Content Area: Career Education and Consumer, Family, and Life Skills

 

Index: 9.2E Grade 12 CPI 6

 

Standard: 9.2 - Consumer, Family, and Life Skills

 

Strand: E - Consumer and Personal Finance

 

Cumulative Progress Indicator: 6 -  The student will analyze the impact of advertising, peer pressure, and living arrangements on personal purchasing decisions.

 

Grade: 12

 

Sample Activities:

 

·        How does advertising generates peer pressure? Brainstorm with class to generate ideas, concentrate on the most popular ideas. What advertising techniques are used by businesses to influence consumers?  What techniques are especially used to influence teen spending?

 

·        Distribute ads clipped from teen magazines for students to examine. Brainstorm the needs or fears (e.g., clear complexion, being popular, or having nice hair) the product advertised is “fixing”. Discuss who the target audience may be and how the ad attracts that audience. Create a class list of the common needs or fears in the North American culture that ads seem to highlight and record them on the board. Model a short paragraph that analyzes the ad and explains the fear and message behind the ad. Have students work in pairs to write short patterned paragraphs which analyze two ads. The pairs of students will create a page containing the ad and their analytical paragraph for each of the ads. These pages are combined to create a class resource booklet which the teacher compiles. (Suggest that writing be completed using a word process program. Ads can be scanned into the documents.) The booklet is organized into sections based on the common needs or fears. The class may brainstorm an appropriate name for the booklet.– Advertisement Analysis Checklist.

 

·        Student organizations such as DARE, SADD or Student Tutoring would be good places to help educate students and dispel any myths about the particular pressures students possibly face involving drugs, drinking, and student academic performance. Students will help prepare an advertising campaign for these organizations. Students can also gain community service hours by helping with local organizations involved in educating minors against peer pressure issues.

 

·        Where you live and what you drive? How does peer pressure affect these choices? Provide students with different scenarios and have students analyze and evaluate the different alternatives according to the financial resources that are available. Discuss issues such as auto purchasing including financing new cars, leasing, purchasing used cars and the advantages and disadvantages of each. Is “keeping up with the Jones” really worth it?

 

·        Resources: Teen magazines, community representative from DARE, SADD, or a teenage tutoring service.See  www.kellybluebook.com, www.circleoffriends.com, www.leaseguide.com, newspaper advertisements, PBS Frontline- The Merchants of Cool.(video), www.fordcreditdrivesamerica.com.

 

·        Crime Scene Investigation: Has Someone Stolen Your Identify?

 

·       Reality Check: Lending Rip-Offs

 

·       Wheeling and Dealing: What to Know Before You Buy Your First Car