TX Political Stars are Big and Bright: Identifying Audiences

Rhiannon Goad — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 18:51:09 +0000

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Image Credit:

Brief Assignment Overview:

Getting students to think in more specific terms about audience, without generalizing, is challenging. Using political ads, work with students to identify audiences and think of themselves critically as audience members.

Type of Assignment:

Class Discussion

In-class Exercise

Assignment Length:

Single Class Period

Pedagogical Goals - Rhetoric:

Media Requirements:

Media Console/Projector

Timeline for Optimal Use:

Useful Anytime

Full Assignment Description:

First, play Rick Perry’s infamous Strong ad. You know, the one where he says, “You don’t need to be in the pew every Sunday to know there’s something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military but our kids can’t openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school.” That one. Before showing the ad, quickly remind students that the ad premiered as Rick Perry was losing traction for GOP voters in the Republican primary. Then, watch the ad and discuss who this ad was meant to encourage and why. Ask students, “What does this ad tell us about the state of Rick Perry’s campaign? Who is he reaching out for?”

Then, we watch two recent ads for TX governor: one for Greg Abbott and another for Wendy Davis. I ask the students, “As a student at UT-Austin, do you think either ad is meant to attract you? Why or why not?” Discuss what demographics each ad might appeal to and why.

Suggestions for Instructor Preparation:

You’ll want to preload ads and watch through pesky commercials before class. You might want to prepare a handout with questions.

Instructions For Students:

Answer the following questions after each video:

Who’s this ad meant for? How do you know?
Does this ad demonstrate good knowledge of audience?
Who isn’t this ad meant for?
How do you know?
Might this ad backfire? Meaning, might this ad drive more voters away than it attracts?

Teaching Context with Album Covers

Rhiannon Goad — Fri, 15 Nov 2013 22:42:58 +0000

Author:

Rhiannon Goad

Image Credit:

Talking Heads, Remain In Light

Brief Assignment Overview:

This lesson plan uses album covers and music to help students (1) utilize vocabulary and (2) consider the importance of context in rhetorical analysis.

Type of Assignment:

In-class Exercise

Homework Assignment

Assignment Length:

One-Two Class Periods

Pedagogical Goals - Rhetoric:

Pedagogical Goals - Digital Literacy:

Media Requirements:

Media Console/Projector

Required Materials:

handouts, Internet, screen projection, audio, and computers for students groups (optional), website/Spotify for posting images and music (optional)

Timeline for Optimal Use:

Mid-Semester

Full Assignment Description:

In this assignment, students examine a group of album covers twice: first without the music and then along with. Examining album covers one step at a time allows students to see the payoff of careful analysis. This exercise also helps students understand the importance of context when analyzing a piece.

Pro tip: My students were more responsive when asked to analyze new album covers that they had not yet seen for music they had not yet heard. To find new albums for this, I found this guy is pretty useful.

Suggestions for Instructor Preparation:

Prepare a sideshow with album covers (I used 5)
Prepare a playlist of songs corresponding to the album covers (I used spotify)
Prepare a packet of handouts for students. For each album cover you show, have a sheet with the same questions on both sides. Label one side A and the other side B. On mine, I asked: What emotions might this artist invoke? How? What does this album cover suggest about the artist? How? What values does the audience hold that this artist might appeal to? What kind of style is used and for what purpose?
Distribute packets and explain to students the exercise
Have students answer the questions the on “Side A” as you show the album covers without music
Have students flip their packets over to "Side B" and repeat slide show for students (I spent about 1 minute or show per album cover)
Put students into small groups to discuss their findings
Discuss findings with students; ask: How did your responses differ when you heard the music?

Instructions For Students:

Use packet of handout to take notes
Answer the questions the on “Side A” when we look at the album covers without audio
When you reach the end of your packet, flip it over to “Side B”, now answer the questions again
Get into groups of 3 to 4, discuss some of the differences you found between your notes

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DWRL Lesson Plans - Rhiannon Goad

TX Political Stars are Big and Bright: Identifying Audiences

Teaching Context with Album Covers