Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) · 5th Year

Active learning ideas

Exploring Media Forms

Kick off this topic by asking pupils to think about the very first thing they saw or heard this morning that wasn't a person in their house. This opens a discussion about the ever-present nature of media in our lives.

• NCCA Curriculum Specifications
• SPHE Curriculum: Myself and the wider world - Media education

• 25–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Gallery Walk
• 45 min · Individual

My Media Diary

Pupils keep a log for 24 hours, noting every time they interact with a form of media. They can use a simple chart to record the type of media, the time, and what it was about, which they then share and discuss in class.

Identify five different types of media you encounter in a typical day.

Facilitation Tip

Provide a simple template to guide pupils' logging and ensure consistency for the class discussion.

What to look for

Use a 'Think-Pair-Share' activity where pupils discuss the similarities and differences between a printed newspaper and its online version.

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

Activity 02

• Gallery Walk
• 30 min · Small Groups

Headline Challenge

Give small groups the same short news story but without a headline. Each group must write three different headlines for the story: one neutral, one sensational, and one misleading, then present them to the class.

Compare the way a news story is presented on television versus in a newspaper.

Facilitation Tip

Use a child-friendly news source like 'News2day' from RTÉ for the story to ensure it is appropriate.

What to look for

Pupils create a simple poster or a digital slide comparing two types of media they use regularly, explaining the purpose and audience of each.

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

Activity 03

• Gallery Walk
• 25 min · Whole Class

Analyse an Advert

As a whole class, watch a television advert for a popular toy or food product. Guide a discussion using prompts like 'Who is this for?', 'What does it want you to do?', and 'What techniques does it use to get your attention?'.

Explain the purpose of a headline in an article.

Facilitation Tip

Pause the video at key moments to point out specific persuasive techniques like bright colours or exciting music.

What to look for

Pupils complete an 'exit ticket' where they list three types of media they learned about and one question they still have.

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

A few notes on teaching this unit

Start with what pupils already know by brainstorming all the media they can think of. Use lots of visual and tangible examples, like bringing in an actual newspaper, a comic, and showing a news clip. Gradually introduce analytical concepts by comparing two different items, focusing on simple questions like 'What's different?' before moving to 'Why is it different?'.

By the end of this topic, pupils will be able to identify various media forms and begin to think like detectives, questioning the messages they see and hear every day.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• If it's in a newspaper or on the news, it must be completely true.

  News reports are created by people and can have different perspectives or unintentional mistakes. It's important to look at who created the news and think about why they presented the story in a certain way.

• Media just means television and the internet.

  Media is any tool we use to communicate with lots of people. This includes books, comics, radio, video games, and even posters on the street.

• Advertisements are just there to give you information about a product.

  While adverts do give information, their main purpose is to persuade you to buy or want something. They use special techniques to make products seem more appealing than they might actually be.

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Methods used in this brief

• Gallery Walk