Lesson: Brands and Mascots
This lesson introduces students to the ways in which advertisers use mascots to make consumers feel a particular way about their brands. Working from ads taken from different media, students discuss how food ad mascots are created and for what purpose. Students then will create their own mascot to help understand how mascots communicate the “personality” of a brand.
Grade range: 4-6
Teacher Material: https://textbook.mediasmarts.ca/discoveringstudent/chapter/food-ad-mascots/
Student Material: https://textbook.mediasmarts.ca/discovering/chapter/food-ad-mascots/
Time Frame
One class period (45-60 minutes) | Two or three class periods (90-120 minutes) | ||
Activities |
Food Ad Mascots My Ad Mascot
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Food Ad Mascots My Ad Mascot Gallery Walk
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Preparation:
Make sure that students are able to access the interactive activities.
If you wish to use the printed handouts instead of the interactive activities, download and photocopy them:
A printable version of this lesson is available at https://mediasmarts.ca/lessonplan/looking-food-advertising-lesson.
Learning Outcomes
Big ideas/key concepts: Students will understand that…
Media have commercial considerations
- Companies use brand mascots to sell their products
- Mascots make us feel like brands are our friends
Each medium is a unique aesthetic form
- Character designs communicate character
Key questions:
- Why do brands use mascots?
- How do brands make mascots seem like our friends?
Essential knowledge: Students will know…
- Consumer awareness: Techniques to promote brand identity and develop parasocial relationships
- Key vocabulary: mascot
Performance tasks: Students will be able to…
- Use: Make a mascot that reflects their knowledge and understanding of advertising techniques
- Understand: Analyze how brands use mascots to build a brand identity and build parasocial relationships
- Engage: Identify and critique advertising techniques
Curriculum Connections
Strand A: Literacy Connections and Applications
A1 Transferable Skills
A1.2 Student Agency and Engagement
evaluate and explain how transferable skills help them express their voice, be engaged in their learning, and plan the next steps to develop their capabilities and potential
A2 Digital Media Literacy
A2.4 Forms, Conventions, and Techniques
demonstrate an understanding of the forms, conventions, and techniques of digital and media texts, consider the impact on the audience, and apply this understanding when analyzing and creating texts
A2.5 Media, Audience and Production
demonstrate an understanding of the interrelationships between the form, message, and context of texts, the intended audience, and the purpose for production
A2.6 Innovation and Design
select and use appropriate digital and media tools to support the design process and address authentic, relevant, real-world problems by developing innovative solutions
A3 Applications, Connections, and Contributions
A3.1 Cross-Curricular and Integrated Learning
explain how the knowledge and skills developed in this grade support learning in various subject areas and in everyday life, and describe how they enhance understanding and communication
Strand C: Comprehension: Understanding and Responding to Texts
C1 Knowledge About Texts
C1.1 Using Foundational Knowledge and Skills to Comprehend Texts
read and comprehend various texts, using knowledge of words, grammar, cohesive ties, sentence structures, and background knowledge
C1.2 Text Forms and Genres
Grades 4-5: describe some characteristics of various text forms and genres, including cultural text forms, and explain how they help communicate meaning
Grade 6: analyze a variety of text forms and genres, including cultural text forms, and explain how their characteristics help communicate meaning
C1.4 Visual Elements of Texts
Grades 4-5: explain how images, graphics, and visual design create, communicate, and contribute to meaning in a variety of texts
Grade 6: analyze and compare how images, graphics, and visual design create, communicate, and contribute to meaning in a variety of texts
C1.5 Elements of Style
Grade 4: identify various elements of style in texts, including voice, word choice, word patterns, and sentence structure, and analyze how each element helps create meaning and is appropriate for the text form and genre
Grade 5: describe various elements of style in texts, including voice, word choice, word patterns, and sentence structure, and analyze how each element helps create meaning and is appropriate for the text form and genre
Grade 6: identify various elements of style in texts, including voice, word choice, word patterns, and sentence structure, and analyze how each element helps create meaning and is appropriate for the text form and genre
C1.6 Point of View
Grades 4-5: identify the narrator’s point of view, including first, second, or third person, in a variety of texts, and describe the advantages and disadvantages of the approach used in each story
Grade 6: identify the narrator’s point of view, including first, second, or third person, in a variety of texts, providing evidence, and explain how using an alternative point of view would change each story
C3 Critical Thinking in Literacy
C3.2 Making Inferences
Grades 4-5: make local and global inferences, using explicit and implicit evidence, to extend their understanding of various texts
Grade 6: make local and global inferences, using explicit and implicit evidence, to develop interpretations about various texts and to extend their understanding
C3.3 Analyzing Texts
Grade 4: analyze various texts, including literary and informational texts, by identifying main and supporting ideas, sequencing the events of multiple plots, and explaining cause and effect
Grade 5: analyze various texts, including literary and informational texts, by identifying main and supporting ideas, sequencing the events of multiple plots, recording relevant information, and explaining cause and effect
Grade 6: analyze various texts, including literary and informational texts, by identifying main and supporting ideas, evaluating the quality of information and its relevance for a specific purpose, and formulating conclusions
C3.5 Perspectives within Texts
Grades 4-5: identify explicit and implicit perspectives communicated in various texts, explain how these perspectives are conveyed, give some evidence of any biases the texts may contain, and suggest how such biases could influence an audience
Grade 6: explain explicit and implicit perspectives communicated in various texts, including narrative texts, provide any evidence that could suggest bias in these perspectives, and suggest ways to avoid any such bias
C3.6 Analysis and Response
Grades 4-5: explain how various topics, such as diversity, inclusion, and accessibility, are addressed in texts, and describe what insights or messages are conveyed
Grade 6: explain how various topics, such as diversity, inclusion, and accessibility, are addressed in texts, analyze the insights or messages conveyed, and identify different positions presented
Strand D: Composition: Expressing Ideas and Creating Texts
D1. Developing Ideas and Organizing Content
D1.1 Purpose and Audience
identify the topic, purpose, and audience for various texts they plan to create, and explain why the chosen text form, genre, and medium suit the purpose and audience, and how they will help communicate the intended meaning
D1.2 Developing Ideas
generate and develop ideas and details about various topics, such as topics related to diversity, equity, and inclusion and to other subject areas, using a variety of strategies, and drawing on various resources, including their own lived experiences
D2. Creating Texts
D2.1 Producing Drafts
Grades 4-5: draft texts of various forms and genres, including narrative, persuasive, and informational texts, using a variety of media, tools, and strategies
Grade 6: draft complex texts of various forms and genres, including narrative, expository, and informational texts, using a variety of media, tools, and strategies
D2.3 Voice
establish a personal voice in their texts, using varied language and elements of style to express their thoughts, feelings, and opinions about a topic, and using a tone appropriate to the form and genre
D2.4 Point of View and Perspective
Grand 4: identify the point of view used in their texts, and the perspectives and bias conveyed in their texts
Grade 5: identify the point of view, implicit and explicit perspectives, and bias conveyed in their texts, and explain how their messages might be interpreted by audiences with different perspectives
Grade 6: identify the point of view, perspectives, and bias conveyed in their texts, and explain how their messages might be interpreted by audiences with different perspectives
D2.6 Editing and Proofreading
Grades 4-5: edit draft texts to improve accuracy and style, checking for errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar, and format; use a word processor to edit texts
Grade 6: edit draft texts to improve accuracy and style, checking for errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar, and format; edit digital texts using word-processing software, including spell- and grammar-checkers
D3 Publishing, Presenting, and Reflecting
D3.1 Producing Final Texts
Grade 4: produce final texts using a variety of techniques and tools, including simple digital design and production tools, to achieve the intended effect
Grade 5: produce final texts using a variety of techniques and tools, including digital design and production tools, to achieve the intended effect
Grade 6: produce final texts, selecting a variety of suitable techniques and tools, including digital design and production tools, to achieve the intended effect
D3.2 Publishing and Presenting Texts
Grades 4-5: publish and present texts they have created, using selected media and tools, and explain how each helped them communicate their intended message
Grade 6: publish and present texts they have created, using selected media and tools, and analyze how their choices helped them communicate their intended message
D3.3 Reflecting on Learning
Grade 4: describe various strategies that helped them present and communicate their message when publishing and presenting texts, and explain how they helped them improve as a text creator
Grade 5: describe various strategies and tools that helped them communicate their intended message when publishing and presenting texts, and suggest steps for future improvement as a text creator
Grade 6: compare how various strategies and tools helped them communicate their intended message when publishing and presenting texts, and suggest future steps for improvement as a text creator
A mascot is a character that stands for a brand.