Teacher resources » Public service announcements

Public service announcements

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Overview

In this activity, students will study and investigate a problem or an issue in their lives, at their school, or in their community. Once students have thoroughly researched their issue, they will create a Public Service Announcement (PSA) to bring awareness to the issue they have chosen to investigate.

Keywords: STEM, Social Science, Communication

Good for: Individual work or teams

Grade level: K-12

Skill level: Intermediate

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Student Instructions

Copy and paste the information below directly into the description box when creating your student assignment, or, use it as inspiration to make your own!

Create a video that shares with your classmates what you learned about the problem or issue you investigated. The video you make should be made in the style of a public service announcement, or PSA, and contain important information that helps bring awareness of your topic, issue, or problem to a wider audience. Get creative in how you share your information by using footage, images, sound, and text in a fun and engaging way to get your message out to the world!

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Lesson planning support
  • Teacher Tips
  • Skill building
  • Implementation ideas

Tips to help your instruction in this activity or help to get you started!

  • This activity can be a great opportunity to dive into collaborative research projects! While individual students can create PSA’s, a collaborative group project can provide more opportunities for students to 

  • Encourage students to capture different kinds of footage. Use external cameras, phones or tablets, as well as footage from the stock media library or from a webcam or screen recording. 

  • Consider using the green screen effect if your students cannot go out and film outside of school or their homes. 

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Technical Skills

Students Will…

Academic Skills

Students will…

21st Century Skills

Students will…

  • Edit multiple types of media including external footage, stock media, and voiceover recordings

  • Combine video clips, audio and text to craft a specific narrative

  • Practice using more advanced editing features such as animations, scaling, and green screen

  • Employ effective research strategies

  • Build knowledge by exploring real world issues and problems

  • Communicate complex ideas clearly and effectively

  • Use technology to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.

  • Show flexibility with their thinking when working in collaborative groups

  • Practice taking initiative as the leader in a collaborative group setting.

  • Creatively communicate information intended for a specific audience
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STEM: PSA’s can be integrated seamlessly into STEM environments through research projects that look at environmental issues such as ocean health, energy, and water conservation, to name a few. Having students create a PSA about a pressing STEM topic is a fun and creative way to engage learners, deepen understanding, and make meaning for students that can connect across STEM content areas. 

Social Sciences: Similarly to the STEM classroom, PSA’s can be integrated across social science content areas to engage students and enhance the learning experience. Having students investigate a social issue as part of an oral history, an ethnography, or a social justice centered unit or project provides more opportunities for deeper learning and helps to extend that learning outside of the classroom. 

Communication: This activity allows for students to communicate to their classmates in creative ways. Using video helps students learn how to communicate complex ideas clearly and effectively to others.

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