One of the best sources for teaching inference as a thinking skill are advertisements. It does not matter if the advertisements are in pictorial form, just plain text, audio or even video. What is important is students be able to re-examine them. Therefore, video and audio advertisements would need to be recorded for this purpose.

Advertisements are produced to promote certain products or even values. They are designed to persuade the observer to a certain point of view. Students should be taught to be aware of why certain words are used. They should be made more conscious of the images that is being used in advertisements. In video and audio advertisements even the music and tone of the voiceovers can show attempts to persuade the observer. Advertisers also use colors to denote certain messages.

Teachers need to direct their students attention to these by asking them mainly the “why” questions. For example, why were certain words used? Why was the music upbeat? Why did they use a picture of a child? They must not tell the latter their thoughts about the advertisements. Let the students do the thinking. Let the students learn to do the interpretation. Allow for any plausible interpretation of the advertisements. Teachers can also engage the class in a  discussion of the varying interpretations of the same advertisements. The teacher can get the class to compare the interpretations and decide which of them is the better interpretation.

Using advertisements to teach eventually can be used a s precursor to the teaching of another more sinister form of advertisements. The teacher can then introduce the students to propaganda materials for discussion.

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