Q&A Thread for Claire Carmichael, LIVEbrary #5

Today begins our fifth program, BE THE AD: The Future of Advertising is YOU! The Lesson Plan is now posted on the blog, with a reading, an assignment, a quiz, and discussion questions. You can also download a PDF version of the Lesson Plan here.

This Thursday, you'll have a chance to chat live with Claire Carmichael, author of the novel, Leaving Simplicity, a near-future look at a school where the advertising has gone berserk. In order to chat with Claire on Thursday, you need to install Skype software and send us your Skype username.

But you don't have to wait until Thursday to start asking questions. Go ahead, add your questions or ideas to this blog post using the "comments" button at the bottom of this post.

Thanks for Trying the LIVEbrary!
STEVE O'KEEFE
Producer, The Annick LIVEbrary

LIVEbrary Lesson Plan #5: Be The Ad

LIVEbrary Lesson Plan #5:
BE THE AD: The Future of Advertising is YOU!

(for a colorful, downloadable PDF version, click here)

Topic/Subject: Media Awareness
Age Range: 9-13
Grade Level: 4-8

Contents:
- Reading
- Assignment
- Quiz
- Discussion Questions
__________________________________________________

READING:

"Barrett's First Day of Class"
an excerpt from the novel
Leaving Simplicity
by Claire Carmichael
Published by Annick Press
Reprinted here with permission.

~ Introduction to the Reading ~

In Leaving Simplicity, teenager Barrett Trent is forced to leave the isolated farming community he grew up in and join his cousin, Taylor Trent, in the big city where she lives. Set in the not-so-distant future, Leaving Simplicity takes technology and advertising one step beyond anything you've seen. After his cousin Taylor gets suspended, Barrett faces his first day of class alone. He's assigned to Acantha Brown, an unpopular girl whose job it is to show Barrett around.

~ Barrett's First Day of Class ~

When a siren sounded, everyone was galvanized into action. Obviously the siren was an indication that lessons were about to begin, so like everyone else, I picked up speed. Reaching Block Five, I joined a mass of students in the corridors. Room Eighteen was rapidly filling.

I hesitated at the doorway, looking for Acantha Brown. There she was, near the back. It was a help I'd caught a glimpse of her when registering yesterday, otherwise I would have had to ask someone to point her out to me.

"Acantha?" I said, looking over her. She was rather plump, and had frizzy hair, but I couldn't see why she thought she might need a total makeover to transform her into somebody else when she was a perfectly pleasant-looking person.

"You're Barrett Trent? I've saved a seat for you."

"Hello," I said. "I saw you yesterday, when I was with Mr. Platt."

I slid into the desk beside her. I had a glowing screen set into its surface. Along the top edge of the screen were the words, "Your desk is underwritten by Begone! Pain Relief."

I looked around. Almost every place was taken, and the room was filled with the buzz of conversation. I became aware that people were looking at me with open curiosity, which made me feel as if I were on display.

"You have to identify yourself." Acantha showed me how to wave my bracelet over the screen. It gave a soft burp, then "Welcome, Barrett Trent" appeared. Then the words, "Reminder: no student may use a personal electronic device in class."

"The teacher has a master screen," Acantha said. "Each desk shows details of the person sitting there. Results, reports -- everything can be called up."

"There won't be anything on me, yet," I said.

"Acantha was amused. "When you enrolled yesterday, you did a set of assessment tools. All those results, plus a full background search, will already be in the central data bank."

It was somehow appalling to realize that strangers had access to all this information about me. "I can understand why the test results are useful," I said, "but what's the background search for?"

Acantha seemed surprised I'd asked. "To tailor advertising to meet your personal needs."

I could see what personal needs I had that advertising could meet, but before I could comment on this, a hush fell as the teacher came into the room. He was a brawny man with very little neck, and as he walked to the front podium he was putting on a loose top over the shirt he was already wearing. It proclaimed: "This science period is brought to you by Blissjoy Mood Lighteners -- Make Life Shine Again!"

When a siren signaled the end of the period, which had been fairly basic physics, the teacher actually said, "And remember, students, this science period has been brought to you by Blissjoy Mood Lighteners. Don't be blue, don't be sad. Blissjoy Mood Lighteners will make your life shine again."

"We have Corporations & Culture next," said Acantha, standing up. She was taller than I realized.

# # #

Copyright 2007 by Claire Carmichael. Excerpted from the book, Leaving Simplicity. Published by Annick Press. ISBN 9781554510900 (library binding), ISBN 9781554510894 (paperback). Reprinted with permission. For more information, please visit http://www.annickpress.com. Thank you.
__________________________________________________

ASSIGNMENT

Ad Bingo!

Everyone in your class makes an Ad List of every place they see an ad on school property in one day. Starting now, write down all the ads you see, and where you see them, up until class tomorrow. Try to find at least 5 ads. A logo by itself doesn't count. It has to be an ad. Here's an example of an Ad List:

AD LIST
1. Ad for gardening web site on the calendar in Ms. Jones' room.
2. Ad for newspaper subscription on Ms. Jones' coffee cup.
3. Ad for dry cleaner on pencil I found in the hall.
4. Ad for diet program on the granola bar I had at lunch.
5. Ad for Homecoming Dance over the door to the cafeteria.

The next day, your teacher asks each student to tell about one ad they found. The teacher writes the ad on the board. If you have that ad on your list, put a star next to it. When the next person tells about an ad, if you have it on your list, put a star next to it.

Each student takes a turn describing an ad they saw that is different from any listed on the board so far. If a student doesn't have any original ads on their list, he or she "passes" to the next person.

Keep going like this, writing ads on the board, while each student checks them against their own list. The first person to get 5 matches with the list written on the board shouts, "BINGO!" Check the winning student's list against the list on the board to make sure all five are matches. You can continue the game if you want until there are more winners or you run out of original ads.

Variation: If you enjoyed Ad Bingo at school, try it at home. Ask each student to write down the ad messages they are exposed to at home in one night. Then bring the list to school the next day and play another round of Ad Bingo!
__________________________________________________

QUIZ:

NOTE: Quiz answers are available to teachers upon request from LIVEbrary@annickpress.com. Quiz answers will be revealed during the live Skype Chats and made a part of the Skype Chat Transcripts.

1) Multiple Choice. How many TV advertisements is the typical teenager exposed to each day?
A. 100
B. 300
C. 500
D. 700

2) Multiple Choice. In 1983, how much did businesses spend on television advertising to kids?
A. $1 million
B. $5 million
C. $50 million
D. $100 million

3) Multiple Choice. In 2008, how much will businesses spend marketing to kids in all mediums: TV, radio, newspapers, print, online?
A. $1 billion
B. $5 billion
C. $10 billion
D. $15 billion

4) Multiple Choice. What percentage of U.S. schools have contracts with soft drink companies involving "pouring rights," whereby a company gets exclusive rights to sell soft drinks in a school?
A. 25 percent
B. 45 percent
C. 65 percent
D. 95 percent

5) Multiple Choice. What percentage of United States "tweens" (8-12 years old) have their own TV set?
A. 15 percent
B. 25 percent
C. 45 percent
D. 65 percent
__________________________________________________

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

• Do you think advertising belongs in school? Is it okay to have ads on school book covers? What about advertising for school events? How about political advertising for school elections? What about the lunch menu -- is it an ad?
  
  
• Do you think advertising in schools is okay if the money it generates leads to better equipment and supplies for the school? Is it okay to wear a company's logo on your team uniforms if that company pays for the uniforms and/or other sporting equipment?
  
  
• Would you be upset if you found out that your best friend was getting "rewards" for mentioning certain products in his or her emails or text messages to you? If you could get free stuff by mentioning products or web sites to your friends, would you do it?
  


• Think up some questions for guest author Claire Carmichael. You might ask her what "OmniDrives" are, or "physiopara" scans, or "nons." Post your questions on the LIVEbrary Blog at <http://annickpress.blogspot.com> or send them by email to LIVEbrary@annickpress.com or ask them yourself during the Live Skype Chat with Claire Carmichael on Thursday, November 15, at 2:00-3:00 p.m. Eastern Time. (Was that an ad for the chat?)

__________________________________________________

Copyright ©2007 by Annick Press. All rights reserved. Printed here with permission of the publisher. Please request permission from LIVEbrary@annickpress.com before posting this lesson plan in any public place. Thank you.

Q&A Thread for Shari Graydon, LIVEbrary #4

Today begins our fourth program, Made You Look. The Lesson Plan is now posted on the blog, with a reading, an assignment, a quiz, and discussion questions. You can also download a PDF version of the Lesson Plan here.

This Thursday, you'll have another chance to chat live with Shari Graydon, author of Made You Look: How Advertising Works and Why You Should Know from Annick Press, when she returns as a guest to the LIVEbrary program. In order to chat with Shari on Thursday, you need to install Skype software and send us your Skype username.

But you don't have to wait until Thursday to start asking questions. Go ahead, add your questions or ideas to this blog post using the "comments" button at the bottom of this post.

Thanks for Trying the LIVEbrary!
RACHELLE MATHERNE

LIVEbrary Lesson Plan #4: Made You Look

LIVEbrary Lesson Plan #4:
MADE YOU LOOK: Tricks and Tactics of the Ad Trade
(for a colorful, downloadable PDF version, click here)

Topic/Subject: Media Awareness
Age Range: 9-13
Grade Level: 4-8

Contents:
- Reading
- Assignment
- Quiz
- Discussion Questions
__________________________________________________

READING:

"You're the Target"
an excerpt from the book
MADE YOU LOOK:
How Advertising Works and Why You Should Know
by Shari Graydon
Published by Annick Press
Reprinted here with permission.

~ You're the Bull's-eye ~

Once upon a time, advertisers didn't pay much attention to kids. They aimed their sales pitches at adults.

But things have certainly changed. Starting in the 1950s, advertisers began to realize that kids not only had money of their own to spend, but they also influenced a lot of their parents' shopping decisions.

Imagine a dartboard with a picture of you and your friends in the center of the board. You're now an important "target," and many advertisers think about *your* interests when designing their products and ads. In fact, advertisers in North America spend more than $12 billion a year trying to convince you to spend your money -- or your parents' money! -- on the stuff they're selling.

How can they afford to do this? Because the dollars they invest in advertising amount to a drop in the ocean compared to the dollars they get back when you respond to their sales pitches. In fact, some marketers estimate that kids in North America spend more than $100 billion every year on clothes, candy, games, videos, music, movies, and food.

~ Harnessing "Pester Power"~

Then there's what the advertisers call the "nag factor" or "pester power": they deliberately try to dream up ads that will help you to convince your parents to buy one kind of pizza instead of another, or rent this movie over that one. They conduct research to find out what kinds of commercials are most effective -- for example, which jingle or special meal deal is most likely to help you drag your mom or dad to the fast-food restaurant.

They also know that kids influence adults' decisions about much more expensive items, like computer equipment and family vacations. Car manufacturers have a name for this: they refer to 8- to 14-year-olds as "back-seat customers," recognizing that kids may even cast the deciding vote about which car their parents should buy. In fact, one kid's magazine -- meant to be read by people too young to have a driver's licence -- carried ads for minivans!

Some marketers estimate that kids have a say in close to $300 billion worth of their parents' spending. So some advertisers target *you* in order to get to adults.

~ Cradle to Grave Customers ~

Research also tells advertisers that if they hook you when you're young, chances are better that you'll keep buying their products as you get older. This is called "brand loyalty."

Shopping experts have figured out that a customer who regularly buys from the same store, from childhood until he or she dies, is worth as much as $100,000 to the store. So advertisers try to come up with what they call "cradle to grave" marketing strategies that will help them turn you into lifetime customers.

~ New & Unusual Places to See Ads ~

Advertising is inescapable. Here are some of the new (but not necessarily improved!) locations where advertising has cropped up just in the past few years:

• Big stickers on supermarket floors promoting grocery items.



• City buses painted from top to bottom and front to back with advertisers' sales pitches.



• Ads inside bathroom stalls or above urinals in washrooms in schools, movie theaters and other public and private places.



• Elevators with small TV monitors that play nothing but commercials.



• Perfume samples attached to the back of Ticketmaster concert ticket envelopes.



• Stickers promoting a TV program placed on fruit in grocery stores.



• Cows or other livestock painted with an advertiser's logo or brand name.



• Pepsi and Coke soft-drink ads painted on the Himalayan Mountains in India. (But the companies got in trouble and had to take them down!)

# # #

Copyright ©2007 by Shari Graydon. Excerpted from the book, MADE YOU LOOK: How Advertising Works and Why You Should Know. Published by Annick Press. ISBN 9781550378153 (library binding), ISBN 9781550378146 (paperback). Reprinted with permission. For more information, please visit http://www.annickpress.com. Thank you.
__________________________________________________

ASSIGNMENT

Freeze Frame Five

Freeze Frame 1: Your Computer Screen

Have the students gather around the teacher's computer or view a computer projected on a screen. Now open an application, such as Microsoft Word. How many logos or brand names are visible on the screen? On my screen right now, I can see an Apple Computer logo, a Microsoft Word logo, a Google search logo, and the logos for about 20 software programs available in my dock. What can you see? Let the students identify all the logos or brand names on the teacher's screen or on a projected screen until no one can find anymore logos. How many did you find?

Freeze Frame 2: The Internet

Gather the students around the teacher's computer or a computer projected on a screen for the whole class to see. Now go to a popular commercial web page such as Discovery Kids, Scholastic Kids, MySpace, MSNBC, and freeze the frame. It's hard to freeze the frame when the ads keep moving, isn't it? Sometimes the STOP button on your web browser will freeze the frame. Count how many logos, brand names, and ads you see until no one can find any more. How many did you get? Now try a noncommercial site such as NASA.gov or PBS.org. Do you see commercials, logos, or brands? How many?

Freeze Frame 3: Your Cell Phone

Divide the classroom into teams, each team gathering around one student's cell phone. Turn the phone all the way off (it should be off in class, right?). Now with everyone watching, turn the phone on and count how many ads, brands, or logos you see while the phone is powering up. How many did you get? Are there other ways advertisers can get ads into your phone? Talk about some of them.

Freeze Frame 4: Your Television

If you have a way to record and playback TV in your classroom, you can record a few minutes of a daytime sporting event. You might be able to record this at home at night and bring the tape to class the next day, or let the kids do this project at home if they have a way to "freeze frame" a TV program. Playback and freeze frame the tape and have the kids identify all the logos or brands they see on the screen at once. Does the station project a logo? Does the show have a logo? Do the teams have logos? Are there ads on the walls of the stadium? Are people wearing hats or clothes with visible logos? Is there a logo on the scoreboard? Is there a logo in the scores crawling across the bottom of the screen? How many ads, logos, and brand names did you find?

Freeze Frame 5: Your Classroom

Places everyone! Let's find out how many logos, brand names, or ads are visible in the classroom right now. Students, raise your hand when you see one. Teacher, get ready to write them all down on the board or a piece of paper. The rules: 1. the logo, brand, or ad has to be visible, not inside of a closed book or closed closet and, 2. don't include brands or logos on people's clothing -- you would be counting all day long!

Variations:

Freeze Frame Fridge: Open the refrigerator, look for 10 seconds, close the refrigerator. Write down all the brands, logos, or ads you saw. Freeze Frame Family Room: Sit down in your favorite spot in the family room, take a deep breath, look around and count all the logos, brands, and ads you see (even without the TV on). Freeze Frame Friends: Get together with some friends and count how many logos, brands, and ads are visible on the clothing in your group.
__________________________________________________

QUIZ:

NOTE: Quiz answers are available to teachers upon request from LIVEbrary@annickpress.com. Quiz answers will be revealed during the live Skype Chats and made a part of the Skype Chat Transcripts.

1) Matching. Many people say advertising doesn't affect them. Which slogan goes with which company? Match the letter of the slogan to the number of the company.

A. Live in Your World. Play in Ours.
B. Mm, mm good. Mm, mm good.
C. Maybe she's born with it, maybe it's...
D. Just do it.
E. They're GRRRRRRRRREAT!

1. Kellogg's Frosted Flakes cereal.
2. Sony Playstation
3. Nike shoes
4. Maybelline cosmetics
5. Campbell's Soup


2) Multiple choice. What does the word "logo" mean? Pick the best definition from the list below.
A. Crazy or insane.
B. Another name for the dance called "The Limbo."
C. A holy book, such as a Bible, Torah or Koran.
D. A symbol or design representing a company's brand.


3) Multiple choice. Which of the following is NOT an example of "cradle to grave marketing"?
A. Birthday clubs with free birthday rewards in exchange for registering your name, age, and contact information with a business or organization.
B. Warranty cards that make it sound like your rights are not activated unless you send in your registration (even though your rights are often protected by law whether you register or not).
C. A company that manufactures cribs and coffins.
D. Using a modern cartoon character to pitch breakfast cereal to kids on morning television programs and a "retro" cartoon character to pitch the same cereal to adults on evening programs.


4) Matching. How many ads can you legally cram into a 60-minute broadcast television program intended for children under the age of 12? Match the letter of the location to the limit on TV advertising. Note: The same ad limit may apply to more than one country.

A. United States
B. Canada
C. Belgium
D. Greece
E. Province of Quebec

1. Zero -- no advertising allowed.
2. Limited to 5 minutes.
3. Limited to 8 minutes.
4. Limited to 12 minutes.
5. No limit -- 60 minutes possible.


5. Multiple Choice. What is the definition of the term "nag factor" in advertising? Select the best answer from the list below.
A. Likelihood that a horse race will be won by a long shot.
B. Attempt by an advertiser to get you to bug your parents to buy something.
C. The average number of times you must be asked before cleaning your room.
D. A new kind of perfume that's supposed to repel parents and teachers.

__________________________________________________

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

• What is the most unusual place you have seen an advertisement? Advertisers are very good at hiding their ads; how good are you at finding them? Talk about the strange places you've seen ads. Do you think people should be allowed to put ads there?



• If your favorite magazine did not have any ads in it at all, do you think you would like it more or less? Why?



• Do the media reflect your community? Chances are, when you look around your classroom, neighborhood, city, or country, you see some mixture of white, black, Hispanic, Asian and/or Native people. Next time you're watching TV or flipping through a magazine, compare the people you know to the ones you see in the media. Does one "community" bear any resemblance to the other? If not, who's missing from the ads? Why do you think that is?



• Do you have questions for media literacy activist and author, Shari Graydon, like maybe what's the strangest place she has ever seen an ad? Post your questions on the LIVEbrary Blog at <http://annickpress.blogspot.com> or send them by email to LIVEbrary@annickpress.com or ask them in the Live Skype Chat with Shari Graydon on Thursday, November 8, from 2-3 p.m. Eastern Time.

__________________________________________________

Copyright ©2007 by Annick Press. All rights reserved. Printed here with permission of the publisher. Please request permission from LIVEbrary@annickpress.com before posting this lesson plan in any public place. Thank you.

Q&A Thread for Shari Graydon, LIVEbrary #2

Today begins our second program, In Your Face: What Is Beautiful? The Lesson Plan has been posted here, with a reading, an assignment, a quiz, and discussion questions: it's available on the blog or as a PDF download.

On Thursday, you'll have a chance to chat LIVE with Shari Graydon, author of In Your Face: The Culture of Beauty and You, from Annick Press. In order to chat with Shari on Thursday, you need to install Skype software and send us your Skype Username.

But you don't have to wait until Thursday to start asking questions. Go ahead, add your questions to this "thread" using the "comment" button on this post. Talk about the ways different cultures see beauty. Do you think tattoos are beautiful? Have you watched the video with Shari Graydon? Does it make you want to ask her a question? Ask it here!

Thanks for Trying the LIVEbrary!
STEVE O'KEEFE
Producer

LIVEbrary Lesson Plan #2: What Is Beautiful?

LIVEbrary Lesson Plan #2
In Your Face: What Is Beautiful?
(for a colorful, downloadable PDF version, click here)

Topic/Subject: Media Awareness
Age Range: 9-13
Grade Level: 4-8

Contents:
- Reading
- Assignment
- Quiz
- Discussion Questions
__________________________________________________

READING:

"What is Beautiful"
an excerpt from the book
IN YOUR FACE:
The Culture of Beauty and You
by Shari Graydon
Published by Annick Press
Reprinted here with permission.

~ The Eye of the Beholder ~

A scene in the move The Gods Must Be Crazy shows a small, wiry African bushman stumbling upon the sight of a beautiful blonde woman getting dressed in the shade of a tree. As the scene unfolds, you hear the inner thoughts of the bushman, who's looking at the woman with a mixture of pity and amusement.

Even though she has Hollywood-style good looks, he thinks she's just about the ugliest creature he's ever seen. She's way too pale -- like something that crawled out from under a rock -- with stringy, "gruesome" washed-out hair that makes her appear very old. And she's much too large -- he imagines he'd have to search the entire day to find enough food to feed her.

Finally, as he watches her put on a blouse made from sheer fabric, he can't understand why she's covering her arms with what looks to him like hideous cobwebs.

Because the world of the African bushman is so unlike that of the woman, what he sees is completely different from what North American audiences see when viewing the same thing. The movie lets us understand his perspective and it challenges us to think differently about some things we normally take for granted -- like what is beautiful.

~ Body Image Goes Global ~

Our definitions of what's gorgeous and what's not vary dramatically from one culture to another. The movie example of the African bushman repulsed by the blonde is just one indicator of this. Contrast North American beauty standards with some of the attitudes found in other countries:

• In modern, urban Brazil, large bottoms and small breasts are seen as desirable assets.
  
  
• The ideal Ugandan woman weighs about 150 pounds.
  
  
• Native Peruvians and many Nigerians consider especially full-figured women beautiful, whereas the same bodies might be seen as overweight in North America.
  
  
• The French are generally more focused on fashion and makeup than body image, and are disdainful of North America's obsession with thinness.
  
  
• Some African tribes makes deliberate cuts to their skin in order to create "beautiful" scarring.
  
  
• In other countries, young people deliberately wound themselves, puncturing the skin on their face or body with pieces of metal. (Oh, wait a second, those countries include Canada and the United States!)

But North American culture is being exported all over the world faster than ever. As a result, the definitions of beauty held up as ideal in TV shows, advertisements, and movies produced here are being imposed on other cultures.

Now, even in some Asian and African countries, where the vast majority of people have dark hair, skin, and eyes, the models celebrated as being the height of beauty are often blonde-haired, blue-eyed and pale-skinned.

Who benefits from this? Certainly not Asians and Africans. In trying to sell North American products, the media messages end up suggesting to millions of people that not only are they not beautiful the way they are, but they can never even hope to become beautiful, because they don't have the right set of genes to start with.

And yet North America's unrepresentative scrawny ideal is also being exported. Up until American TV was introduced into Fiji in 1995, eating disorders were unheard of there. Three years later, one study found that 15 percent of girls had tried vomiting to lose weight. Our television shows had effectively taught young Fijian women not only to hate their naturally curvy bodies, but also the dangerous techniques that lead to eating disorders.

People who have traveled all over the world will tell you that teenagers in Tanzania have different ideas about what's hot than their counterparts in northern Thailand, downtown Moscow, the upper Amazon, and the highlands of New Guinea.

Even within North America, definitions of beauty can be tremendously diverse. Both Canada and the United States are made up of immigrants from all over the world whose skin, hair, and eyes reflect a rainbow of colors, and whose body preferences and fashion practices have been shaped by dramatically different cultures. It's just that most of the images seen in mainstream TV shows and movies don't reflect this.

But there are signs that our culture could be changing -- even in the unlikeliest of arenas, big business. As one makeup industry executive says, "I'm committed to proving that beauty has no single look. Beauty can be both a...black transvestite or a woman like kd lang without a hint of makeup." (Frank Toskan, founder of MAC cosmetics)

~ Image Reflections ~

So what does beauty being in the eye of the beholder really mean? Basically, that it's up to you -- and me, and him, and them and her... We've all got opinions, and a lot of them clash.

• Just as it's impossible for people to agree on "the best movie or book of all time," a single definition of beauty doesn't exist.
  
  
• There's simply no predicting. Throughout history and across cultures, people have responded to all sorts of different qualities -- both physical and emotional -- when checking out one another's looks.
  
  
• Tape measures can give you dimensions, but they're almost useless for judging beauty.
  
  
• Most of the images we see in the media reflect only a fraction of the beauty diversity found in the real world: it's like we're being fed a diet of vanilla ice cream all the time, and being denied everything from chocolate and maple walnut to mango and cappuccino -- which many people find equally or more appealing!

# # #

Copyright 2004 by Shari Graydon. Excerpted from the book, "IN YOUR FACE: The Culture of Beauty and You." Published by Annick Press, ISBN 1-55037-857-0 (library binding), ISBN 1-55037-856-2 (paperback). Reprinted with permission. For more information, please visit http://www.annickpress.com. Thank you.
__________________________________________________

ASSIGNMENT

What is Beautiful Book

Can you think of someone who seems beautiful to you, but who is not what most people would consider "good looking"? Can you find an image of that person to share with the class, and write down on a note card why you think this person is beautiful?

This can be a team project, with each team member finding someone who is beautiful in a different media. One person picks an actor, one a recording artist, one a model or picture from a magazine, one a public figure, one an athlete. They each gather an image of their beautiful person and write a note card about why this unconventionally-attractive person is so beautiful.

These images and note cards can be pasted into a What is Beautiful Book so that everyone can see some of the different kinds of beautiful around us.
__________________________________________________

QUIZ

NOTE: Quiz answers are available to teachers upon request from LIVEbrary@annickpress.com. Quiz answers will be revealed during the live Skype Chats and made a part of the Skype Chat Transcripts.

1) True or False: Men are friendlier when they think they're talking to a beautiful girl than a plain one.

2) True or False: Women are friendlier when they're talking to men who think they're hot.

3) Multiple Choice: How many people in the United States had tattoos *removed* in 2004? (Ouch!)
A. 10 people
B. 10 thousand people
C. 10 million people

4) True or False. Good looking people earn more than ordinary looking people.

5) Multiple Choice. Of the three items listed below, what do Americans spend the most on?
A. Beauty products
B. Pet products
C. Education
__________________________________________________

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

• What are some of the things you can tell about someone just by the way they look?
  
  
• What can't you tell about a person just by the way they look?
  
  
• Do you think beautiful people are happier than people who are not Hollywood-handsome? Why or why not?
  
  
• What makes a person beautiful besides the way he or she looks?
  
  
• Think up some questions for media literacy activist and author, Shari Graydon. For example, why do people care so much about how they look? Post your questions on the LIVEbrary Blog at <http://annickpress.blogspot.com> or send them by email to LIVEbrary@annickpress.com or ask them in the Live Skype Chat with Shari Graydon on Thursday, October 25, from 2-3 p.m. Eastern Time.
  

__________________________________________________
Copyright 2007 by Annick Press. All rights reserved. Printed here with permission of the publisher. Please request permission from LIVEbrary@annickpress.com before posting this lesson plan in any public place. Thank you.

LIVEbrary Lesson Plan #1: DIY Video

LIVEbrary Lesson Plan #1
DIY Video: Solo & Team Work
(for a colorful, downloadable PDF version, click here)

Topic/Subject: Media Awareness
Age Range: 9-13
Grade Level: 4-8

Contents:
- Reading
- Assignment
- Quiz
- Discussion Questions
__________________________________________________

READING:

"DIY Video: Solo & Team Work"
an excerpt from the book
ATTACK OF THE KILLER VIDEO BOOK:
Tips & Tricks for Young Directors
by Mark Shulman and Hazlitt Krog
Published by Annick Press.
Reprinted here with permission.

~ Full Team Ahead ~

So you're the director. In Hollywood, directors make the decisions because they're the experts. At your house, you're the director because you've got the camera. But that's no reason to hog all the fun. If you don't let the other kids share the pleasure, you'll end up videotaping the flowers out back. All alone.

Like most of us, you probably have one or three friends to shoot with. That means people will be doing double duty behind the camera (the "crew") and in front of the camera (the "talent"). Since everyone can't hold the camera, you'd better know what jobs to offer instead.

~ One Live Crew ~

Here's a list of essential roles for making a video. Sometimes just a few people do everything. And if you're going to do everything, you might as well find out what you're called.

• Writer -- in charge of the story
• Director -- the visionary who controls and manages the movie's creation
• Camera Operator -- sets up, operates, and deals with the camera
• Sound Person -- deals with all aspects of microphones and capturing sound
• Gaffer -- in charge of the lighting and related visual solutions
• Grip -- in charge of sets, main props; sometimes helps the camera operator
• Stylist -- in charge of costumes, makeup, actors' props
• Talent -- those who work in front of the camera
• Effects -- creates and executes the special effects
• Editor -- pulls all the pieces together at the end
• Producer -- supervisor, also known as "a responsible adult"
• Caterer -- see Producer
• Transportation -- see Producer
• Executive Producer -- a producer who provides funds or very good food
• Studio Chief -- the owner of the video camera

~ The Talent ~

Who's the biggest ham on camera? The actors are called the talent, but that's no guarantee of actual talent.

"Casting" means choosing the right actor for each part. If there are only two of you, it also helps to be a master of disguise. If your video has a script, encourage your actors to memorize their lines before the shoot. It's all right if they change their lines if the changes make sense for the movie.

TIP: No Hidden Cameras! Everyone in your movie should know they're in your movie. Get people's permission before you videotape them.

~ Going Solo ~

What's that? Your crew is home doing homework? Relax, Hitchcock... solo projects don't have to make you psycho:

• Keep it simple. Don't bite off more than you can shoot.
• Plan ahead. Plan ahead. Plan ahead.
• Travel light. All you really need is a camera, a blank videotape, charged batteries, a charger (just in case), a camera bag to keep things safe, and a shot list in case you want to know what you're doing.
• Non-fiction videos especially lend themselves to solo shooting: interviews, events, and nature video.
• If you've got fiction on your mind, puppets, dolls, and hands make surprisingly well-behaved actors. You'll have to do the talking, though. Or, set up the camera somewhere stable and strut your stuff onscreen.

~ Enough Reading! Let's Make a Video! ~

Ready. Get set... grab your camera! Get a videotape that fits in the slot. Find the red REC button. Aim the camera at something. Sooner or later hit the REC button again to stop taping.

Rewind the tape. Match the colors on your audio/video cord plugs with the colors of the jacks on your TV or VCR. Figure out how to get the video to play on the TV. Sit and watch. Cool, huh?

Go ahead and satisfy that itchy recording finger. Let practice make perfect, then come back to the book for your next steps up the video ladder.

# # #

Copyright 2004 by Mark Shulman and Hazlitt Krog. Excerpted from the book, "ATTACK OF THE KILLER VIDEO BOOK: Tips & Tricks for Young Directors." Published by Annick Press, ISBN 1-55037-841-4 (library binding), ISBN 1-55037-840-6 (paperback). Reprinted with permission. For more information, please visit http://www.annickpress.com. Thank you.
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ASSIGNMENT

Team Video Project.

Divide your classroom into 5-person teams. Assign each person to one of these 5 jobs:

• Writer
• Actor
• Director
• Set Person
• Camera Operator

In addition, every team has a Producer -- that is, "a responsible adult" who supervises the film shoot (and catering). That adult could be a parent or a teacher or a librarian or the person you borrowed the camera from. NOTE: If you can't round up a 5-person team, you can assign two or more jobs to one person.

Your assignment is to videotape a simple process. Here are some examples:

• making a sandwich
• mowing the lawn
• washing the dog
• giving a wet dog a sandwich on the lawn

Your team has 10 minutes to make a movie. The Writer decides what simple process to shoot and what the actor will do. The Director gives everyone their assignment, keeps track of the time, and tells the camera operator what to do. The Set Person makes suggestions for locations or props -- should we move the desk? The Actor decides how to show the process being demonstrated -- play it for laughs or play it straight? The Camera Operator has one minute to tape. If you have time left, you can do a "second take" and tape the process one more time -- but only for one minute. The Director is in charge of saying "ROLL" to start the taping and saying "CUT!" after 60 seconds of taping.

Next, everyone changes jobs and does it again: you have 10 minutes to make a movie. Then everyone changes jobs until you've had all 5 jobs. In 50 minutes, you make 5 movies and try 5 jobs. Not bad for a one hour class!

TIP: Let the action happen on its own, so it seems as natural as possible.

You can let the camera stay in one place or try close-ups, wide shots, and different angles to help tell your story.

The simpler and shorter the process you tape, the better. Here's what you can accidentally learn by making simple process videos:

• how to show the individual steps of doing something
• how to capture a series of nice-looking shots
• how an actor can change the mood of a scene
• how a writer can script action, not just dialogue
• how to work with sets and talent (even wet, hungry dogs)

When you are done, you will have told a short story on video. Elsewhere in our book, we talk about storytelling. For now, just get the feeling. Then plug it in, watch the results, and on each video, notice:

• who is the director?
• how does the camera move?
• what is the actor's best moment?
• how does the action tell a story or set a mood?
• how do the set and props add to the video?

Ready for more? Power down the camera and read up.
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QUIZ

NOTE: Quiz answers are available to teachers upon request from LIVEbrary@annickpress.com. Quiz answers will be revealed during the live Skype Chats and made a part of the Skype Chat Transcripts.

1) Matching. Match the Jobs (numbers) with the Job Descriptions (letters). Put the correct letter next to each number. I'll spot you the first one:

Sample: 1. Studio Chief -- goes with -- B. owner of the video camera

Jobs:
1. Studio Chief
2. Camera Operator
3. Gaffer
4. Director
5. Sound Person
6. Grip

Job Descriptions:
A. in charge of lighting
B. owner of the video camera
C. sets up and runs the camera
D. deals with the microphones
E. manages the movie's creation
F. in charge of sets and props

2) Multiple Choice. What does the term "second take" mean?
A. You tried twice to get the camera away from your friend.
B. You filmed the same thing twice, in case you flubbed it the first time.
C. You got second pick from the sandwich tray on break.

3) For each person listed below, write whether they are "talent" or "crew":
1. A dog doing a dance for the camera.
2. The person looking for the battery charger.
3. Your friend doing a dance for the camera.
4. The person fixing lunch for everyone.
5. The dog that just ruined the shot of your friend dancing.

4) Multiple Choice. What does "casting" mean in moviemaking?
A. Making a cast of an actor so they can remember where they stood.
B. Asking the crew for ideas about what you should do next.
C. Matching an actor to each role in the movie.

5) Multiple Choice. Besides a working video camera, what is the one thing you must have to make a video?
A. A microphone.
B. A big investor.
C. A video tape.
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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

• How does working with a team make moviemaking easier? How does it make it harder?
  
  
• How is solo moviemaking easier than team moviemaking? How is it harder?
  
  
• Watch the video of LIVEbrary author Shari Graydon -- it's in the LIVEbrary or on YouTube -- and discuss it. It's only 2 minutes long. Do you notice anything about the lighting? The sound? The set or props? Does the camera ever go "in" for a close-up or "out" for a wide shot?
  
  
• Who are Mark Shulman and Hazlitt Krog? Use the ASK.com search engine to check them out. Series Librarian Gary Price will be giving ASK.com demonstrations before each weekly chat.
  
  
• Prepare questions for author Mark Shulman for the live Skype Chat on Thursday, October 18, 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. ET. You can post questions on the LIVEbrary Blog, send them via email to LIVEbrary@annickpress.com, or ask your questions live during the chat program. Advance registration is required to chat.

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Copyright 2007 by Annick Press. All rights reserved. Printed here with permission of the publisher. Please request permission from LIVEbrary@annickpress.com before posting this lesson plan in any public place. Thank you.

Back to School with Annick Press

As producer of the Annick LIVEbrary, I'd like to welcome back all the teachers, librarians, parents, homeschoolers -- and especially STUDENTS -- who start back to school this week.

The LIVEbrary is adding something new to the backpack this year with a school-friendly program for teens on Media Awareness. The first season of the LIVEbrary begins October 15 and we here are as excited as the first day of school.

Each week, the Annick LIVEbrary features a new lesson plan with a reading, quiz, discussion questions, and suggested activities. Then we bring in everyone who can join us for a one-hour chat with our authors, teachers, and staff.

Tomorrow, we will announce the winner of the LIVEbrary iPod Giveaway from entries taken at the June 2007 conference of the American Library Association. One lucky teacher is going to walk away with a video iPod loaded with author videos!

And on Thursday, we'll have a very special announcement about the technology provider who'll put the "live" in LIVEbrary by hosting our chats this season. The Annick LIVEbrary is all about having fun while learning to use collaborative technology. Teachers and librarians, register today so your classroom can participate in the LIVEbrary this Fall.

STEVE O'KEEFE
Producer, Annick LIVEbrary

Schedule Update

We've adjusted the dates of the first LIVEbrary program, Media Awareness: SEE the Media, BE the Media. We're starting two weeks later now, on October 15 instead of October 1.

Moving the start of the program back helps us avoid going up against Canadian Thanksgiving (Monday, October 8) and U.S. Thanksgiving (Thursday, November 22) -- two heavyweight holidays.

We're glad we'll be able to wrap up the first season before everyone gets thinking about the holidays. You'll be better prepared to deal with the advertising hustle after going through Media Awareness training with these five authors.

STEVE O'KEEFE
LIVEbrary Producer

Final LIVEbrary Show Topics & Schedule

Coming Fall 2007
A New Online Educational Program for
Junior High School Teachers, Librarians, and Media Specialists
Public Librarians, Parents, and Homeschoolers
their Families, Friends, and Support Groups

THE LIVEbrary
from Annick Press

a free, weekly program
offering supervised, online collaboration
between students, teachers, librarians, and authors

LIVEbrary #1
A Five Week Program beginning October 15, 2007
MEDIA AWARENESS: SEE the Media - BE the Media

Week #1, October 15-19
Live Chat Thursday, October 18, 2-3 p.m. ET
DIY VIDEO: Solo and Team Work
taught by Mark Shulman, author of
Attack of the Killer Video Book: Tips and Tricks for Young Directors


Week #2, October 22-26
Live Chat Thursday, October 25, 2-3 p.m. ET
IN YOUR FACE: What is Beautiful?
taught by Shari Graydon, media literacy activist and author of
In Your Face: The Culture of Beauty and You


Week #3, October 29-November 2
Live Chat Thursday, November 1, 2-3 p.m. ET
DIY ZINES: Your Own Pop Culture Machine
taught by Hal Niedzviecki, editor of "Broken Pencil" and author of
The Big Book of Pop Culture: A How-To Guide for Young Artists


Week #4, November 5-9
Live Chat Thursday, November 8, 2-3 p.m. ET
MADE YOU LOOK: Tricks and Tactics of the Ad Trade
taught by Shari Graydon, media literacy activist and author of
Made You Look: How Advertising Works and Why You Should Know


Week #5, November 12-16
Live Chat Thursday, November 15, 2-3 p.m. ET
BE THE AD: The Future of Advertising is YOU!
taught by Claire Carmichael, author of the novel, Leaving Simplicity,
a near-future look at a school where the advertising has gone berserk.


REGISTER TODAY!
Sign up today to reserve a place in the LIVEbrary
and to receive instructions on how to participate at
http://www.annickpress.com/Livebrary/signupform.html