ASL 2 (Blocks 1, 3 & 4)

What

ASL 2 (Blocks 1, 3 & 4)

When

3/25/2025

ASL 2: DEAF AWARENESS PSA PROJECT
ASL 2 Spring 2025
Projects due on Friday, March 28, 2025
Driving Question: How can I create a campaign that promotes Deaf awareness on my school’s campus and encourage my peers and neighbors to become allies of the Deaf community?

Your Assignment:
You will work in an assigned team to create a Deaf Awareness Public Service Announcement (PSA) video to be shown on the Glynn Academy Terror News Broadcast. The purpose of your PSA is to raise awareness and change public attitudes or behaviors towards Deaf people and Deaf culture. This will promote inclusion and equality for Deaf people.

Your team will create a campaign for our school and community that guides and encourages them to become Deaf allies.

First, you will select one topic from the approved list below.
Famous Deaf contributions
Historical Timeline
How to Communicate with Deaf
Deaf President Now
Organizations that Serve the Deaf community
Myths about Deafness and ASL
De’via and Deaf artists
Careers with ASL
Audism: How to become an ally
Deaf gain: What it means to the Deaf community

Research your topic and gather facts, statistics, and images that support your message. Your PSA should be between 45 seconds- 2 minutes, so make sure to keep it short and impactful. Write a script or an outline for your PSA with a clear beginning, middle, and end.


Your PSA needs a HOOK, a KEY MESSAGE, and a CALL TO ACTION.

The HOOK is something that grabs the attention of the viewer or listener. This could be a motto or slogan such as “Got Milk?” or “This is Your Brain on Drugs…Any Questions?”

The KEY MESSAGE is the main point you want to convey. What are you trying to teach the audience?

The CALL TO ACTION is what you want the audience to do after watching your PSA. List at least one reliable source for further information.
Ex: “Visit this website _______ to learn more.”

Produce your PSA using your smartphone or a Chromebook with camera, and Mrs. Baker’s green screen to create your PSA. Include actors, music, sound effects, and graphics to enhance your PSA. You can film your PSA indoors or outdoors, on campus or off campus (on your own time). Be creative and have fun!

*Your PSA should be signed in ASL with English captions. Some English voicing can be used, but the entire video should not just include talking out loud. You can use graphics, text, photos, whatever you need to get your message across.*

You will share your PSA with the class and get their feedback. After making any necessary edits, your PSA will be shown on the school news. The very best PSA projects might even be featured on Glynn Academy’s social media pages.

Your PSA project is more than a video…it’s also a chance to work collaboratively towards a goal. Your team will have daily assignments to turn in to show your progress. The final PSA video is worth a TEST GRADE, so give this your very best effort.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT HOW-TO’S:

Public Service Announcements (PSAs) are short messages produced on film, video or audio and given to radio and television stations. PSAs are used by advocacy organizations, government campaigns and other public interest groups to:
• Raise awareness about an issue
• Encourage the audience to do something – call for information, wear a seatbelt, etc.
• Encourage the audience NOT to do something (change behavior) – text while driving, smoke, etc.

Before producing a PSA, you must answer 3 important questions:
• What is your goal? (Raise awareness, change or promote behavior)? Be as specific and clear as possible.
• Who is your audience (Be as specific as you can about the target audience you want to reach- this will help you narrow down how you will get their attention)
• What format will best communicate your specific goal to your specific audience?

When writing your PSA:
1) Choose a clear focus/message. For example “If you have asthma, don’t smoke.”
2) Brainstorm creative and relevant ideas- look at other PSAs for inspiration
3) Fact-check! Make sure your information is accurate.
4) HOOK your audience with emotional or shocking images/words.
Do something that will make the viewer not want to look away: something funny, catchy music, surprising statistics, emotional appeal, etc.

When using a verbal message, 30 seconds = about 60-75 words.
How can you use images, words & sound to communicate your message?
- Present a powerful statistic using words, images or a diagram
- Illustrate an example of behavior through a story or pictures
- Call your viewer to action with words like: “CALL”, “VISIT” “GO TO...” etc.
- Use a montage* of emotional and compelling images and words
- Ask a question that will relate to your audience fears, needs or issues

*MONTAGE - is a technique in film editing in which a series of short shots are edited into a sequence to condense space, time, and information. It is usually used to suggest the passage of time – such as a sports training montage (see: Rocky) or a love relationship montage. A montage is a good technique to use in PSAs to tell several stories or examples in a short amount of time.

EXAMPLE: “Up” movie montage

Types of PSA formats:
• NARRATIVE (tells a story) –
• ABSTRACT (*montage of sounds and image or metaphor)
• INSTRUCTIONAL (teaches the audience)

PSA Planning & Discussion :
Who is your target audience?
(Be specific)
How will this PSA appeal to your target audience?
What is the goal you want to achieve with the PSA?
(ex: raise awareness, encourage a certain behavior, discourage a behavior, etc.)
What should the specific message of your PSA be?
What’s the slogan or a title that goes with your PSA?
(ex: “Be all that you can be in the Army.”)
How will you convey your message?
(Narrative, Abstract, or Instruction?)
What key words or phrases will you use/have flashing on the screen?
What kind of mood will you set?
How will you create this mood?

What’s Your HOOK?
GRAB the VIEWER with something SHOCKING, FUNNY, POWERFUL or EMOTIONAL. What will make them keep watching and thinking about your message even after the PSA is over?
How will you RELATE to the audience? Your target audience needs to know you are talking to THEM, usually by being DIRECTLY represented in your PSA.
TELL A STORY/ Give a Memorable Example. Show something specific or believable that exemplifies your problem/message.


GET TO THE POINT. Show OR Tell what’s causing the problem. A PSA is not a place to be unclear. What do you want your audience to know?
Emphasize the SCALE and IMPACT. Include a powerful statistic or image that shows the importance of this issue.


CALL TO ACTION! Engage your viewers in being part of the solution by asking them to DO something small: change behavior, learn something new or share what they now know.


SHARE YOUR IDEAS WITH YOUR TEAM AND COLLECTIVELY COME UP WITH THE STRONGEST, MOST EFFECTIVE MESSAGING PACKAGE!

STORYBOARDING YOUR FINAL PSA!

A storyboard is different from a brainstorm. A storyboard visually tells the story of a film panel by panel, kind of like a comic book. The storyboard should convey some information that will help you in the production process like: what characters are in the frame, what are they saying to each other (if anything), how far away is the camera and at which angle, is the camera moving, do you hear music or sound effects? Use the lines below the frames to provide these details.

HOW TO MAKE A STORYBOARD: Most commonly, storyboards are drawn in pen or pencil. Keep in mind that your drawings don't have to be fancy! In fact, you want to spend just a few minutes drawing each frame. Use basic shapes, stick figures, and simple backgrounds. If you draw your storyboard frames on index cards, you can rearrange them to move parts of the story around.

Deaf Culture PSA Project Timeline (Subject to change if needed)
Dates:
Activities and Deadlines:
Monday, March 10
Mrs. Baker assigns teams
Team members decide on roles
Teams choose topics to research
Wednesday, March 12
Watch & evaluate other PSAs to get inspiration
Friday, March 14


Work on PSA Planning & Discussion (P&D) Guide

(PSA P&D Guide- turn in for Classwork grade)
Monday, March 17
Tuesday, March 18

Research for project- get key facts and resources

(Turn in Research chart for classwork grade)
Thursday, March 20
Work on PSA brainstorm sheet
(Turn in Brainstorm form for Classwork grade)
Friday, March 21
Create PSA storyboard
(Turn in for PSA storyboard for classwork grade)
Monday, March 24
Tuesday, March 25
Wednesday, March 26
Thursday, March 27
Film PSA video (get the footage you need- on campus)
Edit PSA video (use video editing software, add graphics, music, etc). Make it amazing!
Self-Assess your project using the grading rubric to make sure all elements are included before turning in
Friday, March 28
Submit PSA by 4 PM to Google classroom for grading