A fully resourced 6-lesson unit for SMP 2: Advertising (Contemporary – Ideology Focused), designed to guide students through the key Media Studies concepts of language, audience, representation, industry and context, while developing confidence with exam-style responses and analytical writing.

This unit is highly ESL-friendly, featuring:

A consistent lesson and presentation structure throughout
Clear iconography and visual scaffolding to support accessibility
Embedded literacy support in every lesson
Repeated exposure to analytical vocabulary and exam command terminology
Model responses, peer assessment tasks and guided writing opportunities

Every lesson is aligned directly to exam practice outcomes, helping students build skills for:

Define questions (Q1.1 / Q6)
Analyse responses (Q1.4)
Explain questions (Q4)
Evaluate questions (Q5 / Q8)
NEA preparation and reflection activities

The unit explores:

Television advertising conventions and semiotics
Narrative construction and audience targeting
Representation and Uses & Gratifications theory
Ownership models and media industries
Ethical debates surrounding advertising, ideology and wellbeing
Creative task preparation and literacy improvement

Students develop analytical and evaluative skills through:

Semiotic analysis of moving image adverts
Narrative and archetype exploration
Audience decoding and interpretation
Representation analysis linked to media theory
Contextual evaluation using cultural and economic factors
Structured exam practice with peer and self-assessment opportunities

Support materials include:

Model answers
Gap-fill and scaffolded activities
Peer assessment frameworks
Literacy correction tasks
Reflection activities
Success criteria guidance
Key terminology support resources

The adaptable structure means content can easily be switched out for alternative contemporary advertisements or media products while maintaining the same progression of skills, theory and assessment alignment.

Lessons are fully mapped against the curriculum framework, with the accompanying curriculum map also available separately for purchase.