I am finished teaching all the concepts needed for Monday.

At this point, I have taught you all you need to know to present your magazine.

1.    Magazines create a good product to build an audience that they can sell to advertisers.

2.    The magazines know exactly who their audience is. (Media Kit)

3.    Magazines are a business that relies on ads to make money and keep the price of the magazine low.

4.    Trust and motivation: Magazines are like your big sister.  You can trust her… for the most part.  She is trying to guide you.  Ads, on the other hand, are motivated by money; they want to sell you something!

5.    The goal of an ad is to inform, persuade, or influence.

6.    Ads are a combination of real and artificial reasons.  As we saw in the video, ads usually contain factual information that appeals to our thinking. 

7.    Ads also contain flashy things that catch our eye and try to appeal to our emotions.  The reasons might seem real, but they are fake.

8.    We named twenty of these artificial means of persuasion.

9.    We discussed the idea that we see who we are or who we want to be in ads aimed at us.  What message is the person in the ad sending:  this is you using the product or this is what you dream you would look like using the product?

10.I am teaching you how to be critical of ads.  Being critical means examining something closely and comparing it to what YOU know is true or false.  I am trying to give you information so you can make that determination.

By Monday, you need to be able to prove to me that you are the expert on your magazine. 

Pretend we don’t know anything about your magazine.

Have a great visual and take your time.

See page 18 in your yellow packet.

Check off each item on page 19.

You might want to write out a script.

Practice your presentation in front of someone.

You MUST have visuals of some sort.

You can make a Power Point if you would like.

The Presentation is Due Monday (Page 19)

How you sell a lock to girls.

Homework:

Present the information needed from page 19 in the yellow packet.

Have a visual so we can see what you are talking about.

Today:

You need to find four ads from you magazine.

What are three MAIN techniques used in the ads in your magazine?

1. Symbol

2. Scientific Evidence

3. Maybe

Now find the ultimate ad, the one you would point to as THE main way products are sold to the audience of your magazine.

4. Ultimate ad

Think about it like this.  If I were selling a combination lock, and I wanted to sell it to the audience of your magazine, how would I do it? 

Wouldn’t it be different than if I were placing the ad in Girls Life?

Media Kits

Homework:
Choosing the Right Word Unit 11

Today:
We looked at media kits using the laptops in class.  You can find the "kits" for our magazines on this page I made for the students today.  For days now, I have been teaching the students how to figure out the audience of the magazines by looking at the people in the ads.  We see who we are or who we want to be. 

Well, the publisher of the magazine knows exactly who the audience is because they sell the audience to advertisers.  If a product maker wants to reach its ideal audience, they request a media kit from the magazine.  The information they provide will tell the maker if their magazine is a good match for their product. 

The price for a full page ad depends on the "rate base," or the number of viewers the magazine can promise the advertiser will see their ad.  A magazine like Sports Illustrated can charge almost $400,000 for a full page ad because they have a rate base of 3.5 million.  A smaller magazine, like Girls Life can only charge $19,000 because their rate base is 400,000.  There are other influencing factors like "median household income" that influence that price as well.

I am almost done teaching the students all they need to know for Monday's presentation.

Students have a project due April 2

Homework:
Pictionaries 11-20 and synonyms Unit 11
Magazine presentation due April 2- see page 19 of the yellow packet

(If you look at the chart, you will see that the homework grades are not very strong for the third marking period.  Students MUST be responsible for learning inside and OUTSIDE of school. In our school, 70% is passing. The bottom number is a student: student 1, student 2, etc.)


Today:
We discussed the idea of powerful and powerless as found on page 8 of the yellow packet.  I have been teaching the students the idea that, in ads aimed at us, we either see who we are or who we want to be.  Therefore, since we are discussing the magazine and its audience, trying to figure out who they are, we can look at the people in the ads.  By doing that, we will see the audience as they are or who they want to be.  Now, do they want to see themselves as powerful or powerless?  I was throwing around the word "confident."  Does the ad seem to imply that, as a result of buying the product, the audience will feel confident?  I think the answer will come back as yes.  However, the audience doesn't always want to be powerful.  Sometimes they just want to be happy or nice.  I see a lot of those images in the teen fashion magazines.

Psychology and Advertising

Homework:
Unit 11 Pictionaries 1-20
Students should be done these pages in the yellow packet: 1, 7, 17, and be working on pages 18 and 19.

I gave the students notes and we watched this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EC7VLjIw8hY
(I am pretty sure this is the link.  YouTube is blocked in school.)

Notes:

Goals of Adverting

Inform

Persuade

Influence

ELM – two ways communication can be persuasive

Depends on the ability to process message and motivation of the receiver

Central Route- High Involvement through attention

            Facts & Logic

            High Risk

            Permanent Attitude Change

Peripheral Route- (round about route) Does not think about the communication

            Emotional story

            Colors

            Music

            Speaker

            Low Involvement

            Message is unimportant

            Content, facts, logic are temporary

            Senses, emotions, and feelings

Colors

Color impression accounts for 60-70% consumer reaction

Red- blood, pressure, increases appetite, quick decisions

Pink- candy pastries sweetness

Orange- energetic, fast food, very aggressive

Yellow- first color processed by the human eye and draws attention

Green- relaxing, environment

Blue- most popular, loyalty

Purple- difficult to produce, royal, rich, luxurious

Brown- Men favor, natural, of the earth, solidity and strength

Black- makes other colors pop, sophistication

White- cleanliness, purity, new, high tech

Positive Affect- joy, hope, pleasure

            Perceive risk lower and benefits higher

Negative Affect- anger, fear, shame

            Perceive risk higher and benefits lower

All the sci-fi stories are graded! Finally!

The grades on HAC are the grades for the third marking period.  I have a few small tweaks that I need to make for a few students, but I read my last sci-fi paper just now.  Section 5 took me six hours to grade!  Don't get me wrong; I love reading and grading essays!  Seriously.  My dream is to one day not have 120+ essays to grade at a time!  I am going to relax for the rest of the weekend. 

Quiz on Ad Techniques Friday

The 20 Ad Techniques

Homework:
The students need to have four things done on their magazines.  They need to have the text/ad ratio. They need to have listed all the products sold in their magazine.  They must find one example of 15 of the ad techniques using yellow stickies.  And now they have to complete the chart on page 7 of their yellow packet.  The chart will show them which techniques are used most for the audience of the magazine.

In most classes, I discussed this idea: In ads aimed at you, you either see who you are or who you want to be.  If students look at the magazine, and the magazine is aimed at them as an audience, students will see themselves throughout the magazine.  For example, in Teen Vogue, I do not see who I am or who I want to be.  Imagine that.  But, when I flip through Sports Illustrated, I start to see more of myself represented.  But I am not into sports, so I am not really the audience of Sports Illustrated.

We are going to discuss race.  It is a fact that we are different races.  There are magazines like Ebony that target a Black audience.  It is a Black pride thing.  The magazine is a place to feel comfortable.  However, not all magazines focus on one particular race.  Teen Vogue and Sports Illustrated are pretty diverse.  Hot Rod, however, seems like a pretty White audience.  I doubt their own description of their audience would discuss this, nor is the magazine exclusive.  My guess is that the audience of Hot Rod tends to be White.  That's all. 

We will be spending more time discussing audience in the coming days.  We will also be looking at the media kits from the magazines to learn about the audiences of these magazines.

Quiz 10 Vocab Thursday

Today:
I discussed why magazines exist.  It would be nice to think that magazines are created just to spread knowledge and entertain the masses.  In reality, magazines make people money.  The magazine brings together an audience and advertisers.  If the magazine is good, lots of people read it; therefore, there are lots of eyes to look at ads.  The more eyes a magazine gets, the more it can charge for the ads.  That money helps pay for the production of the magazine, which keeps the magazine at a reasonable price.  A low price means more people can afford it, which means more eyes will see the ads.

I also discussed that not all ads are deceptive.  The artificial means of persuasion mostly relate to viewers' emotions.  Sometimes we buy products that we need, and the ad gives us the pertinent information, the facts.  Many times, though, because we have some extra cash, we dream about buying things we want.  Ads that appeal to our wants will not convince us through logic because our desire is not logical to begin with.  Therefore, the ads will use techniques that appeal to our emotions.

We are learning the 20 ad techniques

Homework:
Completing the Sentence Unit 10
Quiz Unit 10 Thursday
Quiz on the ad techniques Friday

Today:
I lectured on the 20 ad techniques showing examples on the screen and on the side board.  I don't expect them to understand them all right away.  They should struggle for a few days, but once the students understand the techniques, they will start seeing them everywhere!

If you look at the Skechers ad, you will see the technique called group dynamics.  Notice how the ads is not focusing on the quality or performance of the skates.  The ad is basically saying that if you buy the skates, you will be part of a group that others are not a part of.  Group dynamics is used a lot in girls fashion magazines.  The clothing brand you buy determines what group you belong to.  The ad gives you the illusion that you can buy your popularity by wearing the right brand.

Grades are updated on HAC for the 3rd MP.

I have everything in that I have accept for the scores on the sci-fi stories.  I have only graded one section so far: section 4.  I am starting on section HB today.  I will do the best I can to get them graded soon. 

Please see that all assignments are turned in.  Students need to make up any missing quizzes. 

The marking period ends March 27th.

We had a crazy, fun day!

As I had explained in my other blogs, we were filming ads to demonstrate the effectiveness of the Artificial Means of Persuasion that ads use.  Some of the videos were a little boring, but some were well done.  A few were outrageous and will not see the light of day!  But I think by having the students do these videos, we will now have examples to refer back to. 

The goal for next week it to get back to analyzing their magazines.  Now that the students have a foundation for the ad techniques, we can explore how they are used in their magazines.  For example, do advertisers use the same techniques in Hot Rod as they do in Teen Vogue?  Some will be the same, but not all.

I will not post videos from today without signed parental permission from each student in a video.  As much as the students want me to get these out there so they can show their friends, not everyone in the groups feels the same way.  I do not want to embarrass some students more than they might think they have been already!

The techniques used most often by the students for the classroom as an audience were name calling, humor, fear of the enemy, diversion, and card stacking.

I have finished grading section 4's sci-fi stories.  The grades are on HAC.  I have some make-up work waiting to be graded.  To much to do!  :)

I did not blog Wednesday and Thursday.

Sorry, I had activities after school.

Friday, we are filming quick ads for soap.  I am introducing them to the idea of Artificial Means of Persuasion.  I gave them two choices of soap to sell.  How do you sell soap that is nothing special?  You run out of logical reasons to offer people to choose your soap over another.  That's where the ad techniques come in.  Try using a testimonial or deny that your product does something.  Why not make your ad funny so people remember it?  I had them start to look at the techniques found on pages 4 and 5 of the packet.

We have started our media literacy unit.

Homework:
Finish pictionaries 11-20 and do the synonyms unit 10

Media Literacy Unit Website

Today:
I handed out magazines to the students who needed them. Again, I would have preferred that students brought their own because they will be presenting their magazine to the class April 2.

We read over page 18 of the packet that I gave them.  It explained the basic idea of the presentation.  However, since they don't really know what any of those things mean, they were confused.  Good.  It gives them something to pay attention to over the next three weeks!

Today we started the text/ad ratio on page 2 of the packet.  Basically, I want them to figure out how much of the magazine is magazine and how much is ads?  We just count and divide.

In some classes, we began discussing why they must be able to tell the difference between an ad and the magazine.  We discussed trust and motivation.  What is the motivation for the advertisers?  Do you trust them or the editors of the magazine? We did not get far in the discussion.

Ultimately, the students will become critical of the messages aimed towards them.  We are a long way away from that point, but we will get there.  Prepare to discuss things at the dinner table!

Students need to have a magazine tomorrow.

Homework: 

Pictionaries 1-10 unit 10 (Section 6 will start this Tuesday)

Bring a magazine that you want to use for the next three weeks.

Today:

We watched the Twilight Zone episode called "The Midnight Sun."  I wanted to wrap up our discussion about science fiction before we jump into our magazine study.  It is on Netflix.  I think it is in season three.

Here are the questions we discussed.

In this episode of the Twilight Zone, the earth’s orbit around the sun changes.  Of no fault of our own, we are now left to be baked alive.  According to the writer of this episode, how well does man cope with the change?  How does the crisis bring out both the good and bad in man?

Man vs. Nature

Man vs. Man

           

Man vs. Self

What have you learned about the effects of climate change? Do you believe it is real? 

How could this episode be science fiction warning us about our future?

I stopped the video right before the ending.  How do you think the writer chose to end this episode?  Guess.  Do you like your ending better or his?

Final draft of the sci-fi story is due TOMORROW.

Homework:
We will have 45 minutes to finish typing in class Friday.  My goal for the four days in the lab was to give them time to have others help them proofread.  Too many are taking their time and not allowing themselves the chance to get help.  I guess that is their choice.

Students were also told to bring a magazine starting Tuesday.  Everything is explained in this handout I gave them.  Please read this:

Vocab Quiz 9 Tomorrow

Homework: Quiz Unit 9 tomorrow!

Wednesday in the Computer Lab

       1. Go through the flashcards for unit 9.

       2. Take the Multiple Choice check

                I want to record your result.  Raise your hand.

       3.  Continue typing your piece

                Remember, we are focusing on dialogue!

               You need at least 15 exchanges!

Sections 4 and 5

        1. Try this for me, please. 

        2.Practice punctuating and varying dialogue. 

               Copy this to Word. 

               Use one line from top or bottom (beginning or at end).  

               Punctuate.

***Notice in the example below that new paragraphs are used often.  I had the students think of these paragraph breaks like camera shots on TV.  I would rather students have too many paragraphs than not enough.  I sat down with many students today at their computers and broke up their paragraphs for them. ****

Houghton Mifflin English
Story
The Telephone Rang
By Marc L.

       One day I was sitting down watching TV, when the telephone rang. I got up and answered it. I couldn't believe who it was! It was the owner of the pet store. She said I'd won a cat! Then she said, “Excuse me, I have a customer who needs help.” She put me on hold.
       I sat waiting for a long time, and then I hung up.
       I started watching TV again, and the phone rang again. It was the host of a TV show. “You've won a million dollars!” he said. Then he put me on hold because he had to get back to his show.
       I waited and waited, and finally I hung up.

Day 1 in the Library

The students are making progress.

Homework:

Quiz unit 9 on Thursday.  Students should finish their vocab book work for unit 9.  We will review the answers Wednesday.

Today:

 All classes met in the library to work on their sci-fi short stories.  Some students needed time to type.  Others needed to have someone read their piece for feedback.  No one is finished.  

All students need help with punctuating dialogue.  I plan to spend time teaching dialogue tomorrow.  I will give them some sites to practice with.  Then I will give them some typing time.

Hear is the example I showed some classes today.

“Oh, no!” cried Sally, “John, I think I’m going to be late!”

“What? Has your watch stopped again?”

Sally shook her wrist before examining the timepiece. “Again!” She tore it off and threw it on the floor. “This is the third time this week.”

"Don’t leave it there. Why don’t you take it back and get a refund?”

“Because, I lost the receipt.”

“You don’t always need one,” said her boyfriend after retrieving it from the green shag carpet.

With her left eyebrow arched, she asked, “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I am.” He winked, handing it back to her. “As long as it’s not all broken up.”

http://www.fictionfactor.com/guests/dialoguebasics.html

This week, we finish the sci-fi stories!

Homework:
All but section 6- Completing the Sentence Unit 9 vocab
Students should also have work to do in class.  Saying they are working on it at home will not cut it!  They are not going to play games on the computer because they have nothing to work on.  (I know their tricks!) 

We read this essay in class today.  We discussed the rubric I will be scoring them with.  Please see below. All students should be able to get a C at least.  A's and B's must be earned.
 
I encouraged students to find a way to move their documents between home and school.  Google Docs is the best way.  But they can also e-mail them back and forth if they have a Yahoo account.  They can also use a flash drive.  I want all students to be able to use the computer to REVISE their drafts.  That could mean deleting whole sections of their work. 

We will have little tasks to accomplish each day this week.  They will be listed on MrBoZ.com .

Science-Fiction Story Rubric

 

Story Telling

5(a)   = Gripping story, developed characters, action moved to a climax.

4(b)   = You were curious about the end, some characters, conflict present.

3(c)   = It was a story, had characters, some conflict.

2(d)   = It was barely a story.  It did not go anywhere.

1(f)    = Unacceptable

Was it a science fiction story? (Author's purpose was clear.)

What is the writer’s purpose/lesson about technology? Will science be the savior or the destroyer? What do we need to be doing right now to attain or avoid this?

5   = The writer made you really think about the future of some science idea.

4   = The story contained some type of science idea and its future.

3   = There was some science thing in the story.

2   = It was just a story.

1   = Unacceptable.

Dialogue

5    = Excellent use of dialogue for effect and character development.

4    = 15 exchanges with mostly correct indenting, punctuation, paragraphing.

3    = Not enough exchanges and/or incorrectly punctuated.

2    = Barely used dialogue and/or totally incorrect punctuation.

1    = Unacceptable

Sensory Details and Thoughts

5    = Vivid setting and details. You feel immersed in the story.

4    = Many sensory details like feel, see, smell, and some thoughts.

3    = Some sensory details like feel, see, smell, and some thoughts.

2    = Not very descriptive.  The story was mostly just plot details.

1    = Unacceptable

Grammar

5   = Almost perfect.  Very few errors

4   = Some errors.  They were minor and did not distract.  Writer proofread.

3   = A few too many errors.  Many should have been caught.

2   = Proofreading appears to have been skipped.  Distracting errors abound.

1   = Seriously?

Total:  ________ divided by 5 = average

4.5 = A

3.5 = B

2.5 = C

Have a nice weekend (or get some writing done!)

Cletus again.

Grades are updated on HAC

Meet Cletus!

All classes have been updated, but I need to see section 5 for two more grades: 1000 words and Choosing the Right Word unit 9.

By Tuesday, I expect all students to have written their sci-fi story that contains the following:
   Some sort of interesting beginning.
   Characters who use dialogue.
   Characters who have thoughts.
   A plot that moves towards a climax.
   An interesting ending.
   The story must be sci-fi and offer hope or be a warning.

We will spend four days next week making these PERFECT!