Designing Community Messages

Overview

Lesson 8 of 10 in Our Place, Our Stories. Students plan a purposeful campaign encouraging care for the local environment, combining written, visual and spoken language for a clearly identified audience. Students may choose a poster, infographic, podcast, video script or social media-style campaign.

Learning intentions

• WALT combine written, visual and spoken language to communicate a purposeful community message.
• WALT make design choices that suit our audience, purpose and chosen medium.
• WALT explain how images, layout, words and voice work together to create meaning.
• WALT collaborate respectfully and give useful feedback.

Success criteria

• I can identify a local environmental issue and a specific audience.
• I can select meaningful images, create a clear layout and write concise text.
• I can plan spoken language that is engaging and easy to understand.
• I can explain how my design choices support my message.

Curriculum links

• Creating texts: plan and craft purposeful texts using language, structure and features suited to audience and purpose.
• Multimodal communication: combine written, visual and spoken language to create meaning.
• Oral language: present ideas clearly, listen actively and respond constructively.
• Key competencies: thinking; using language, symbols and texts; managing self; relating to others; participating and contributing.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–7 minutes – Hook and connect Display two contrasting community messages from the introduction and comparison slides: one cluttered and unclear, one focused and engaging. Ask: “Which message would make you notice the issue or take action? Why?” Briefly revisit the unit’s local environmental themes, such as litter, waterways, native wildlife, waste or caring for shared spaces.

2. 7–15 minutes – Model purposeful design Use the design teaching slides to model turning a broad idea (“Look after nature”) into a specific message: “Keep plastic out of our stream.” Think aloud while identifying the audience, purpose, call to action, image, headline, supporting detail and suitable medium. Model concise wording and explain how colour, size, placement, sound or tone can support meaning.

3. 15–20 minutes – Introduce the planning task Distribute the community campaign planning sheet. Students choose one issue, audience and format. Explain that today they are planning rather than producing the finished campaign. For Years 1–4, offer a poster or short spoken script first; Years 5–8 may also select an infographic, video script or social media-style campaign, with teacher guidance about safe and respectful online communication.

4. 20–38 minutes – Individual or paired planning Students complete their campaign plan. They should include a message or headline, audience, purpose, call to action, image ideas, layout or sequence, and spoken words if relevant. Circulate and conference with students: “What do you want people to think, feel or do?” and “How does this choice help your audience understand?” Use the planning instruction slides for the step-by-step checklist. Students may sketch, write, dictate, type or record ideas.

5. 38–48 minutes – Peer feedback and revision In groups of three, students share plans. One student explains the campaign, one acts as the intended audience, and one gives feedback before rotating. Use the prompts on the peer feedback section: “I understand…”, “I noticed…”, and “You could make it clearer by…”. Students revise one written, visual or spoken choice.

6. 48–56 minutes – Share selected plans Invite four or five students or pairs to present a headline, sketch, short script extract or campaign pitch. Class members identify the intended audience and the design choice that best supports the message. Use the sharing and discussion slides to prompt respectful responses and comparisons between media.

7. 56–60 minutes – Reflect and preview Students complete the final reflection on the reflection section: name their strongest design choice and one improvement for the next lesson. Preview Lesson 9, when they will develop and refine the campaign product. Collect plans for formative assessment.

Resources

• the community message slide deck
• the community campaign planning sheet
• Examples of local environmental messages, displayed or teacher-created
• A3 or plain paper for sketches
• Pencils, coloured pencils, rulers and highlighters
• Optional tablets or computers with accessible presentation, drawing or recording tools
• Headphones and a quiet recording space, if available
• Word banks and picture prompts for environmental actions
• Board or shared screen

Assessment

• Observe whether students identify a clear issue, audience, purpose and call to action.
• Review planning sheets for concise language, meaningful image choices, coherent layout or sequence, and an explanation of how choices support meaning.
• Listen to peer feedback and student explanations, noting collaboration, oral clarity and ability to revise a design choice.

Differentiation

• Provide a partially completed template, visual word bank, sentence starters such as “Our message is…” and “We want people to…”, and teacher scribing or speech-to-text for students who need support.
• Use explicit modelling and shared construction before independent work. Allow drawing, oral rehearsal, typing, dictation or recording instead of requiring extensive handwriting.
• Offer accessible tools: large-print materials, high-contrast colours, read-aloud functions, captions, headphones and quiet presentation options. Pair EAL learners with supportive peers and pre-teach words such as protect, reduce, reuse, habitat and community.
• Assign collaborative roles such as ideas manager, writer, designer, speaker and feedback partner. For younger students, limit the task to one clear action and a short slogan; for older students, expect stronger audience awareness and justification of multimodal choices.

Extension

• Create a coherent campaign across two media, such as a poster and podcast script or infographic and video script.
• Explain how effectively each medium reaches its intended audience, identifying one strength and one limitation of each.