George Bailey learns that it truly is a wonderful life when he discovered how many lives he has touched—not to mention how many new generations of lives the story touches every year. A study guide on It's a Wonderful Life ...

Part of a larger unit from the Media Awareness Network on media literacy, this particular lesson plan focuses on the medium of news radio. Small groups participate in discussions on their radio listening habits as well as the...

How important are sound effects in films? In stage plays? In radio programs? To gain an understanding of the impact of these special effects, class members watch a short video spoof of the sound in a scene from Star...

Students realize that play is an important part of life and in the effort to staying healthy. They explore the role of play in society. In addition, they illustrate listening and speaking strategies for different purposes that pertain to...

Students write their own radio plays. In this writing process lesson, students script their own scary radio plays based on the radio plays they read in class in previous lessons. Students also perform the plays for their classmates.

Students create radio play scripts. In this "War of the Worlds" instructional activity, students write new scenes to be added to the radio play and then perform the scenes for their classmates.

Students work in groups to write a radio drama based on an event or period in history. They write commericals that are appropriate for the radio age and create sound effects. The radio shows are recorded using an iPod and a voice...

Students compare the radio to other forms of mass communication. In this Radio Broadcasting Before Television lesson, students learn the different types of radio shows in the 1920s and 30s. Students write and perform radio scripts...

What was the Untied States like in 1938? What were the concerns of Americans in the post World War I era? What were their fears? What were their sources of news and entertainment? To understand the reaction to Orson Welles' radio...

Students realize that adults entertain themselves at work and in their private lives and that much of adult play, like children's play, is part of adults' folklife and that they play in various folk groups. They consider the elite,...

If you were stranded on a desert island, what items would be the most important to have with you? Decide whether you'd want a five gallon can of water, a radio, shark repellent, or any other item with an activity designed to prepare kids...

Examine the life of Amelia Earhart with kids. They will read facts and view a timeline about Earhart's life. They will work in groups to read the last radio transmissions and draw conclusions about what happened in her disappearance and...

Students encounter the format of a podcast and plan what content they will include. They work in small groups or with the whole class to develop an outline. Students practice reading their scripts to other students.

Here is a phoneme segmenting game which incorporates drawing for your more artistic learners. Assemble the spinner using a brad and lay out the picture cards face up. Partners take turns spinning to get either two, three, four, or five....

Students create a presentation in which they retell the events of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. In this A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court instructional activity, students are introduced to Mark Twain in a...

Eighth graders listen to a taped version of the radio play, "The Hitchhiker". They write a conclusion to the play and work with a partner to evaluate it before a final revision.

Different media sources portray news in a variety of ways. In groups of three, learners look at different news sources, bringing in all the findings the next day. Three handouts help scholars compare sources, define specific terms used...

Class members compare the final 30 minutes of Lucas's Star Wars: A New Hope with Act V of Doescher's play, William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope and consider how the choice of media influences viewers' impression...

Students locate, access and listen to a variety of radio and audio samples found on the Internet. They discuss the material in small groups and identify areas of interest for further discussion.

To foster concept development and auditory discrimination skills, learners with visual impairments listen to identify a variety of common sounds. The teacher makes recordings of various sounds, including those found in the home, at the...

Your scholars may have an idea of who Dick Clark is, but do they understand the role he has played in American history for over 50 years? Give learners some practice with media literacy as they read an article about Clark's life and fill...

Your plane has crashed in the Sahara desert. What do you do? Explore the possibilities with a role-playing activity based on Antoine de Saint Éxupery's The Little Prince. In groups, kids decide whether they would walk to find help...

Being able to give positive reinforcers to a child starts with knowing what the child likes. Intended for children with blindness, this lesson gives you a way to determine the types of music your learners like best. You are given a...

Third graders listen to several broadcasts from the WWII era. They research, write and perform simulated radio broadcasts concerning topics related to American society in World War II.