 to construct their commercials.
Teacher Notes
21st Century Skills @ The Elisabeth Morrow School
Programs Used:
GarageBand
Adobe Photoshop Elements
iMovie 6
Teachers:
Marianne Malmstrom, Middle School Tech Teacher
Ronnee Lipman: 6th Grade Teacher
Special Thanks:
Sarah Rolle, Tech Coordinator
Micah Malmstrom, Tech Support
