KS3/4 English and Media - Teaching Media: Analysing an Advert

Highgate Woods is a large comprehensive in north London with specialist status in performing arts.

In this programme Deborah Hegan, English and media teacher at the school, works with a Year 10 class analysing the Levi's Midsummer advert, which sets words from A Midsummer Night's Dream on the streets of contemporary Los Angeles.

First, the class discusses some of the decisions behind the choice of language and setting and how the ad sells to its audience.

Deborah then introduces "intertextuality", the idea of texts from different media referring to each other. She also encourages the class to develop the skills of higher order questioning by promoting "Why?" and "How?"