Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Jones and I'm really pleased that you are here to learn with me today.

Today's lesson is called Promoting a Cause, and we are going to start thinking about how to check, whilst writing and creating our blog post, if it is successful by understanding success criteria and self-evaluation.

So let's get started.

Welcome to today's lesson from the unit: Using media to gain support for a cause.

Today's lesson is called Promoting A Cause, and by the end of this lesson, you'll be able to create a blog that uses success criteria and self-evaluation to support the writing.

There are two keywords to today's lesson: Subjective.

Subjective is something that is influenced by individual feelings, tastes or opinions.

And self-evaluation.

Self-evaluation is assessing your own work and judging how well you did.

There are two sections in today's lesson: Explain and create success criteria is the first section, followed by Use self-evaluation to review a blog post.

So let's start with Explain and create success criteria.

So Aisha is saying, "I have done my research for my blog, but what makes a good blog post to promote my cause?" That's a very good question.

And the answers are: we need to be clear and it needs to be engaging.

We need to think about writing it in a way that is easy for others to understand.

We need to use short sentences and interesting words to keep the reader's attention.

For example, instead of plastic pollution is bad, write "Every year, millions of sea animals die because of plastic in the ocean!" That is gonna grab someone's attention and make them want to read more.

And that's our aim is to make this interesting so that people want to read our blog.

Also, wanna think about using reliable sources and facts.

Check where your information comes from.

Remember from previous lessons, we've looked at making sure that our information is trustworthy and reliable.

So checking it's from a trustworthy website, book or expert is important.

For example, instead of "Many people litter," use "According to Keep Britain Tidy, over 2 million pieces of litter are dropped in the UK every day." By using direct facts, it makes it more interesting, appealing and we want to read and find out more.

So include persuasive language, make the reader feel something and encourage them to take action.

Use words like "Imagine" or "You can help" and "We must act now!" For example, "Imagine a world where every child has clean water to drink.

You can make that happen by supporting this project." We want to also think about including images or videos because this will enhance the impact of our blog post.

Include a powerful picture or short video can help tell your story better than just words.

For example, a before and after photo of a polluted beach being cleaned up makes your point stronger.

We can relate to images because we can visualise what's happening, and if it's a before and after, we can see the impact of change.

Include a call to action.

Tell your readers what they should do next and be specific.

For example, "Sign this petition to protect local wildlife," or "Donate 5.

00 pound to help plant trees in your community." A call to action is asking for something to happen by the readers, something for them to do.

Let's have a quick check.

True or false: Using reliable sources and facts is crucial for building credibility in online content? Is that true or false? Pause the video to consider your answer And then we'll go through it.

Let's check your answer.

The answer was true.

Using reliable sources and facts is essential for establishing credibility and trustworthiness in online content.

Well done if you got that correct.

Aisha is now saying, "That is great.

I'm going to write down some ideas." But you could turn the ideas you have into success criteria.

Often when you work on a project, you will set a list of success criteria before the project starts.

This is a list that you will use at the end of the project to decide if it meets the needs of the audience.

The audience is who is going to read your blog or see it.

We have to think about meeting those needs.

Success criteria should be measurable and factual, rather than subjective.

And here's an example: The first one, the blog must include three images.

That's measurable because we can test whether it has got the three images.

We can check it.

It needs to be factual.

The images must be interesting.

Well, that's subjective because interesting is an opinion.

I might find them interesting, but someone else might not, so we need to make sure that it is measurable and factual.

Aisha is going on to say, "My first success criteria is: 'The blog must include useful information'." Is that measurable and factual or is it subjective? The word "useful" is subjective because it's an opinion.

Remember, I might find it useful but someone else might not.

That's subjective.

It could be improved by creating two success criteria.

It could be the original author of any information referred to must be referenced, or all information used in the blog must come from credible and relevant sources.

Let's have a quick check.

Which of the following is the best example of a measurable and factual success criterion for a blog project? Is it A: The blog should be useful to the audience, or B: The blog should be visually appealing, or C: All information used in the blog must come from credible sources? Pause the video to consider your answer and then we'll check it.

Let's check your answer.

The answer was C.

All information used in the blog must come from credible sources.

We can measure that because we can check it.

If we look at the first two, the word "useful" is used in the first one and "visually appealing" in the second one.

Visually appealing, again, is an opinion.

Well done if you've got that correct.

There are some useful words that can help you create your success criteria.

Using words like: audience, licencing, formatting, images, hyperlinks, research, referencing and credibility help with measurable content.

So consider using those in your success criteria.

Let's start with an activity and you'll need your worksheet for this.

Explain what success criteria are and why are they important when creating a blog post or any other project.

So pause the video to use your worksheet and then we'll go through the answer.

You may want to look back through the slides to help answering.

Let's check your answer.

Success criteria are a list of measurable and factual points that you create before starting a project.

They are important because they provide clear goals and standards, ensuring that the content is effective.

They help you avoid subjective opinions and ensure the project is based on facts.

Well done if you've got that correct.

Let's have a look at another activity.

Again, continuing with your worksheet, you will be creating a blog post to promote a cause you care about.

Create at least four success criteria that you would use to ensure your blog post achieves its purpose.

So you have a table with the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and each row is going to be an individual success criteria.

There is an example on here: At least three sources from reputable organisations or recognised news outlets are referenced, with direct links provided.

That is clear, it's measurable and it's factual.

That's what we want on all of those success criteria that you add to your table.

Pause the video to consider what your success criteria will be for your blog post to promote a cause, and then we'll go through some answers.

Let's check your answers.

Now remember, these are very much an example because your blog posts are going to be different and you might have written these differently.

We already have been through the first one as the example.

Three other possible answers have been popped in here too.

A direct link to a petition, donation page, or social media sharing option is included in a prominent location within the blog post.

That was our call to action, so having that very clear, we can again check it, it's measurable and it's factual.

We also have: Include at least two relevant images or a video that enhances the message and engages the audience.

Again, the word "relevant images" makes it measurable because they are linked to the blog post.

And finally on here, we've got: The blog post uses vocabulary and sentences that are consistent with the audience's reading level.

Again, we're considering who the audience is here.

Well done if you got that correct.

Let's move on to the second part of today's lesson: Use self-evaluation to review a blog post.

Self-evaluation helps you improve your work by reflecting on its quality during and after you have created the content.

Does my blog meet the success criteria? Is my message clear and persuasive? Have I used facts and examples to support my points? Can I improve my writing before publishing? These sort of questions can help me improve my work because I can reflect and look at what I've created and adapt, edit it to make it better.

Lucas is saying, "Amazing!" My success criteria and the self-evaluation point really helps clarify my thoughts about the blog post." Let's have a quick check.

True or false: Self-evaluation helps you improve your work by reflecting on its quality during and after you have created the content? Is that true or false? Pause the video to consider your answer and then we'll go through it.

Let's check your answer.

The answer was true.

Self-evaluation is a process of reviewing your work to identify strengths and areas of improvement, both during and after creation.

Well done if you got that correct.

Let's consider some areas to consider when we are doing our self-evaluation and things we should think about when we start to do our blog post.

Remember to use a research document.

Reference your sources appropriately.

Credit the authors of any images you use.

Use the formatting tools to make your blog suitable for your audience.

And use your success criteria to make sure that you are including everything that you need.

Let's have a quick check.

What should you always do when using images in your blog? Is it A: Change the images to your own style, B: Credit the authors of the images, or C: Use as many images as possible? Pause the video to consider your answer and then we'll check it.

Let's check your answer.

The answer was B: Credit the authors of the images.

Well done if you've got that correct.

Let's look at the activity now for this lesson.

You're going to create a blog post to promote the cause you care about.

As you are creating the content, self-evaluate and use the success criteria to evaluate its effectiveness.

Pause the video to start to create your blog post to promote the cause you care about, and then we'll go through the self evaluation stages against the success criteria.

Let's go through some checks.

Did you reference at least three reputable sources and have you provided direct links to them? That was one of the success criteria and we're gonna self evaluate against that.

And here we have: Yes, I used sources from environmental organisations and trusted news websites to back up my claims about pollution and the river's importance.

I included direct links in the post.

Yours may be different.

This was against a set criteria that was set for this project.

For this example, the success criteria was three reputable sources and direct links, and the response is that self-evaluation against it.

Let's have a look at another one.

Did I include a direct link to a petition, donation page, or social media sharing option? That was the success criteria to make sure we have those direct links.

And in this one, the self-evaluation was: Yes, I added a link to a petition on the local government website asking for more protections for the river.

The link is clearly visible near the end of the blog post.

The self-evaluation shows that that success criteria was met.

Did I include at least two relevant images or a video that enhances the message? Yes, I included two photos, one showing the river's current state and another showing a community clean-up event.

These images support the call to action and add emotion to the message.

That's self-evaluation against the success criteria.

Did I use vocabulary and sentence structures appropriate for my audience? Again, the success criteria is that vocabulary and sentence structures, and the self-evaluation was: Yes, I used simple, clear language and short sentences to ensure the post is easy to read.

The content should be accessible to both adults and younger readers.

It's important to go through and check and self-evaluate, but it might be that you've identified something that needs improving.

And then that goes back and you improve it and then you re-look at it.

You look at the self-evaluation again to make sure you are meeting your success criteria.

Well done on completing your blog post against looking at your success criteria and your self-evaluation.

In summary, understanding subjective opinions is important when creating success criteria.

Self-evaluation is an important skill for assessing the quality of your blog content and ensuring it meets the established success criteria.

Well done for completing this lesson, Promoting a cause, from the unit, Using media to gain support for a cause.