English · Year 9

Active learning ideas

Persuasion in Digital Spaces: Social Media Campaigns

Active learning helps students notice how persuasion changes when moved from essays to feeds. When they analyze real posts, remix formats, and design campaigns, they see theory come alive in ways passive instruction cannot.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9E9LY02
• AC9E9LA01

• 35–50 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Gallery Walk
• 45 min · Small Groups

Gallery Walk: Campaign Breakdown

Print screenshots of five viral campaigns and place them around the room. In small groups, students use checklists to identify techniques like pathos in visuals or calls-to-action in captions. Groups rotate every 7 minutes, then share top insights in a whole-class debrief.

Analyze the unique challenges and opportunities for persuasion on social media.

Facilitation Tip

During Gallery Walk, place one poster per persuasion technique so students move in a tight loop and cannot linger too long at any one station.

What to look for

Provide students with a screenshot of a social media post. Ask them to identify: 1. The primary persuasive technique used. 2. The intended audience. 3. One way the post is adapted for its specific platform.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Relationship Skills
• Social Awareness

Activity 02

• World Café
• 35 min · Pairs

Pairs Remix: Platform Shift

Pairs take a print ad and rewrite it as a TikTok script with visuals and hashtags. They perform for the class, noting adaptations needed for short attention spans. Class votes on most persuasive versions with reasons.

Evaluate the effectiveness of different persuasive strategies in viral campaigns.

Facilitation Tip

When pairs Remix Platform Shift, require them to keep the core message intact while changing three distinct platform elements.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'Which is more persuasive on social media, logic or emotion, and why?' Encourage students to support their arguments with examples of viral campaigns they have seen.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Social Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Activity 03

• World Café
• 50 min · Small Groups

Small Groups: Mock Campaign Launch

Groups design a persuasive post for a school cause, using Canva or paper mockups. They present to the class for 'likes' via dot voting and discuss what drove engagement. Revise based on feedback.

Predict how emerging digital platforms might change the landscape of persuasion.

Facilitation Tip

For the Mock Campaign Launch, give groups exactly 25 minutes to storyboard and 5 minutes to pitch, mirroring the compressed timelines of real social media planning.

What to look for

Present students with two different social media ads for the same product, one on Instagram and one on TikTok. Ask them to list two key differences in how persuasion is applied and explain why these differences are platform-specific.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Social Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Activity 04

• World Café
• 40 min · Whole Class

Whole Class Debate: Viral Effectiveness

Divide class into teams to debate two real campaigns' success factors. Provide data on views and conversions. Teams prepare arguments using ethos, pathos, logos, then vote on winner.

Analyze the unique challenges and opportunities for persuasion on social media.

Facilitation Tip

During the Whole Class Debate, assign a student timer and a note-taker to keep rounds to two minutes each and to capture key counterpoints on the board.

What to look for

Provide students with a screenshot of a social media post. Ask them to identify: 1. The primary persuasive technique used. 2. The intended audience. 3. One way the post is adapted for its specific platform.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Social Awareness
• Relationship Skills

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should treat algorithms as invisible co-authors of every post. Start with low-stakes remixes so students experience how early engagement shapes reach, then layer in data literacy by having them track simulated metrics. Avoid lectures on platform mechanics; instead, let students deduce patterns from their own creations and compare notes. Research shows that when students design for real audiences—even simulated ones—their persuasive reasoning improves more than with textbook-only instruction.

Successful learning looks like students spotting platform-specific moves, defending design choices with evidence, and revising drafts based on peer feedback. They should articulate why one version outperforms another and connect features to audience psychology.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Pairs Remix: Platform Shift, watch for students who assume celebrity endorsements drive all campaigns.

  Direct pairs to draft posts that feature only micro-influencers or peer testimonials, then ask them to explain why relatability can outperform star power in their debrief slides.

• During Small Groups: Mock Campaign Launch, watch for students who equate likes with persuasion.

  Require groups to set a non-engagement goal (e.g., sign-ups, shares, or donations) and collect mock data to prove conversion, not just reach.

• During Whole Class Debate: Viral Effectiveness, watch for students who claim algorithms have no influence on spread.

  Bring the debate back to the Pairs Remix materials by asking students to point to moments when early shares triggered platform boosts in their simulations.

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Methods used in this brief

• Gallery Walk
• World Café