Lesson plan of Textual Genre: Advertising Text

Objectives (5-7 minutes)

1. Understanding the genre: Students will understand and be able to identify the main characteristics of advertisement text. This includes recognizing its persuasive function, the language employed, the structure adopted, and the visual elements that are typically found in this genre.

2. Critical analysis: Students will develop the ability to critically analyze advertisement text. This involves being able to identify persuasive devices, the way the reader’s attention is captured, the way the product or service is presented, and the persuasive appeals used.

3. Text production: After understanding and analyzing the genre, students should be able to create their own advertisement text. This includes utilizing the knowledge acquired about genre conventions and the ability to use persuasive language in an effective manner.

Secondary objectives

• Develop critical reading and analytical skills
• Foster creativity and writing skills
• Promote understanding of the role of advertising in society
• Encourage teamwork and effective communication

Introduction (10-15 minutes)

1. Review of prior content: The teacher begins the class by reviewing the concept of text genre, focusing on its characteristics and the different ways in which genres vary. This review is essential for the students to fully grasp the new genre that will be studied, which is advertising text. (3-5 minutes)

2. Problem-solving situations: The teacher poses two problem-solving situations to pique students’ interest:

   • The teacher first shows the class an example of an unsuccessful advertisement, one that did not persuade the audience. The question prompted is: “What do you think went wrong with this advertisement? How could we improve it?”. This exercise aims to stimulate the students' critical analysis skills. (3-5 minutes)

   • Next, the teacher presents the class with a product or service and asks students to brainstorm ideas on how they could create a persuasive advertisement to promote it. The question prompted is: “How could we use words and images to convince people to buy this product/service?”. This activity is meant to incite creativity and text production abilities. (3-5 minutes)

3. Introduction of the topic: The teacher explains the importance of advertising text in daily life, highlighting how it is used to advertise products, services, ideas, and even public figures. They may mention examples of famous and impactful ads, like Apple’s "1984" commercial or the Brazilian Health Ministry’s “Donate organs, donate life” campaign. This contextualization helps students realize that the study of this genre is not merely theoretical, but has practical and relevant applications. (2-3 minutes)

Development (20-25 minutes)

1. Advertisement text analysis activity (10-12 minutes)

   • Division into groups: The teacher organizes the students into groups of up to five students. Each group will receive physical copies of a set of advertisement texts for varied products and services.

   • Analysis and discussion: Students, in their respective groups, will analyze the advertisement texts through the lens of genre conventions. They must identify and discuss persuasive appeals, text structure, language devices, and visual elements that are present.

   • Presentations: Each group will present their analysis with the class, explaining their observations about their assigned advertisement texts. The teacher will step in periodically to clear up any doubts and to reinforce concepts covered.

   • Class discussion: Once all groups have presented, the teacher will facilitate a discussion between the students, creating space for a comparison of analyses made by the different groups and inviting students to expand their perspectives.

2. Advertisement text creation activity (10-13 minutes)

   • Product definition: Each group is tasked with choosing a product or service, real or fictitious, to advertise.

   • Brainstorming: Students, in their groups, will brainstorm ideas for advertising this product/service. They will think about what language can be employed, what persuasive appeals to use, and what possible visual elements to include.

   • Production: Based on the ideas generated in the brainstorming session, students will produce the advertisement text. They can opt to create a print ad, a radio ad, or a TV ad. Those choosing a print ad may include visuals, while those choosing a radio ad should focus on verbal language, and those choosing a TV ad should consider both verbal and non-verbal language.

   • Advertisement presentations: Once the ads are completed, each group presents their work to the class. The advertisements will be analyzed, discussed, and the teacher will provide constructive feedback.

3. Advertisement evaluation activity (5-8 minutes)

   • Discussion on effectiveness: After all advertisements have been presented, the teacher leads a class discussion about the effectiveness of the advertisements. The students will be prompted to think about what makes an advertisement persuasive and in what ways they could improve their own ads.

   • Reflection on learning: Finally, the teacher asks students to reflect on what they learned that class and what questions may remain. This reflection will help solidify learning and flag any potential doubts or difficulties that should be addressed in future classes.

Closure (8-10 minutes)

1. Group discussion (3-4 minutes)

   • The teacher asks each group to share with the class their solutions or conclusions from the advertisement text creation activity.
   • Each group will have up to three minutes to present, which will allow every student the chance to speak and to hear their classmates’ perspectives.
   • Throughout the presentations, the teacher will interject to clarify any doubts, reinforce concepts being addressed, and highlight the strengths in the students’ productions.

2. Connection to the theory (2-3 minutes)

   • Following the group presentations, the teacher provides a brief summary of the main characteristics of advertisement text, and of the elements that students were able to identify and put into practice in their productions.
   • The teacher can connect the productions made by students to real-world examples of advertisements, which will demonstrate the practical applications of the theory addressed.

3. Individual reflection (2-3 minutes)

   • The teacher gives students one minute of quiet reflection to come up with responses to the following questions:
     1. What was the most important concept you learned today?
     2. What questions do I still have?
   • Afterwards, call on students to share their reflections with the class. The objective is to stimulate metacognition, that is, the capacity for students to think about their own learning process.

4. Teacher feedback (1 minute)

   • To conclude, the teacher thanks everyone for participating and gives general feedback about the class, pointing out positive aspects as well as areas for improvement. The teacher also answers any remaining questions that were not addressed during class time.
   • The teacher may use this opportunity to suggest complementary readings, practice exercises, or research topics that can serve to further students’ understanding of the text genre covered.

Conclusion (5-7 minutes)

1. Recapitulation of content (2-3 minutes)

   • The teacher initiates the conclusion by reviewing the main points that were addressed during class. They emphasize the characteristics of advertising text, the importance of critical analysis in this genre, and the ability to produce persuasive texts.
   • They may provide a quick summary of the activities that were carried out during the class period, noting the main takeaways from each one.

2. Connection between theory, practice, and application (1-2 minutes)

   • Next, the teacher creates a link between the theory that was introduced, the practical activities that were done, and the real-world uses for advertising text. They reinforce how the understanding of these text genres is useful in various contexts, which range from analyzing advertisements and advertising campaigns to producing persuasive texts for different purposes.

3. Supplementary materials (1 minute)

   • For students interested in expanding their understanding of the subject, the teacher suggests additional materials. These may include books, articles, videos, and websites that examine the subject in greater depth. The teacher can compile these materials in an email or shared online platform.

4. Importance of the subject (1-2 minutes)

   • Finally, the teacher underscores the importance of advertisement text for society, emphasizing its influence on our everyday choices and perceptions. They can cite examples of advertisements that had a social impact, such as awareness campaigns or behavior changes that were fostered by advertising campaigns.
   • The teacher concludes by motivating students to keep observing and analyzing advertisement texts that surround them, and to think critically about the power of language and persuasion.