Students will learn about the history and pervasiveness of advertising and how subtle techniques are used to persuade people to buy products or adhere to a company’s messaging. After exploring the stated and inferred messages in ads, they will become more aware of how they can be influenced by ads as they make consumer choices. Students will learn to identify poetry techniques like alliteration and allusion in ads. They will also learn to identify and use ad techniques like word magic, card stacking, bandwagon, sales gimmicks, and testimonials. After getting some of the basic ideas of how an advertisement works, students will team up to create a new product and write their own advertisement incorporating ad techniques and persuasive language. This three-day residency is offered through the Workshop/Residency category.

Artist Background

Michael Beadle is a poet, author and teaching artist with a passion for language, writing, and literature. His goal is to encourage, inspire, and challenge writers to express themselves so they can become more confident with writing and be lifelong learners and creative problem solvers. Since 1999, he’s taught thousands of students in poetry and creative writing workshops across the state and performed poetry at schools, libraries, churches and festivals. He’s the author of several poetry books, including What Makes a Giraffe Laugh?, Does Your Goblin Have a Problem?, and Foodtopia! His poems have appeared in various journals and anthologies including North Carolina Literary Review, Kakalak and River Heron Review. In addition to a 15-year career as a journalist, he’s worked as a high school English teacher, book reviewer, and freelance writer. Beadle has served as poet-in-residence at the NC Zoo, emcee for the NC Poetry Out Loud state finals, A+ Schools Fellow for staff development training, and student poetry contest coordinator for the NC Poetry Society.

Search Criteria

• Program Type: Workshop/Residency
• Discipline: Literary
• Grade Level: Middle
• Accepts bookings in Johnston County