Human Spirit Ad

Overview

Students watch the London Paralympics inspirational ad and analyse how language, imagery and sound create meaning about resilience and overcoming challenges. They then reflect personally and plan a short response that connects the ad’s message to their own ideas about the human spirit.

Learning intentions

• WALT analyse how an advertisement uses persuasive and narrative techniques to communicate messages about resilience and hope.
• WALT discuss and justify interpretations using evidence from the ad (specific moments, words, visuals, sound).
• WALT write a short reflection that explains how the ad inspires them and what challenges they relate to.

Success criteria

• I can describe the ad’s key message about resilience and overcoming challenges.
• I can identify how at least two techniques (visuals, music/sound, wording, structure) influence the audience.
• I can use evidence from the ad to support my ideas.
• I can write a reflection with a clear point, explained reasoning, and a concluding link to the human spirit.

Curriculum links

• Texts and contexts: analysing how texts position audiences to respond to ideas and values.
• Language features: analysing persuasive and storytelling techniques used to shape meaning.
• Creating texts: planning and producing a written response with logical structure and language choices.
• Speaking and listening: contributing to discussions and using evidence to support viewpoints.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 min — Hook and purpose

• Tell students the lesson focus: “We’ll explore how a short ad can tell a powerful story about resilience.”
• Quick chat: “What makes a message feel inspiring—words, images, music, or something else?”

2. 5–15 min — Watch the ad (first viewing)

• Play the London Paralympics inspirational ad once uninterrupted.
• Students jot 3 quick reactions: “I noticed… / I felt… / I think it means…”

3. 15–25 min — Re-view with evidence prompts

• Play again, pausing briefly after key moments.
• Provide a simple evidence guide: students record one visual detail, one sound/music detail, and one phrase/word (if present) they think helps convey resilience.

4. 25–35 min — Discussion: resilience and human spirit

• In pairs, students answer:
• “What challenge is shown or implied?”
• “How does the ad show resilience (choices, actions, tone, turning points)?”
• “What does the ad suggest about the human spirit?”
• Teacher facilitates a whole-class share, reminding students to use “In the moment when…” and “This suggests…”

5. 35–48 min — Planning a reflective response

• Model a paragraph structure on the board:
• Sentence 1: clear point about the ad’s message
• Sentence 2–3: evidence + explanation (technique and effect)
• Sentence 4: personal connection (challenge/effort mindset)
• Sentence 5: concluding link to the human spirit
• Students complete a quick plan (not full writing yet): point, 2 evidence notes, reasoning, personal link.

6. 48–57 min — Write (independent)

• Students write a 1–2 paragraph reflection responding to prompts:
• “How does the ad inspire you?”
• “Which technique is most powerful and why?”
• Teacher circulates, conferencing briefly with each group.

7. 57–60 min — Exit ticket

• Students submit a final sentence: “The ad shows resilience because…”
• Teacher collects 5–6 for quick feedback next lesson.

Resources

• The London Paralympics inspirational ad (ready to play, with audio)
• Speaker/headphones access plan if needed for small groups
• Evidence guide sheet (visual / sound / words)
• Discussion sentence starters (e.g., “I think the audience is meant to…”)
• Planning template for reflection paragraph structure
• Dyslexia-friendly reading option: printed transcript/description of key moments in short, chunked lines (no long blocks)
• Timer and board/whiteboard for modelling
• Colour-coded highlighters or sticky notes for evidence tagging

Assessment

• Formative: observation of pair/whole-class discussion using evidence-based talk.
• Formative: check students’ evidence notes during re-view (visual/sound/word).
• Summative within the lesson: the written reflection (point, evidence, explanation, personal link, concluding message).

Differentiation

• Support:
• Provide a transcript or step-by-step “scene summary” of the ad in short chunks for dyslexia and EAL learners.
• Offer sentence starters and a bank of persuasive/explanatory verbs (suggests, highlights, portrays, shows, builds).
• Allow oral rehearsal before writing and provide paragraph frame with fewer choices.
• EAL:
• Pre-teach 4–6 key words (resilience, challenge, overcome, determination, human spirit) using examples from the ad.
• Encourage drawing or mapping ideas for evidence before writing.
• SEN / learning support:
• Reduce writing length target (e.g., one paragraph) while keeping the structure: point → evidence → explanation → link.
• Provide checklist reminders of success criteria on the planning template.
• Extension (advanced learners):
• Require analysis of audience positioning: “How does the ad persuade viewers, and what assumptions does it challenge?”
• Add a second technique focus (e.g., contrast between struggle and success) and include a more nuanced personal connection (“I see resilience when…”).
• Optional: students include a brief comparison to another inspiration text they’ve encountered (book, speech, film moment) in one sentence.

Extension (optional)

Only if the ad lesson leads to more time: students create a short storyboard (4–6 frames) for their own 30-second resilience ad, with planned language/sound choices and an ending that links to the human spirit.