Sex, Scandal and Self
Module 1, Activity 8.1 - Introduction to Magazines
Teacher Page
(student page for this lesson)

Introduction:

Whether people realize it or not, they are being targeted. Industries, such as the magazine industry, look for ways to lure people in to buying their product. In this lesson, students will be introduced to the ways in which magazines are targeting teens and other key demographics.

Resources:

- magazines
- magazine handout (.doc) or (.rtf)
- scanner
- access to computers
- data projector
- planet S cover page
- planet S handout (.doc) or (.rtf)

Activities:

Task One - Wide Range
The first thing students need to be introduced is that there are several potential target audiences.

Have students brainstorm a list of possible target audiences with a partner. Combine the lists as a class to see how many they were able to come up with. Students may have an easy time getting started by simply listing categories by age (teens, the elderly). You may need to help different groups by suggesting other factors in targeting an audience (income, special interests).

Having identified possible audiences, students should now try to determine the ways in which magazines are able to target specific groups of people.

To begin, discuss, as a class, what attracts teens to certain magazines. Be sure to have students consider things like article topics, graphics, product lines, and cost.

Task Two - Bullseye
Now students must look for concrete examples of targeting. Using the magazines they brought to class, or one that the teacher has provided, students will complete the tasks on the magazine handout.

After students analyzed the covers and ads from a magazine, they will present their findings to the class.

You will want to set specific guidelines for the presentation depending on your class size.

For Example:
- must be less than 3 minutes
- must discuss at least 10 different targets used in the cover and ad.

An important part of getting quality work from students is to model quality work. You may want to provide the students with an example presentation. View the planet S cover page, and the corresponding handout in order to use it to format your own presentation to students before they begin.

Task Two requires the students to follow specific guidelines but also requires them to present information that they are just becoming familar with. Along with this, students may be learning to use new technology for the first time. For this reason, any evaluating should be simple.

Example - You might give students checkmarks (up to 15) for every target they successfully identify and then give a mark out of 15.