Teacher: Jamaila Hutchinson

Subject: Social Studies

Class: 5S and 5Y

Date: Week of January 16, 2023

Duration: 2 ½ hours

Topic: Communication

Strand: Media of communication/Factors influencing the breakdown of communication

Prior knowledge: Students are expected to know some forms or media of communication

Specific objectives:

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

Knowledge:

 Define media
 List some medias of communication

Skill:

 Explain how forms and media of communication are influenced by geographical,

socio-cultural and technological factors
 Describe at least three factors responsible for breakdown in communication

Attitude:

 Appreciate the art of communication in the teaching and learning process and in their
respective institution at large

Resources:

 Whiteboard
 Whiteboard markers
  Notebook
 Pens/pencils
 Laptop

Content

What is media?

Media is the collective communication outlets or tools that are used to store and deliver

information or data. In other words, media refers to all the channels available in which

information can be delivered.

Forms of medias of communication

 Messengers
 Television
 Internet
 Radio
 Printed media (magazines, newspaper)
 Cell phones

Factors influencing forms of media and communication

Face to face factors

This is considered as real time communication with visible presence.

Geographical factors

This can be described as the landscape of the earth or the physical features of an area.

Examples of geographical elements could be distance, climate, rivers, mountains, sea etc.

Socio-cultural factors

Customs, lifestyle and values that characterizes a society. Examples of socio-cultural

elements could be language, socio-economic status, beliefs, customs, religion.

Individual limitations

This is when an individual does not have access to the different types of media

Technological factors

This is the use of communication through technology. Examples of technological elements

can include but are not limited to energy, electronics, transistors, design of instrument, type

of instrument, computer.

Factors responsible for the breakdown in communication

Communication is only effective if only the message sent by the sender is interpreted with the

same meaning by the receiver. If any kind of disturbance blocks any step of communication,

the message will be destroyed. There are several barriers that affect the flow of

communication. These barriers interrupt the flow of communication from the sender to the

receiver, thus making the communication ineffective. The main barriers of communication

include:

❖ Perceptual and Language differences: perception is generally how each individual

interprets the world around him. All generally want to receive messages which are significant

to them. But any message which is against their values is not accepted. One particular event

may be taken differently by different individuals. For example: A person is on leave due to

personal reasons. The HR Manager might be confused whether to retain that employee or not,

the immediate manager might think of replacement because his team's productivity is being

hampered and the family members might take him as an emotional support.

The linguistic differences also lead to communication breakdown. Same word may mean

different things to different individuals. For example: Consider the word “value”

a. What is the value of the laptop?

b. I value our relationship?

c. What is the value of being at school?

“Value” means different in different sentences. Communication breakdown occurs if there is

wrong perception by the receiver.

❖ Information overload: trying to relay too much information causes information overload.

The receiver might not interpret the information adequately or even overlook important

information, which leads to less effective communication. Therefore, information should be

as precise and as concise as possible in order to avoid this.

❖ Inattention: At times we just do not listen, but only hear. For example, a traveller may

pay attention to one “NO PARKING” sign, but if such sign is put all over the city, he no

longer listens to it. Thus, repetitive messages should be ignored for effective communication.

❖ Time pressures: Often in organization the targets have to be achieved within a specified

time period, the failure of which has adverse consequences. In a haste to meet deadlines, the

formal channels of communication are shortened, or messages are partially given i.e. not

completely transferred. Thus sufficient time should be given for effective communication.

❖ Distraction/Noise: Communication is also affected a lot by noise to distractions. Physical

distractions are also there such as, poor lighting, uncomfortable sitting, and unhygienic room

also affects communication in a meeting. Similarly use of loudspeakers interferes with

communication.

❖ Emotions: Emotional state at a particular time also affects communication. If the receiver

feels that the communicator is angry, he interprets that the information being sent is very bad.

While he takes it differently if the communicator is happy and jovial (in that case the message

is interpreted to be good and interesting).

❖ Poor retention: Human memory cannot function beyond a limit. One can’t always retain

what is being told, especially if he is not interested or not attentive. This leads to

communication breakdown.

Procedure

DAY 1 (60 minutes)

Engagement The teacher and students will engage in a short recap of the last lesson where

students will be highlighting what they learnt from the previous class.

Focus questions:

1. What did we cover in the last class?

2. What stood out to you in the lesson?

3. How comfortable are you with the topic so far?

Exploration

Students will read a short article on mass media (“How do Jingles, Logos, and Packaging

influence your decisions?”)

Sample Article “Advertisements come in many forms. Not only can you read them, watch

them and hear them but you can sing, hum and whistle them as well. Advertisers spend

millions of dollars each year developing catchy tunes, or jingles to sell products. Some

advertisements involve entire songs. Other advertisements just have one or two lines set to

music. Either way the advertiser hopes that the jingle will help you remember the product.

When you are in a store, you might hum the jingle, think about the product and ultimately

buy it. Advertisers also use LOGOS to sell their products. A logo is a symbol that identifies a

company. Some logos are simple shapes such as a circle or rectangle. Other logos might be
detailed drawings, the initials of the company, or the full name of the company designed in a

special way.”

Explanation

Teacher will discuss media, the forms of media and communication as well as the factors

influencing forms of media and communication. Students will be expected to take short

notes.

Elaboration

Students will be tasked at doing an exercise about mass media that will be written on the

board.

Sample Exercise

Analyse which of the following statements represent the implications of mass media. Tick the

right idea.

● A lot of money is spent on mass media ___

● There is more consumerism in society ___

● People meet friends in the supermarket ___

● People buy products because of its appearance and not for the product itself ___

● Advertisements influence you subconsciously ___

● Anything can influence people’s decision ___

Evaluation

Students will be assessed informally by their participation and understanding of the topic.

Teacher will ask questions like:

1. Do you understand today’s lesson, is everything clear?

2. Do you need any clarification on anything we’ve discussed today?

3. How comfortable are you with the topic?

Students will be formally assessed by their responses to the above exercises. This will also

give the teacher an idea of the level of understanding that the students have on the topic.

DAY 2 (60 minutes)

Engagement

Teacher will start off the lesson by writing a phrase on the board (“Communication is the key

to achieving all our goals”).

After which, the teacher will ask students how much do they believe this statement to be true

or if they agree or disagree with the statement. Students will raise hands and answer the

question. Teacher will lead the discussion based on students’ answers.

Exploration

Students will be asked to think of a situation in which communication was not critically

important. Students will raise hands and explain the situation. After which the teacher will

challenge the students to how better communication would or would not be necessary to

correct the situation or problem

Explanation

Teacher will firstly discuss then dictate the factors responsible for the breakdown of

communication while students take notes.

Elaboration
Teacher will further emphasize that communication affects everything that happens around us

and elaborate on how communication can be one of the greatest strengths or one of the

biggest weaknesses in an institution. Following this discussion, students will be asked to

discuss why communication is paramount in schools.

Evaluation

Students will be assessed by their participation in class and their responses to the various

questions asked.

DAY 3 (30 minutes)

Teacher will speak to the School-Based Assessment. Teacher will check the progress on the

students’ assessment and they will be guided and corrected where relevant.

Teacher’s Evaluation