Activity 01
Ad Hunt Stations: Spot Techniques
Prepare stations with ads showing emotional appeals, repetition, and facts. Small groups rotate every 7 minutes, list techniques on worksheets, and draw why they work. End with a share-out where groups present one example.
Analyze how emotional appeals are used to sway an audience's feelings and decisions.
Facilitation TipDuring Ad Hunt Stations, provide magnifying glasses so students can examine small print and fine details in ads, helping them focus on word choice and visuals.
What to look forShow students a simple advertisement (e.g., for a brand of juice). Ask: 'What is one word or phrase the ad repeats? How does repeating it help sell the juice?' Record student responses.
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Activity 02
Persuasive Slogan Pairs
Pairs brainstorm slogans for a class rule using repetition or emotion. They sketch posters and test on peers for reactions. Refine based on feedback in 5 minutes.
Differentiate between logical arguments and persuasive techniques that rely on emotion.
Facilitation TipFor Persuasive Slogan Pairs, give students a timer so they work efficiently to create and test their slogans within a clear timeframe.
What to look forProvide students with two short persuasive texts (e.g., a poster for a school play and a flyer for a lost pet). Ask them to write one sentence explaining which text uses more emotional appeal and why.
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Activity 03
Role-Play Pitches: Whole Class
Divide class into teams pitching ideas like 'best recess game.' Each uses one technique, class votes and notes what swayed them. Debrief on effective devices.
Critique the effectiveness of various persuasive techniques in different contexts.
Facilitation TipIn Role-Play Pitches, stand back once the activity starts to let students lead, but move around the room to listen and offer quick praise or gentle guidance as needed.
What to look forPresent a scenario: 'Imagine you want to convince your classmates to recycle more. What is one slogan you could create using repetition? What feelings might you try to evoke to persuade them?' Facilitate a brief class discussion.
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Generate Complete Lesson→A few notes on teaching this unit
Start with familiar texts like picture books or simple ads to build confidence before introducing terms like repetition or emotional appeal. Model how to name the technique and explain why it might work, using think-alouds to show your process. Avoid jumping straight into definitions—instead, let students discover the patterns through guided observation and discussion.
Successful learning looks like students confidently identifying persuasive techniques in texts and explaining how those techniques aim to influence readers or listeners. They should also begin to use persuasive language themselves, crafting slogans or pitches that clearly employ repetition or emotional appeals.
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
During Ad Hunt Stations, some students may assume that all persuasive techniques are sneaky or dishonest.
Provide each station with a focus question like 'How does this ad help people? How might it feel true?' After the hunt, ask groups to share one technique they saw that felt honest or trustworthy, and discuss why.
During Role-Play Pitches, students might think emotional appeals are less important than facts.
After the role-plays, hold a brief class discussion asking, 'Which pitches made you feel something? Which gave you clear reasons? How did they work together?'
During Persuasive Slogan Pairs, students may dismiss repetition as unnecessary or boring.
Have pairs share their slogans aloud and ask the class to vote on which slogan they remember best. Discuss why repetition makes messages stick, using examples from the slogans they created.
Methods used in this brief