Creating Effective Adverts

Overview

This 45-minute lesson is designed for Primary 6 students (age 10-11) working at the Curriculum for Excellence (CFE) Second Level. It focuses on creating an advert for their sponsored walk event. The session revisits key elements of effective posters before guiding students through creating digital or spoken adverts. The lesson incorporates UK curriculum standards for Literacy and Technologies, emphasising real-world skills in communication and media literacy.

---

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the lesson, pupils will:

• Recap the key information needed in adverts and posters for the sponsored walk. (LIT 2-14a)
• Understand the importance of advertising across different platforms (print, digital, audio). (TCH 2-03a)
• Identify benefits of adverts such as informing, persuading, and engaging an audience. (LIT 2-06a)
• Plan and create an effective advert tailored to a chosen platform. (TCH 2-04a)

---

Benchmarks & Experiences and Outcomes Reference

Curriculum Area	Experience and Outcome	Benchmark Highlights
Literacy	LIT 2-06a	Recognise the purpose of different texts and create texts for different purposes and audiences.
Literacy	LIT 2-14a	Plan and create texts with appropriate content, vocabulary and layout.
Technologies	TCH 2-03a	Investigate how the internet and digital technologies impact on the way information is accessed and shared.
Technologies	TCH 2-04a	Develop problem-solving skills through creating information and communicating ideas using digital tools.

---

Resources Required

• Previously designed sponsored walk posters (printed or digital)
• Examples of age-appropriate adverts (printed or projected) - e.g., charity event flyers, local community adverts, radio PSA clips
• Whiteboard and markers
• Laptops / tablets (for advert creation if digital) or script-writing sheets (for audio adverts)
• Projector or smartboard

---

Lesson Structure

Introduction (10 minutes)

• Starter Activity: Ask pupils to recall details from their sponsored walk posters - What information must be included? (Location, date, sponsorship details)
• Create a quick anchor chart on whiteboard summarising essential advert content (Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?)
• Recap: Why do we create adverts? (To inform, persuade, raise awareness and encourage action)

Main Teaching (15 minutes)

• Show 3 short example adverts:

  1. Printed flyer for a local event
  2. Digital poster from a school fundraising campaign
  3. Short audio advert (e.g., a charity radio announcement)

• Discuss with pupils:

  • What platform is each advert for?
  • How does the advert’s style suit that platform?
  • What techniques does it use (colour, catchy slogan, memorable tune)?

• Present reasons for advertising on different platforms:

  • Print reaches local audiences and can be displayed in schools/community
  • Digital can use bright visuals and reach many people quickly (social media, websites)
  • Audio adverts are good for catchy messages on radio or podcasts where visuals aren’t needed

Activity – Creating Their Advert (15 minutes)

• Pupils choose one platform for their advert (printed poster, digital slide, or short spoken advert)
• Using their earlier posters and the anchor chart, pupils create a simple advert draft incorporating:
  • Clear headline or call to action
  • Key information about the event
  • Visual or verbal elements to attract attention
• Pupils using tablets could create a digital poster using a simple editing app or presentation tool
• Pupils choosing audio create a short script (approx. 30 seconds) and practice delivery in pairs

Plenary and Sharing (5 minutes)

• Invite a few volunteers to share their adverts with the class
• Reflect with pupils on why their advert would be effective for their chosen platform
• Summarise key learning points around clarity, audience, and platform appropriateness

---

Assessment for Learning

• Formative: Observation of pupil participation during discussion and advert creation
• Peer feedback during sharing, focusing on clarity, engagement and use of platform strengths
• Teacher can use a checklist aligned with E&O benchmarks to assess understanding of advert content and platform suitability

---

Differentiation and Inclusion

• Provide sentence starters or templates for pupils who need extra support with writing
• Visual aids and examples to support understanding of abstract concepts (e.g., ‘advertising benefits’)
• Challenge more able pupils to include persuasive language features or digital design elements (e.g., colour theory, font size)

---

Extension Ideas

• Pupils could record their audio adverts and use them in school radio or assemblies
• Create a mini advertising campaign using multiple platforms for wider impact – print, digital, audio

---

Cross-Curricular Links

• Literacy: Writing for an audience and purpose, listening and talking to share ideas
• Technologies: Digital media creation, understanding communication technologies
• Health and Wellbeing: Promoting physical activity through sponsored walk awareness

---

Final Thought for Teachers

This lesson not only builds pupils’ digital literacy and persuasive communication but develops their critical understanding of the media messages they consume every day. Encouraging creativity and critical thinking will empower pupils to become savvy communicators in an increasingly media-rich world.