Virginia SOL 6.C.4.B

ELA6th GradeCommunication and Multimodal Literacies

The Standard

Explain how media messages are intentionally constructed to impact a specific audience.

Virginia Standards of Learning for English · Examining Media Messages

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students identify the audience a media message is meant to reach. They explain how specific words, images, sounds, layout, or speakers are chosen to shape that audience’s response.
What Mastery Looks Like: Students can identify a likely audience using clear evidence from the message. They can connect choices such as wording, images, sound, layout, or spokesperson to a desired feeling, belief, or action.
Common Misconceptions: Students may name the audience without citing evidence from the message. They may describe colors, music, or images but not explain their effect. They may also confuse the intended audience with anyone who could see the message.
How to Assess It: Project a cereal advertisement and ask: “Who is the intended audience? Name two design choices and explain how each might influence that audience.”

Lesson moves

Give pairs printed ads, sticky notes, and markers; students label the target audience, design choices, and intended effect directly on each ad.
Ask students to write: “How would this message change if it targeted adults instead of sixth graders?”
Play Audience Swap: teams draw an audience card and redesign a product slogan, image, and color scheme to fit that group.
Students compare two school event posts, one for families and one for students, then explain how each design targets its audience.

Free download

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 6.C.4.B, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.

Keep exploring

Grade, subject, topic, and the complete standard are prefilled. Create one free, no account needed.