Module 2: Self-Discovery Through Change and Rebirth

Flooding Public Service Announcement

Have you ever seen a public service announcement when watching TV or heard one on the radio? Public service announcements (or PSAs) are advertisements used by the government and non-profit organizations to raise awareness of an issue or encourage people to take action to make an improvement in their community. An effective PSA is one that appeals to a target audience, informs the listener, and provides a call to action.

Throughout this module you have learned about both fictional and nonfictional flood stories. Floods take place when land normally not covered by water gets submerged. The resulting damage from the flood water can be catastrophic. Floods are responsible for millions of dollars in damage each year, as well as claiming many lives and displacing families. Some floods, called flash floods, can take place in a very short period of time with little warning.

In this assignment, you will create a PSA that informs people what to do during a flood event. You will need to conduct research to find out how localities that are prone to flooding react during these events. Investigate areas near major rivers or coastal areas. When you are conducting your research, it may help to answer the following questions:

1. Does the locality have an evacuation plan?
2. How should people react during a flood event?
3. What should people do if their home is already surrounded by water?
4. Should people attempt to drive through flood waters that appear shallow?
5. What items should people have to prepare an emergency flood kit?

 

How to Complete This Assignment

For this assignment, you should use audio recording software provided to you by your school or free audio recording software available online, such as Audacity. Before you begin, review the PSA Checklist so that you will understand how your assignment will be graded. You will need to use resources outside of this course to complete this assignment. Please submit a Work Cited document. If you need assistance, visit the Developmental Module for information on citing any resources you use.

Also, please take a few minutes to view the examples of public services announcements provided below:

Examples of Public Service Announcements

• Smokey the Bear's Forest Fire Prevention Campaign (Listen to Radio Spot)
• McGruff the Crime Dog's Internet Safety Campaign

 

Reflection

In this module, you investigated the overall theme of change and rebirth. The nonfictional and fictional stories all involved major flooding events. The floods caused change which paved a path for the rebirth process. In a brief reflection paragraph, respond to the following question: What would you miss the most if a natural disaster caused you to lose all of your possessions?  When you are responding to this question, make sure you explain your answer.

When you are finished with your PSA, please submit your audio file, Works Cited document, and reflection paragraph to the dropbox.

 

Once you have completed this module, please complete the module test.