Cartown: Communicating a message

Context

This resource allows students to explore arguments for and against plans to reduce the number of vehicles travelling in the centre of a city and decide whether to support a traffic congestion toll during peak travel times. Students look at a range of media, evaluate the impact of the media and use media tools to construct a television program supporting a particular view on the central issue.

Opportunities for Civics and Citizenship learning

‘Cartown: Communicating a message’ provides opportunities for students to:

• identify methods for communicating information

• explore the effectiveness of different media in communicating information

• research different viewpoints about current issues

• develop their own viewpoint about an issue

• form an argument for supporting a particular viewpoint.

Ideas for the classroom

• Ask students where they get most of their information about what is happening in their local community. Write the media sources on the board.

• Ask students to form small groups and complete a Plus, Minus or Interesting (PMI) chart relating to the effectiveness of each of the media sources in providing information.

• Ask students to decide which form of media they believe is (a) the most effective and (b) the most popular. Take a class vote. Invite students to provide reasons for their answers.

• Explain to students that they will be taking part in an exercise exploring two different viewpoints about a traffic issue. Invite them to begin the learning object. Explain that they will need to choose one of the two options presented and design a television program to support this view.

• Complete the activity by asking students to share their designs and vote for the one they believe is most effective.