Media Smarts
Truth or Money
Two compelling texts about tobacco companies' influence over editorial content in print media introduce readers to the concept of advertising censorship. After study and discussion, class members compose a mock "final column" by a...
Curated OER
Media Bias
Students analyze mass media to analyze media bias. In this media bias lesson, students read example situations and definitions about media bias. Students read and discuss how to be aware of media bias.
Curated OER
Media Literacy Discussion Guide
Students examine and analyze visual media and its messages critically. They determine whether specific media messages inform, entertain, or persuade and what factors influence the media. Using primary sources, they participate in peer...
Curated OER
The Media is the Lesson
Students work as a member of a creative team and develop a media campaign for a client.
Curated OER
The Media
Students identify various forms of media used in a political campaign and compare the different formats as vehicles for distributing political messages. They analyze the effectiveness of candidate's uses of different media.
Curated OER
Women in the Media
Students discuss ways they think women and men are portrayed in the mass media. They watch an excerpt from SISTERS OF '77 discussing media coverage of the event. Students write an essay describing their reactions to women in the media.
Curated OER
Evolution of Mass Media after 1920
Eleventh graders study the importance of media through American History. For this American History lesson, 11th graders develop teamwork skills discovering information regarding an assigned time period. Students predict and analyze the...
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Techniques Used to Convey Media Messages
Students consider the impact of media messages. In this media awareness lesson, students discover the types of media techniques employed in advertising and share examples of each as they create media message collages.
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The Media and You
Seventh graders discuss the main purposes of media. Using various advertisements, they identify the method used by the advertisers in each example. They use these methods to create and sell their own product to the class. They use the...
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Friendship in the Media
Second graders discuss what characteristics friendship has and the traits that make people unique. In this friendship lesson, 2nd graders talk about what friendship looks like in the media. In groups, students think about the different...
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Media Awareness: Key Concepts in Advertising
Young scholars examine the basic concepts of advertising. In this media awareness lesson, students discuss target audience, art, and purpose in advertising to determine what makes an advertisement effective or ineffective. Young...
Brown University
Following the U.S. Presidential Election
Election years provide the opportunity to evaluate news media as well as the next prospective president. High schoolers read about the same event in several different news sources, varying in type, origin, and political leaning, before...
Curated OER
Lesson: Looking Closer: The Artwork of Wangechi Mutu
Social issues of gender and media stereotypes, begins with a multi-sensory experience. Learners view the painting Backlash Blues and make critical comments based on what they see. They then read the Langston Hughes poem and listen to the...
Newspaper Association of America
Press Ahead!
Give class members some great news! A media unit teaches individuals about ethics, parts of a newspaper, business writing, photojournalism, and more topics that have to do with the press. Full of material for a variety of learners,...
English Enhanced Scope and Sequence
Media Literacy Applied
After investigating various forms of print, oral, and electronic media as sources of information, class members research a historical figure and produce a résumé for this person. While templates are provided for an initial sorting...
Curated OER
Covering the News
Students compare the coverage of two crime stories Using local or national newspapers, news magazines and other reference materials, each group trace the "unfolding" of two crime stories: The Laci Peterson investigation plus one students
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Minding the Media
Students reflect on the fairness of rating movies, television, radio, books, magazines, Web sites and other media. They submit their own entries for a media rating guide.
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Media Coverage
Students research news coverage to examine how a local issue does not receive fair attention in the news. In this new coverage lesson, students discuss where they get their information and why some issues are ignored. Students research a...
Curated OER
Create a Youth Consumer Magazine
To underscore the importance of being informed consumers, kids check out youth consumer magazines and websites and then create their own. Although no detailed plans are included in the resource, it is packed with ideas and suggestions.
Media Smarts
TV Dads: Immature and Irresponsible?
Examine gender stereotypes on television, focusing on fathers portrayed in sitcoms and advertising. Questions on a handout direct learners to consider the types of fathers they see on television and one advertisement is highlighted as...
Curated OER
Magazine Production
Analyze magazines as a class, looking carefully for the target audience, advertisements, and topics presented. Small groups then work as a publication team and receive a magazine that they have to "sell." Each individual has a different...
Curated OER
Advertising and Healthy Decisions
Students analyze alcohol and tobacco ads and create parodies of them. The eight lessons in this unit include discussions about why teens smoke or drink, the psychology behind the advertising, and writing persuasive letters to agencies,...
Sharp School
The Jungle Project: Creating a Magazine
To conclude a study of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, groups create a multi-media magazine in which they investigate one aspect of the foods industry. The packet details the requirements for the project, and includes rubrics for assessing...
Curated OER
Media Views
Learners create a collage of images depicting trends in the media. For this media lesson, students watch excerpts from several films, television shows, and commercials. Learners compare and contrast media views and Christian views,...