Year 5 – 6 | Sun Protection Awareness – Poster Critique

Protecting My Skin full resource download  |  Concept 5: Taking positive action to reduce risk: Promoting and actioning effective sun protection strategies download

Background

Posters are an effective way to help communicate, educate, and share important SunSmart messages to different
demographics. The sun protection awareness activity involves analysing current SunSmart posters and completing the
poster critique activity sheet. Teachers and students may use the SunSmart poster provided or select their own SunSmart
poster to examine.

Key messages

• Research has established that childhood and adolescence are critical periods during which sun exposure could
  contribute to skin cancer later in life
• It is estimated that more than 75% of all skin cancers could be prevented by practising sun protective behaviours in
  childhood and adolescence
• Skin damage is caused by ultraviolet (UV) radiation, not temperature. A cool or overcast day can have similar UV levels
  to a warm, sunny day
• SunSmart advertising campaigns aim to educate and raise public awareness about UV radiation and its impact on skin
  and skin cancer awareness
• Sun protection posters can be developed for target audiences and strategies and techniques are used to help get the
  key messages across.

Resources

• SunSmart posters
• Activity sheet: Poster Critique – Select Your Own
• Activity sheet: Poster Critique – Own Your Tone

Instructions

1. View a range of posters designed to raise sun protection awareness and safe sun practices.
2. Rank each poster in order from most appealing to least appealing.
3. Rank each poster in order from most effective to least effective.
4. Class discussion and key questions. Students critique one or two posters using the 1-5
   scale found on the activity sheet.
5. Select a poster to critique or complete the #OwnYourTone poster critique activity sheet.

Key questions

• What is the key message portrayed in each poster? How do you know? What are the clues?
• What strategies and behaviours can promote health in relation to sun and UV radiation exposure?
• What strategies have been used to effectively portray the SunSmart message?
• Who is the targeted audience?
• Why do we still need the sun protection message?
• Do you think the adverts are effective in spreading the SunSmart message? Why or why not?