Voices and Visions: Advanced Literacy and Communication · 6th Year

Active learning ideas

Advertising and Digital Media Literacy

Active learning breaks down abstract concepts like subtext and data bias into concrete, hands-on tasks that students can discuss and manipulate. For this topic, movement between stations, simulations, and design challenges make invisible processes like algorithmic curation visible and debatable.

• NCCA Curriculum Specifications
• NCCA: Primary - Understanding
• NCCA: Primary - Exploring and Using

• 30–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Stations Rotation
• 45 min · Small Groups

Stations Rotation: Ad Deconstruction

Prepare stations with print ads, social media screenshots, video clips, and influencer posts targeting different demographics. Groups rotate every 10 minutes, noting visual cues, subtext, and layout effects in journals. End with a class share-out of findings.

How do advertisers use subtext to appeal to a consumer's desires or fears?

Facilitation Tip

During Ad Deconstruction, place one print ad per station with colored pencils and sticky notes so students annotate in real time rather than waiting to write later.

What to look for

Provide students with a print advertisement. Ask them to identify the primary demographic targeted, list two persuasive techniques used (one visual, one textual), and explain how the ad appeals to a specific desire or fear.

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

Activity 02

• Simulation Game
• 30 min · Pairs

Algorithm Simulation Game

Pairs act as algorithms, sorting classmate-created 'posts' into personalized feeds based on profile traits like age or interests. They then analyze how selections amplify persuasive messages. Discuss real-world implications as a class.

In what ways do digital algorithms influence the types of information and persuasion we encounter daily?

Facilitation Tip

For the Algorithm Simulation Game, provide a limited set of user profiles (e.g., teen gamer, new parent) so students see how narrow data sets skew results.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'How might the layout of a news website's homepage, with its headlines, images, and ad placements, influence a reader's perception of the day's most important stories?' Facilitate a class discussion, prompting students to cite specific layout features.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 03

• Gallery Walk
• 35 min · Small Groups

Layout Remix Challenge

In small groups, students select a digital ad and recreate it with altered layouts, such as swapping image-text positions or colors. Test on peers for changed perceptions, then compare to original intent.

How does the layout of a digital text change the way a reader processes its persuasive message?

Facilitation Tip

In Layout Remix Challenge, use a timer of 10 minutes per round so students focus on one persuasive element at a time rather than over-designing.

What to look for

Display a short video advertisement. Ask students to write down one example of algorithmic influence they might have experienced recently (e.g., seeing an ad for something they recently searched for) and one way the ad's visual elements contributed to its persuasive message.

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

Activity 04

• Gallery Walk
• 40 min · Pairs

Persuasion Debate Pairs

Pairs prepare pro/con arguments on an ad's ethics, using subtext evidence. Present to the class, with audience voting on most convincing deconstruction.

How do advertisers use subtext to appeal to a consumer's desires or fears?

What to look for

Provide students with a print advertisement. Ask them to identify the primary demographic targeted, list two persuasive techniques used (one visual, one textual), and explain how the ad appeals to a specific desire or fear.

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

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teach this topic by alternating between analysis and creation: students first dissect existing persuasive pieces to uncover strategies, then apply those strategies in their own designs. Avoid lectures on bias—let students experience algorithmic narrowing through simulation firsthand so they confront the distortion themselves. Research shows that when students generate content, they notice more persuasive features in others' work.

Successful students will critique ads and layouts by naming specific techniques, connect user data to content recommendation, and redesign persuasive layouts with intentional choices. Clear evidence appears in annotated deconstructions, simulation notes, and remix justifications.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Ad Deconstruction, watch for students who assume all claims in ads are true.

  Use the station’s annotation guide to prompt students to note missing information or exaggerated language next to each claim, then share findings in a gallery walk to compare notes.

• During Algorithm Simulation Game, watch for students who believe algorithms show balanced content.

  After the simulation, have groups present how their curated feeds differed from others, highlighting repeated categories and gaps to reveal the algorithm’s bias toward engagement.

• During Layout Remix Challenge, watch for students who treat layout as decoration only.

  Ask students to present their remixes with a one-minute explanation of how each design choice guides the viewer’s eye and influences emotion, using peers’ feedback to clarify persuasive intent.

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Methods used in this brief

• Stations Rotation
• Simulation Game
• Gallery Walk