Super Bowl Commercials in the Classroom

Super Bowl commercials are not only one of the best parts of the Super Bowl, they are great to use in the classroom! I love to use commercials in the same way that I would use a text during a lesson. Commercials are great catalyst to teaching and practicing metacognitive processes, such as summarizing, inferring, and making connections. Here are some funny commercials to use with your students this month!

 

Kia- "Hero's Journey"

In this commercial, Kia makes the claim that "it's hard to be an eco-warrior, but it's easy to drive like one." The first fifty eight seconds show Melissa McCarthy trying to do her part to save animals and the ice caps. If you don't watch carefully, you can easily miss the claim and the purpose of the advertisement. Use this commercial for teaching the thinking that goes into processing a persuasive text or media. Learning targets can include: identify the claim, evaluating the reasoning (is it logical or faulty?), and looking for persuasive devices used by the creator.

Ask students to watch the commercial and be ready to discuss what the commercial is about.

Why did Kia make this commercial? What is the "real" message?

 

Watch the video a second time to look for evidence to confirm the reasons students gave for the purpose and message of the commercial. I stop after each "eco event" and have students analyze this part. Does it support the purpose and message?

 

Finally, ask students to think about the claim made in any commercial. What are the persuasive techniques used by the "author" of the video? Do all reasons support the claim? Does the author use any rhetorical devices that could be deemed as faulty logic?

 

The students really engage in watching the videos and looking for the claims, reasoning, and evidence.