1. Grade 11 Lesson Plan
Sociology
Week 1, Lesson 1
Topic: Mass Media
Lesson in Brief: What is meant by the term ‘Mass media’. This involves looking at the
history of the media and at what media there are today and how much people use them.
Time: Two Periods.
Learning Outcomes: Students will be able to:
Define ‘Mass media.’
Explain developments in the media through time.
Gauge how much time an individual roughly spends under the influence of the mass
media (Exercise 1)
Explain Formal controls on the media and its ownership (Sheet 1)
Materials Used: 1. P.161, 162 (Ken Browne)
Assessment: (to be done in class) Write a small paragraph explaining why the concentration
of ownership of the mass media might be of some concern in a democracy.
Week 1. Lesson 2
Topic: Mass Media – Newspapers
Lesson in Brief: despite the rise of new media, newspapers remain an important media form.
This lesson will look at the history of newspapers as well as types of newspapers and their
connection to social class.
Time: Two Periods.
Learning Outcomes: Students will be able to:
Define ‘Broadsheets Quality Newspapers, Mid-market tabloids and Popular tabloids,’
and explain their connection to social class due to their respective content
Learn how to study the media – the difference between ‘Content Analysis’ and
‘Semiology’
Compare the pluralist and conflict approaches to press ownership and explain the
three trends of concentration, globalisation and diversification.
Materials Used: 1. P. 205 (Stephen Moore)

2. Week 2. Lesson 1
Topic: Mass Media – Public Opinion and Social Control
Lesson in Brief: How does the media decide what ‘News’ is and how do they present it to
us. This lesson will also look at the role of the media in creating public opinions and bias.
Time: Two Periods.
Learning Outcomes: Students will be able to:
Define Agenda Setting, Gate Keeping and Norm setting.
Explain how media acts as a form of social control by encouraging conformist
behaviour and discouraging non conformist behaviour.
Describe how bias is created when a) private owners will impose their views on
editors, b) large business corporations will be interested in increasing ratings and
subsequently their profits by picking and choosing stories that they deem ‘news
worthy’ c) through Selection some stories are missed or ignored, d) the presentation
of the news effects how important it then becomes (placement of news in papers) e)
bias created through False reporting or sensationalizing, f) inaccuracies due to
organizational constraints and assumptions of journalists and hosts.
Materials Used: 1. News values p. 173 (Browne)
Assessment : Exercise p.221 (Blundell)
Week 2. Lesson 2
Topic: Effects of the Media
Lesson in Brief: this lesson looks at how theories about the media have developed through
time.
Time: Two Periods.
Learning Outcomes: Students will be able to:
Explain what is meant by the ‘hypodermic syringe idea’ of media effects
Explain what is meant by the uses and gratifications model of media effects
Identify ways in which audiences might use the mass media.
Explain what is meant by a moral panic.
Materials Used: 1. Violence in the Media p. 302, 303 (Blundell)