Lesson 4: reviewing lesson/unit plans
Link back to the mini-course homepage: Krystal Haight Media Literacy Mini-Course
Link back to Unit 2 overview: Unit 2: Implementing media literacy in the ELA classroom through the curriculum-driven approach
Objective: By the end of this lesson, you will be able to effectively investigate and evaluate ELA lessons that integrate media literacy.
Activity 1:
Mini-lecture:
Characteristics of a lesson that builds media literacy skills...
During a lesson, educators are to present a media document(s) to students and ask a series of questions suggested by The National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE) in order to stretch their thinking. This is known as the decoding process of media. In a decoding process sequence, teachers ask a series of questions suggested by NAMLE. These questions will build habits of inquiry among students in the decoding process. Please keep in mind, all of the questions drawn up by NAMLE are not required to be asked. It is up to the teacher to determine which questions are appropriate for the media document students are going to decode.
Here is the official list of questions courtesy of the National Association of Media Literacy Education:
Audience and Authorship
Who made this message?
Why was this made?
Who is the target audience (and how do you know?)
Who paid for this?
Who might benefit from this message?
Who might be harmed by this message?
Why might this message matter to me?
What kind of questions might I take in response to this message?
Meanings and Messages
What is this about (and what makes you think that)
What ideas, values, information, and/or point of view are overt? Implied?
What is left out of the message that might be important to know?What techniques are used?
Why were those techniques used?
How do they communicate the message?
How might different people understand this message differently?*
What is my interpretation of this and what do I learn about myself from my reaction or interpretation?
Representations and Reality
When was this made?
Where or how was it shared with the public?
Is this fact, opinion, or something else?
How credible is this (and what makes you think that?)
What the are the sources of the information, ideas, or assertions?
Source: National Association for Media Literacy Education
Activity 2:
Now it is time to investigate media literacy lessons! A great website is projectlooksharp.org. Another wonderful resource is commonsensemedia.org. However, you should try using Google to search for ELA media literacy lesson plans...they are all over the internet! Share a link to your favorite lesson in a Google Doc for Lesson 4. Explain why you think this lesson is a strong example of how teachers can build students' media literacy skills in the ELA curriculum. Create a Google Doc in this mini-course's folder: Media Literacy Mini-Course 2016.
Please use the following format for your title: Your First Name.Your Last Name.Lesson 4 (ex: Krystal.Haight.Lesson 4)
Please comment on at least two of your peers' lessons!
Congratulations! You are now ready to move on to...Lesson 5: creating a media literacy lesson
References:
Media literacy defined. NAMLE. https://namle.net/publications/media-literacy-definitions/