Lesson Plans:

Gender Stereotypes and Body Image (Grades 6-7)
This lesson makes students aware of the dangers of gender stereotyping and the media’s role in perpetuating gender stereotypes.

Image Gap (Grades 5-8)
This lesson helps students understand how self-image can influence lifestyle choices. Students begin by identifying those qualities they admire most in peers, and by comparing their self-image with these qualities. They learn to identify self-image “problems” and develop positive strategies for dealing with these problems.

Kellogg Special K Ads (Grades 9-12)
This lesson helps students understand the relationship between body image and marketing by exploring the Kellogg’s Special K “look good on your own terms” advertising campaign.

Mirror Image (Grades 5-8)
In this lesson, students analyze their own body image and consider what they wish they could change. They discuss how smoking relates to body image, particularly for young women, and learn about the link between beauty and smoking.

Prejudice and Body Image (Grades 3-7)
This lesson lets students take a good look at our society’s pressures to conform to standards of beauty – particularly to be thin – and the related prejudice against being “overweight”. Through class discussion and activities, students begin to recognize how the media pressure us to achieve a certain looks and how media images may lead to prejudice against those who don’t conform to their standards of attractiveness.

The Anatomy of Cool (Grades 4-7)
This lesson helps students become more aware of the media’s role in determining what, and who, are perceived as being cool. Through class discussion and activities, students explore the differences between superficial and real “coolness,” how marketers use cool to sell products, and how their own attitudes and perceptions are affected by media messages that reinforce specific messages about what coolness is.

The Price of Happiness (Grades 8-12)
In this lesson students answer a brief questionnaire related to self-image, self-esteem, and advertising, and then work as groups to create and act in mock television commercials that parody advertising techniques.