A. Literacy Connections and Applications / C. Comprehension: Understanding and Responding to Texts · Understanding and Responding to Texts

Images, Graphics and Design in Media Texts

C1.4 A2.4 A2.5About 40 minutes

Learning goals

I can explain how images, graphics and visual design create and add to meaning.
I can describe the conventions of media forms like posters, comics and video ads.
I can name techniques like close-ups, camera angles, colour and music, and explain their effect on an audience.
I can explain how a media text's form, message and context are chosen for its audience and purpose.

Words to know

visual design
How a text is laid out: where things go, sizes, colours, fonts and empty space.

graphic
A drawing that shows information, like a chart, diagram, map, timeline or infographic.

infographic
A graphic that mixes small pictures, numbers and a few words to explain information quickly.

convention
The usual parts a form has. A comic's conventions include panels and speech bubbles.

technique
A choice a creator makes to get a reaction, like a close-up, bright colours or exciting music.

audience
The people a text is made for.

context
Where and when a text appears, like a school hallway, a radio station or a website.

Remember from Grade 3

In Grade 3 you explained how labelled diagrams, captions and maps help the words, and you asked who made a media text, who it is for, and why.

In Grade 4 you will look closely at visual design, learn the conventions of different media forms, name techniques like close-ups and camera angles, and explain how creators fit the form, message and context to the audience.

Hook: Close-up or far away?

Imagine two photos of the same hockey player.

Photo 1 is a close-up of her face: eyes focused, sweat on her forehead.
Photo 2 is a wide shot from high in the stands: she is a tiny figure on a big sheet of ice.

Photo 1 makes you feel her determination. Photo 2 shows the whole game and makes her look small. Same player, same moment, different meaning! Creators choose images on purpose.

How images, graphics and design add meaning

Images (photos and illustrations) show what something looks like and can make us feel something.
Graphics (charts, diagrams, maps, timelines, infographics) show information in a way that is quick to understand, like comparing numbers in a bar graph.
Visual design guides your eyes:
The biggest thing is usually the most important.
Things at the top or in the centre are noticed first.
Colour can show a mood (bright and cheerful, or dark and serious) or group things together.
White space (empty space) keeps a page from feeling crowded and makes key parts stand out.

A poster's visual design: the headline is biggest and at the top, the image is in the centre, the details are small, and the call to action is at the bottom.

Worked example

Let's read a poster's design

Look at the Winter Reading Club poster. How does the visual design help it communicate?

Headline: biggest letters, at the top, in capitals. You know the topic in one second.
Image: an open book in the centre. Even a younger child who can't read every word knows it's about books.
Details: small type, because you only need them once you're interested: where (the library) and when (Saturdays 10 a.m.).
Call to action: Sign up today! in bold at the bottom tells you what to do.
White space around each part keeps it easy to read from far away, which matters on a hallway wall.

The design puts the most important idea biggest and first, uses a simple image for quick understanding, keeps details small, and ends with a call to action.

Media form	Some conventions
Poster	Headline, image, key details, call to action, readable from far away
Comic or graphic novel	Panels, speech bubbles, thought bubbles, captions, sound words (CRASH!)
Video advertisement	Moving pictures, music, a voice-over, a slogan, a logo at the end, usually short
Website	Title, menu, headings, hyperlinks, images, search bar
Podcast	Only sound: voices, music, sound effects; an introduction that says the topic

Each media form has its own conventions.

Techniques creators use

Close-up: shows a face or object up close, to show feelings or details.
Wide shot: shows the whole setting.
Low angle (camera looks up): makes a person or thing look big and powerful.
High angle (camera looks down): makes them look small.
Music: fast music feels exciting; slow, soft music feels calm or sad.
Bright colours and bold fonts: grab attention, especially of young audiences.
Slogans and repetition: a catchy phrase repeated so you remember it.
Famous people: someone the audience admires, to make the product seem better.

Four camera techniques. Where the camera is, and how close it gets, changes how the person looks to the viewer.

Worked example

Let's analyze a video ad

A 30-second video ad for Rocket Blades skates. Fast music plays. The camera is low, looking up at a boy as he zooms across the ice. Close-up: he grins. A voice shouts, "Rocket Blades! Fly on ice!" The logo appears at the end.

Who is the audience? What is the purpose? Which techniques are used, and what is their effect?

Audience: kids who skate (and the parents who would buy the skates).
Purpose: to sell Rocket Blades.
Low angle: makes the boy look powerful and fast.
Close-up of his grin: shows he's happy, so viewers think the skates bring joy.
Fast music: feels exciting.
Slogan: Fly on ice! is short and catchy, so it's remembered.
Question to ask: Would any skates make him go that fast? What does the ad NOT tell me (like price)?

The ad uses a low angle, a close-up, fast music and a slogan to make kids feel the skates are exciting and fast, so they'll want to buy them.

Form, message, context, audience and purpose

Creators fit everything to their audience and purpose.

Imagine the message: Wear a helmet when you skate.

For young children, in the context of a school hallway, the form might be a poster with a cartoon beaver in a helmet and very few words.
For parents, in the context of a radio station during the drive to work, the form might be a radio ad with a calm voice giving facts about head injuries.
For teens, in the context of a video site, the form might be a short video with music and a popular skater.

Same message, but the form, words, images and sounds change to fit the audience.

Be a smart viewer

Ask four questions about every media text: Who made it? Who is it for? Why was it made? What techniques is it using on me? Also ask: What is left out?

Just for fun

If Rocket Blades really made you fly on ice, hockey referees would need wings and an air-traffic controller. That's why smart viewers ask: Would any skates really do that?

Hands-on activity

Make two versions of one message

You need: paper, coloured pencils or markers, and a device for recording with a grown-up's permission (optional).

Choose a message, such as Read every day or Recycle your juice boxes.
Make a poster for children in Kindergarten. Use a big image, very few words, and bright colours.
Now plan a 30-second radio ad for grown-ups. Write the script. Will you use music? A calm or excited voice? Facts?
Explain to a grown-up how you changed the form, words and techniques to fit each audience.
Bonus: Watch one ad together (TV, video or flyer). Name the audience, purpose and two techniques.

Your turn

What is the difference between a close-up and a wide shot?

On the Winter Reading Club poster, why is the headline the biggest part?

Name three conventions of a comic.

In the Rocket Blades ad, why is the camera low, looking up at the boy?

What is the purpose of the Rocket Blades ad?

What might an ad leave out?

Why would a helmet message for parents use a radio ad instead of a cartoon poster?

More practice: warm-up

What is white space?

Which media form has only sound?

Fast music usually makes an ad feel...

What does a call to action tell you?

Name one kind of graphic.

More practice: on your own

How does a high angle shot change how a character seems?

A bar graph shows how many students walk, bus or get driven to school. Why use a graph instead of a paragraph?

A cereal box has bright colours, a cartoon fox and a puzzle on the back. Who is the audience? How do you know?

Why do ads use slogans like Fly on ice!?

How does colour help show the mood of a book cover?

Challenge

Choose a message: Feed the birds in winter. Describe a form, techniques and context for an audience of seniors.

The same news story shows a photo of a flooded street in a close-up of a crying child in one newspaper, and a wide shot of the whole street in another. How might readers react differently?

Why should viewers ask What is left out? about media texts? Give an example.

Check your understanding

Quiz

Which technique shows a character's feelings best?

On a poster, the most important idea is usually...

Which is a convention of a comic?

A low camera angle looking up makes a person seem...

A radio ad about helmets plays during the morning drive. Who is the main audience?

What is an infographic?

For parents and teachers

What this lesson teaches: Grade 4 students explain how images, graphics and visual design create and contribute to meaning (C1.4). They show understanding of the forms, conventions and techniques of digital and media texts and their impact on audiences (A2.4), and how a text's form, message and context relate to its audience and purpose (A2.5).

How to help at home:

Pause a show or ad and ask: "Why did they show that close-up? Why this music?"
Compare two cereal boxes or two book covers: "Who is each one for? How can you tell?"
Look at infographics in newspapers or flyers together and ask what they show at a glance.

Common difficulties:

Describing instead of explaining. "There's a close-up" is a start; push for the effect: "...so we feel how nervous he is."
Forgetting the audience. Ask, "Who is this for, and how do you know?"
Believing ads at face value. Keep asking, "What did they leave out?"