Internet, radio, television, movies, and magazines pump out thousands of messages and images aimed at kids. It is important for educators to teach students how to decipher the messages and images.
A picture is worth a thousand words but often the picture is misleading. Currently, advertisers use painting, sewing, gluing, and other techniques to get the perfect image. Chickens are sewn to give the appearance of perfect skin, sesame seeds are glued onto a bun are just a few tactics used to get the perfect product photograph.
Comparing Magazine Food Ads With Student Food Ads
Materials
- magazines
- scissors
- glue
- paper
Lesson
- Divide students into groups of 3 to 4 for the activity.
- Students are to peruse the magazines and cut out images of food they eat at home or school.
- Students draw a black line down the center of a piece of paper. Students write real on one side of the line and fake on the other side of the line.
- Students glue the magazine food image on the fake side.
- Next lesson, students are to bring in photographs of common foods eaten at home. Students take pictures of the food item and print at a photolab. It is important the image is glossy like the magazine advertisement.
- Students paste the food item under the real image.
- Students compare the food images. Students need to ask the question of why the magazine food image is so perfect compared to their food image.
After students have finished the activity, let them explore the site Don't Buy It to learn about food advertising tricks. After reading about advertising tricks, students return to the fake versus real food images and predict the different tricks used to make the magazine food images.
Creating the Perfect Food Image
Students choose a food item that they will photograph for a magazine. Students must choose the appropriate advertising techniques to make the food image more appealing. Students photograph the food image before any alterations have been made.
Next students are allowed to sew, paint, glue or use any other technique to enhance the food product. It is important for students to use trial and error. Students will need many supplies to create the perfect photo image.
Food Image Ideas
- glass of orange juice
- ice cream cone
- cookie
- granola bar
- deli sandwich
- garden salad
After students have completed the photos, they will be shared with the rest of the class. As a class or in small groups, students must decide what advertising tricks were used by each group to enhance their image. Lastly, students write a journal entry on images in the media.
Media literacy is as important as reading text. Students are reading media images everyday and it is vital they are able to decipher the fact from fiction. Media literacy activities give students an opportunity to learn the tricks of the advertising trade and how it affects them.
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