Knowledge/Skill Building
🖼️ PSA Posters and Brochures Notice
Content Expertise
Effective Communication
Critical Thinking & Problem Solving
Collaboration
Product
Assessment
Reflection
Core Content
Essential Question
Critique and Revision
Submission Required
Students study 3-4 kid-friendly marine conservation PSA examples such as posters, brochures, and short video screenshots. As a class, they name features that make the message clear, including accurate facts, strong visuals, persuasive words, and a clear call to action. Students record a simple checklist they will use while drafting their own PSA prototype.
Plan day
Day 8
Duration
30 min
Grouping
Whole Class
Steps
6 steps
Lesson plan
6 steps · 30 min| # | What teachers do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Launch the noticing work by showing the activity goal and briefly connecting it to the class questions about protecting ocean animals and keeping local water and beaches clean. Introduce the word persuasive, meaning language that tries to convince someone to act, and tell students they will study real PSA examples to build a checklist for their own draft. (5 min) |
| 2 | Model noticing with one kid-friendly marine conservation PSA poster or brochure. Think aloud about one accurate fact, one strong visual, one persuasive word or phrase, and one clear call to action so students hear how to name effective features. (8 min) |
| 3 | Invite students to rotate through 3-4 PSA examples with a partner or small group and record what they notice on a simple graphic organizer. Ask them to look for message parts that teach the problem, show why marine life matters, and tell people what they can do to reduce pollution. (12 min) |
| 4 | Bring the class back together to co-create a PSA checklist from their observations. Sort student ideas into clear categories such as facts, visuals, persuasive words, audience, and call to action, and define any new vocabulary in simple language. (8 min) |
| 5 | Have partners pair and share which two checklist items they think will matter most for reaching a real audience at the community event. Students give quick Glows and Grows feedback by naming one strong idea they heard and one suggestion for making the message even clearer. (6 min) |
| 6 | Close with individual reflection and exit planning. Students star 3 checklist items they want to use in their own poster, brochure, or other PSA draft and write or say one sentence about how their message could help people protect marine life. (6 min) |
Preparation (10 items)
- Select 3-4 kid-friendly marine conservation PSA mentor examples that include posters, brochures, or printed screenshots from short videos and ensure each has age-appropriate text and visuals.
- Preview each example for accurate marine conservation content, clear calls to action, and accessibility for 3rd graders with varied reading levels.
- Print or display the PSA examples in large format so students can easily see headlines, visuals, facts, and action steps.
- Prepare a simple noticing organizer with prompts such as: What problem do you notice? What fact do you notice? What picture or color helps? What words try to convince you? What action does it ask people to take?
- Create chart paper or a shared display titled 'Our PSA Checklist' with space for categories including accurate facts, strong visuals, persuasive words, audience, and call to action.
- Prepare sentence starters for discussion such as 'I notice...', 'This is effective because...', 'The call to action is...', 'A grow is...', and 'This could help protect ocean animals by...'.
- Gather pencils, clipboards or hard writing surfaces, sticky notes, and highlighters or crayons for noticing and reflection.
- Plan partner groupings that support collaboration and language development, including strategic pairing for readers who may need peer support.
- Pre-teach or post key vocabulary with brief definitions: PSA, audience, persuasive, fact, visual, and call to action.
- Decide whether students will rotate physically to examples or view them from seats and set up the room to keep movement efficient within the 45-minute block.
Student-facing instructions
Today you will study examples of PSA posters and brochures about marine conservation so you can figure out what makes a message clear and convincing. You will look closely at pictures, facts, persuasive words, and calls to action, which are messages that tell people what to do next. You will work with a partner, use a noticing organizer, and help build a class checklist that you can use later when you draft your own PSA. You will need the PSA examples, your organizer, a pencil, and sticky notes or highlighters if your teacher gives them to you. Your goal is to notice what strong PSAs do to teach people about marine pollution and encourage them to protect ocean animals and local waters.