1. Ms. Montgomery & Ms. Hutson’s Health Classes
PSA Unit Assignment
Ms. Montgomery & Ms. Hutson’s Health Classes

2. But first, a little history
Public Service Announcements or PSA’s, had their beginning in the Civil War when the government used the newspaper ads to sell war bonds.
During WWII, PSA’s encouraged people to conserve gas, give blood and plant a victory garden.
Radio ads even reminded people that “loose lips sink ships”

3. Since the 1950’s PSA’s are both audio and visual.
PSA topics include: cancer, literacy, child abuse, drugs, bullying, drunk driving and recently, texting and driving.
PSA’s are quick ways to make people stop and think before they act.

5. Why So Much Emotion?
Mr. Clunie says that teenagers are living in their Limbic system, home of the Amygdala/Emotion. Teenagers’ Pre-Frontal Cortex home of Reasoning and clear judgment is not fully developed until ____? (of course, you already knew all of this).
Mr. Clunie and I feel that it’s just possible that PSA’s, targeting teenagers, deal in emotion because it will make the most impact. Mr. Clunie doesn’t know if this is true, however, he does say that developing teenagers, are impulsive by nature, so teenagers will often react out of spur of the moment decisions, no matter how many PSA’s they have seen.
BUT, if it causes one teenager to think, one teenager to make the right decision, isn’t it worth it?

6. Your PSA Your PSA will be created by a group of people in your class.
You may go solo, but you can have no more than 5 in a group (the 5th member will be the videographer).
Your PSA should be between 1-2 minutes and no more than 4 minutes.
The topic you pick should be relevant to a health class and the topic we are covering.

8. And…
The topic you select can range from drugs, alcohol, tobacco use and, because of it’s importance, texting and driving. You can also present a skit on refusal skills.
Your group will be graded on topic relevancy, creativity, teamwork, use of time given, written script and other criteria to be discussed ( check rubric carefully!!)

10. And…..
Your presentation can be filmed on your own, after school hours. This gives you more freedom to go where you would like to go in order to film. Or, you can perform your PSA at school and be videoed in the classroom by a TV/Radio student. This type of filming must be done in the classroom unless told otherwise.
You may contact Ms. Uhl the tech specialist if you need help filming. She may also have a flip video recorder you could use.

12. Timeline…..Monday After this presentation you will do the following:
Gather the group you will work with
Pick your topic
Begin work on developing a script

14. Wednesday
This is script day. Your team will need to develop and write a script for your PSA.
The script or outline must be submitted to your teacher by the end of the class period.
Once approved, your group can begin practicing your presentation.

16. Thursday
Once again a work day. If your script is done turn it in for final approval. Afterwards you need to begin work on your visual presentation.
It’s important to remember that part of your grade will involve wise use of time.

17. Friday
This will be filming day for those who are doing their presentations at school.
If you have your own way to film and are filming outside of the school property, you should submit these either today or before Monday.

18. Finally This is your PSA assignment
This is your PSA about drugs (or your choice)
Any questions?