ORGANIZING IDEA How the Parts Integrate to Make the Whole

GRADE LEVEL Five

TITLE/SUBJECT “Golden Opportunity or Fool’s Gold? Glittering Generalities in Print Advertising”

TIME FRAME Two 30-40 minute lessons

OBJECTIVES Students will become more discerning readers as they learn to spot vague, emotion-packed words called “glittering generalities” in print advertising.

TEKS Language Arts (10) Reading/comprehension. The student comprehends selections using a variety of strategies.

Language Arts (11) Reading/literary response. The student expresses and supports responses to various types of text.

LIBRARY SKILLS Eureka! This lesson on glittering generalities uses print advertisements as a prequel to political writings, editorials, speeches and longer literature passages. We’re raising a generation of readers too smart to fall for slick language! MATERIALS List of advertising techniques that are classified as “glittering generalities” Magazines for cutting, glue, scissors, paper, pencils Examples of print advertising that clearly demonstrates “glittering generalities:

PROCEDURE

Introduction: According to Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia, glittering generalities are “emotionally appealing words so closely associated with highly valued concepts that they carry conviction without supporting information or reason. They appeal to such emotions as love of country, home, desire for peace, freedom, glory, honor, etc. They ask for approval without examination of the reason.”

Further introduce the concept of glittering generalities by explaining that “loaded language,” “rhetorical devices” or “power words” serve as hypnotic talk that puts readers in slight trances where they become carried away with the situation and are likely to be fooled into accepting or believing nothing of substance.

For example, words like “strength,” “democracy,” “patriotism,” and “freedom” are terms that people have powerful connections with but these words are highly abstract and what do they actually mean? Common elements of glittering generalities are intangible nouns that embody ideals: dignity, fame, integrity, justice, love and respect. Add patriotic symbolism, words such as “hardworking folks” or “as wholesome as mom’s apple pie” and a discerning reader should be left to decide if what they are reading is golden (actual/factual) or fool’s gold (propaganda).

Lesson One After the definition of “glittering generalities”, further the lesson by explaining that advertisers often use words that stir up emotions. Sometimes these words glitter and sparkle to attract our eyes: “new…fresh…..pure…..homemade” are some examples.

If these words seem vague to you, that’s good, because how new is this? How fresh? Pure what? Made at whose home? These are generalities that makes something just seem good, but is it? Show an example of a print advertisement that makes claims such as pure mountain spring water or miracle diet tea. Lead the class in questioning the flashy claims made by the advertiser.

Provide magazines for students to cut apart to locate an example of glittering generalities. Ask them to list some questions they would like to ask the advertiser. Then think of some possible answers to the questions. For example: Why does it say “three out of four doctors chose our product”? How many doctors did you survey: four? Lesson Two

Continue work assigned in lesson one and have students share with the class the examples of glittering generalities that they located in print advertisement. They could also share questions and answers. Challenge them to become smart readers who won’t fall for “fool’s gold”.

A neat extention of this lesson would be to encourage students to write a skit in which they role play a politican, advertiser or speechmaker trying to use glittering generalities, only to be challenged by the student who questions the generalities. ADVERTISING TECHNIQUES “Glittering Generalities” BANDWAGON

COMPARISONS

GENERALITIES

HEART STRINGS

NAME CALLING OR MUDSLINGING

PLAIN FOLKS

REWARDS OR SPECIAL OFFERS

SNOB APPEAL

SPECIAL INGREDIENT

TESTIMONIAL