Teacher resources » Public service announcements
Public service announcements
In this activity, students will study and investigate a problem or an issue in their lives, at their school, or in their community. Once students have thoroughly researched their issue, they will create a Public Service Announcement (PSA) to bring awareness to the issue they have chosen to investigate.
Keywords: STEM, Social Science, Communication
Good for: Individual work or teams
Grade level: K-12
Skill level: Intermediate
Copy and paste the information below directly into the description box when creating your student assignment, or, use it as inspiration to make your own!
Create a video that shares with your classmates what you learned about the problem or issue you investigated. The video you make should be made in the style of a public service announcement, or PSA, and contain important information that helps bring awareness of your topic, issue, or problem to a wider audience. Get creative in how you share your information by using footage, images, sound, and text in a fun and engaging way to get your message out to the world!
Tips to help your instruction in this activity or help to get you started!
This activity can be a great opportunity to dive into collaborative research projects! While individual students can create PSA’s, a collaborative group project can provide more opportunities for students to
Encourage students to capture different kinds of footage. Use external cameras, phones or tablets, as well as footage from the stock media library or from a webcam or screen recording.
Consider using the green screen effect if your students cannot go out and film outside of school or their homes.
21st Century Skills
STEM: PSA’s can be integrated seamlessly into STEM environments through research projects that look at environmental issues such as ocean health, energy, and water conservation, to name a few. Having students create a PSA about a pressing STEM topic is a fun and creative way to engage learners, deepen understanding, and make meaning for students that can connect across STEM content areas.
Social Sciences: Similarly to the STEM classroom, PSA’s can be integrated across social science content areas to engage students and enhance the learning experience. Having students investigate a social issue as part of an oral history, an ethnography, or a social justice centered unit or project provides more opportunities for deeper learning and helps to extend that learning outside of the classroom.
Communication: This activity allows for students to communicate to their classmates in creative ways. Using video helps students learn how to communicate complex ideas clearly and effectively to others.