Grade by Grade
D. Composition: Expressing Ideas and Creating Texts · Writing with Purpose: Research, Argument, Story and Media

Creating Media Texts: PSAs, Podcasts and Social Media Posts

D2.1 D3.1 A2.1 A2.2 A2.4 A2.5 A2.6About 55 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can plan and draft a media text, such as a public service announcement, a podcast segment or a social media post, using its conventions.
  • I can choose media techniques (sound, images, camera shots, colour, words) for their effect on an audience.
  • I can use a design process to create a media text that responds to a real problem.
  • I can create and share media safely and responsibly: getting permission, protecting privacy, crediting creators and adding alt text.

Words to know

media text
A text that uses sound, images, video or digital tools, often mixed with words.
public service announcement (PSA)
A short message, often 15 to 60 seconds, that informs the public and encourages a helpful action.
call to action
The part of a message that tells the audience exactly what to do.
conventions
The usual features of a form that audiences expect, like a host's introduction in a podcast.
media triangle
A tool for thinking about media: the text, the audience and the production (who made it, how and why).
alt text
A short written description of an image, read aloud by screen readers for people who are blind or have low vision.
Creative Commons
Licences that let creators share their work with clear rules, such as you may use this if you credit me.
digital footprint
The trail of information about you that stays online.

Remember from Grade 6

In Grade 6 you created infographics, short videos and web pages, used visual hierarchy, storyboarded a public service video, tested your design with real viewers, and used others' work only with permission and credit.

In Grade 7 you'll write scripts for audio and video, plan podcast segments and social media posts, choose techniques for their effect, and use a design process to respond to a real problem in your community.

Text: message and formAudienceProductionyour media text
The media triangle: every media text is shaped by its message and form, its audience, and how and why it was produced.

Conventions of three media forms

  • PSA (audio or video): 15 to 60 seconds; a hook in the first few seconds; one clear message; a call to action; who it's from at the end.
  • Podcast segment: a host who introduces the show and topic; spoken signposts (coming up, first, before we go); interviews or sound clips; an outro with credits.
  • Social media post: an image or short video that stops the scroll; a short caption; sometimes a hashtag so people can find related posts; alt text for the image.
A home podcast setup on a desk: a microphone with a round pop filter, headphones, a small audio mixer and a closed laptop.
A podcast segment is planned and scripted before anyone presses record. The pop filter in front of the microphone softens the puffs of air from sounds like p and b. AI-generated image
TechniqueEffect on the audience
Close-up shotShows feelings and details; feels personal
Wide shotShows the setting and the big picture
Low angle (camera looks up)Makes a subject look powerful or large
Sound effectGrabs attention and helps listeners picture a scene
MusicSets a mood: calm, urgent, hopeful
Silence or a pauseMakes the next words stand out
Bold text overlayMakes the key message easy to remember
ColourBright, warm colours feel energetic; cool or muted colours feel calm or serious
Media techniques and their usual effects. Choose techniques that fit your purpose and audience.
Close-upfeelings, detailsWide shotsetting, big pictureLow anglelooks powerfulcamera
Three camera choices. The close-up shows feelings, the wide shot shows the setting, and in a low angle the camera looks up, so the subject seems big and powerful.
Worked example

Let's use the design process to create a 30-second PSA

Problem (pretend): students noticed that sidewalks near their school are often icy after snowfalls, and people slip on the way to school.

  1. Understand: who is affected? Students, seniors, people who use wheelchairs or walkers, parents with strollers. Who can help? Homeowners and neighbours.
  2. Plan: audience: families in the neighbourhood. Purpose: persuade them to clear and sand their walks. Medium: an audio PSA for the school's podcast and morning announcements, because many families listen together in the car or at home.
  3. Create a script (about 2 to 2.5 spoken words per second, so 30 seconds is roughly 60 to 75 words): - 0:00–0:04 Sound effect: boots crunching on snow, then a slip and a thud. - 0:04–0:12 Student voice: Every winter, icy sidewalks make people slip and fall, from little kids to grandparents. - 0:12–0:24 Clearing your walk after a snowfall takes just a few minutes. Sprinkling sand on icy patches gives boots something to grip. And if a neighbour can't shovel, lend a hand. - 0:24–0:30 Clear a path. Keep our neighbourhood safe for everyone. A message from the Grade 7 class.
  4. Test: play it for three people. Is the message clear? Do they remember the call to action?
  5. Revise: if listeners only remember the thud, repeat the call to action at the end: Clear a path.

A PSA with a sound-effect hook, one message, a call to action and a sign-off, made through the design process: understand → plan → create → test → revise.

Worked example

Let's adapt the PSA into a social media post

The class wants to post the message on the school's social media account (run by the school staff).

  1. Image: a photo of a cleared, sanded sidewalk next to an icy one. No faces of students without permission, and no house numbers or street signs that show exactly where someone lives.
  2. Caption (short): Icy walk or safe walk? It only takes a few minutes. Clear a path for your neighbours this winter!
  3. Alt text: Two sidewalks side by side: on the left, a shiny sheet of ice; on the right, a shovelled path sprinkled with sand.
  4. Credit: if the photo isn't yours, use one with permission or a Creative Commons licence, and credit the creator.

The message stayed the same, but the form and techniques changed for a scrolling audience: a strong image, a short caption and alt text.

Just for fun

Riddle: What has a hook, a message and a call to action, but never goes fishing?

A good PSA!

Create and share responsibly

  • Permission first: ask before recording or posting anyone's face, voice or name, and get a parent's or guardian's permission before posting online.
  • Protect privacy: don't share full names, your school's name, addresses, phone numbers or your location.
  • Credit creators. Use music, images and clips only with permission, with a Creative Commons licence (follow its rules, such as credit the creator), or if they are in the public domain.
  • Think about your digital footprint. Posts can be copied and last a long time. Would you be proud of this in five years?
  • Be accessible: add alt text to images and captions to videos.
Hands-on activity

Kitchen PSA studio

You need: paper, a pencil, a timer and, if a grown-up says yes, a phone or tablet to record audio. Optional: things that make sound effects (crinkly paper for snow, a pot lid, a whistle).

  1. Choose a real problem at home or in your neighbourhood: lights left on, recycling in the wrong bin, a dog off its leash, people forgetting to check on a neighbour during a cold snap.
  2. Write your plan: audience, purpose, form, and why the form fits.
  3. Write a 30-second script with times, sound effects, a hook, one message and a call to action. Count your words: aim for 60 to 75.
  4. Rehearse with a timer, then record or perform it live.
  5. Test it on two family members: What do you remember? What should you do now?
  6. Revise one thing based on their answers, and perform it again.
  7. Bonus: turn it into a poster or social media-style post (on paper) with a short caption and alt text.

Your turn

1

Name the three parts of the media triangle.

2

List three conventions of a PSA.

3

What effect does a close-up shot usually have?

4

About how many words fit in a 30-second spoken PSA?

5

Write alt text for a photo of a child building a snow fort in a backyard.

6

Give two pieces of personal information you should not post online.

7

What does a CC BY Creative Commons licence ask you to do?

More practice: warm-up

1

What does PSA stand for?

2

What is a call to action?

3

What is a podcast outro?

4

True or false: you can post a friend's photo online without asking.

5

What is a digital footprint?

More practice: on your own

1

Choose music for a PSA about being kind to newcomers at school. Explain your choice.

2

A video PSA about wearing helmets shows a wide shot of a park, then a close-up of a cracked helmet. Explain the effect of each shot.

3

Write a social media caption (25 words or fewer) and a hashtag for a library's summer reading challenge.

4

Write a two-sentence podcast introduction for an episode about your town's history.

5

Why should you test a media text with real people before publishing it?

Challenge

1

Use the media triangle to analyze your own PSA plan: describe the text, the audience and the production choices, and explain how they fit together.

2

A classmate wants to use a popular song in the class video because it's catchy. Explain the problem and give two solutions.

3

Plan (do not post) a three-post social media campaign about reducing food waste at home. Describe each post's image, caption and alt text.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which is a call to action?

2.

What should come first in a PSA?

3.

What is alt text for?

4.

Which is safe to include in a public post about your class project?

5.

In the media triangle, production means…

6.

Which technique usually makes a scene feel personal?

For parents and teachers

Big ideas (D2.1, D3.1): Grade 7 students draft complex texts in a variety of forms, including digital and media texts, and select techniques and tools to achieve an intended effect. This lesson connects strongly to Strand A's digital media literacy: digital citizenship (A2.1), online safety and privacy (A2.2), forms, conventions and techniques (A2.4), the relationship among message, audience and production (A2.5), and using a design process to respond to real-world problems (A2.6).

How to help at home:

  • Listen to a PSA on the radio or watch one online together, and ask: What's the hook? What's the call to action?
  • Talk about your family's rules for posting photos and videos, and about privacy settings.
  • Be a tester for your child's media project, and give specific feedback.

Common difficulties:

  • Too many messages in one PSA. One message, one action.
  • Using copyrighted music or images. Look together for Creative Commons or royalty-free options.
  • Sharing personal details. Review the privacy checklist before anything is posted.

Safety: Supervise any recording, posting or online searching. Students should post only through accounts and channels approved by a parent, guardian or teacher.