Quebec Competencies Chart - Taking Charge of TV Violence

Author: MediaSmarts
Level: Cycle Three
Subject Area : English Language Arts, Personal Development
Lesson Link: Taking Charge of TV Violence

Description : In this lesson, students become aware of the types and amounts of violence in children's programming, and how media violence influences young viewers. The lesson begins with a class discussion about different forms of violence and the types of violent acts that are regularly featured on TV. Students assess their own attitudes toward violence by determining what violent media content is suitable, and not suitable, for younger children. After reviewing existing rating codes, students create codes of their own. Based on a poll of younger children, students will then select, review, and rate favourite children's programs.

This lesson satisfies the following English Language Arts Competencies from the Quebec Education Program:

Competency 1: To Read and Listen to Literary, Popular and Information-Based Texts

Essential Knowledges:

• Uses prior knowledge and personal experience of the content of a text
• Questions and talk with others to clarify and enrich interpretations
• Makes predictions, confirmations and inferences, when prompted by the teacher
• Makes connections to prior knowledge or to other texts
• Uses different reading strategies according to the text type
• Reads, listens to and views a range of self-selected and personally relevant texts that include:
  • Use of personal, social and cultural background and experiences to interpret texts
• Develops a personal response process in the context of a community of readers through:
  • Discussion of responses with others individually, on small groups and in the whole class
  • Development of opinions on literary or popular texts
  • Sharing of responses with others to clarify meaning and enrich interpretation
  • Comparing own responses with those of others at a beginner's level
  • Discussing own response process at a beginner's level
• Moves beyond the initial response through:
  • Responses to texts in a variety of ways that include talking, writing, the Arts, Media
  • Early attempts to explain own views of a text
  • Support for own views with references to the text in small and large group discussions
  • Discussions of structures and features of text and their impact on the reader
  • Returning to a text to confirm interpretations and understandings in discussions with peers
  • Adjustment of own interpretations in the light of the responses of others at a beginner's level
• Sees a text as a construction through:
  • Identification of some of the ways in which information is presented in popular and information-based texts 3
• Understands the influence of familiar structures and features on the meaning of text through:
  • Identification of some structures and features of familiar text types
• Begins to identify the view of the world presented in a text through:
  • Making of inferences, when prompted, about the view of the world presented by the text
  • Comparison, with guidance, of own values with some of the social, cultural and historical values in a literary text in teacher and peer discussions
• Recognizes self as a member of a reading audience

Competency 2: To Write Self-expressive, Narrative and Information-based Texts

Essential Knowledges:

• Writes to a familiar audience in order to express meaning(s):
  • Specific structures and features of familiar texts incorporated into own writing
  • Selection of ways to influence a familiar audience in self-expressive and narrative texts
• Experiments with familiar structures and features of different text types in own writing:
  • Based on wide repertoire of texts read, viewed in the media and encountered in her/his community
  • To suit own purpose and audience
• Develops concept of writer's craft:
  • Guided discussion and questioning of texts read, listened to and produced in order to discover how the text works

Competency 3: To Represent Her/His Literacy in Different Media

Essential Knowledges:

• Uses the familiar images, signs, symbols and logos in his/her environment:
  • Recognition that they are made by people for different purposes
  • Recognition that they have meanings/messages
  • Identification of how these images contribute to the messages/meanings of various media texts
• Uses a repertoire of strategies to unlock messages/meanings in various media texts:
  • Use own questions in order to predict and confirm
  • Draw on prior experience with familiar media texts to understand how they are constructed
  • Rereads/looks again in order to clarify and extend understanding of a text
• Uses structures and features of texts:
  • Compare structures and features of familiar media texts
  • Uses visual texts to communicate information in group productions of media texts
  • Uses familiar structures and features to respond to and produce media texts
• Makes meaning of a media text by:
  • brainstorming
  • drawing on prior knowledge
  • sharing responses with peers
  • making connections to own experiences
  • returning to text
  • considering some of the functions of different, familiar media in relation to her/his understanding of the messages/meanings of a text
  • Using structures and features of the medium and text type in order to clarify meaning and explain her/his response, in collaboration with peers
  • Identifying and discussing some of the ways in which pictures, illustrations, popular symbols and signs and images enhance the messages/meanings in media texts designed for young viewers
• Consider some of the functions of the media through:
  • Collaboration with peers in pairs, small groups and whole class to clarify, decode and respond to media texts
  • Recognizing and naming of familiar media: television, radio, film, magazine, video, Internet, CD-ROM, children's magazines
  • Identifying her/his understanding of the messages/meanings of familiar media texts
  • Looking at some functions of different, familiar media in relation to her/his understanding of the messages/meanings of a text
  • Describing some of the features of media texts, with content aimed at viewers of the same age and younger, that entertain, inform and promote
  • Locating examples from some features of age-appropriate texts that indicate the target audience
• Understands that texts are social and cultural products through:
  • Own response and responses of others:
    • Compares own response with those of peers in order to support and enrich own understanding
    • Investigates, with teacher's guidance, how different media text types construct reality for us
    • Explores, with guidance, some of the structures and features for communicating and presenting information in age-appropriate popular and information-based media texts
    • Explores how the structures and features of texts shape meaning for audience
• Selection from the following text types:
  • Posters and signs, charts, graphs and time lines, comic strips, computer-assisted graphic reproductions, models from instruction booklets, surveys of viewing habits, magazine for peers
  • Immersion in the text type to be produced and discussion of its structures and features
  • Creation of criteria for guiding production:
    • Initial consideration, based on her/his knowledge of familiar text type
• Exploratory planning in a risk-taking environment that promotes trial and error and includes:
  • Discussion about purpose, audience and context, in collaboration with teacher and peers
  • A wider audience of younger children, peers and familiar adults
• Production of the texts listed above in groups with peers that:
  • Incorporate images, symbols, signs, logos and/or words to communicate meaning or message
  • Incorporate appropriate communication strategies and resources given the text type and the context
  • Function as information-based text type:
    • Communicates information to familiar audience
    • Follows an appropriate, prescribed procedure to locate, organize and present information, with guidance, on a familiar topic
    • Gathers and sorts information, as a beginner and with guidance, on a familiar topic from various media
  • Use different technologies in order to construct a variety of text types:
    • Simple word processing
• In collaboration with group members:
  • Review of texts produced in order to focus on message/meaning

Competency 4: To Use Language to Communicate and Learn

Essential Knowledges:

• Shares information with peers and teacher
• Talks about responses and point of view with peers and teacher
• Asks and answers questions from peers and teacher
• Responds to the ideas and points of view of others with sensitivity and interest
• Talks through new ideas and information
• Examining of alternative points of view and providing reasons for choosing one over the other
• Uses language (talk) for learning and thinking by:
  • Participating in collaborative reading, writing, viewing, visually representing, listening and talking activities:
    • Writing, producing and reading together
    • Planning of a project
    • Brainstorming
    • Planning of a cross-curricular or mixed media project
  • Questioning and challenging of different points of view/perspectives
• Use of technology resources for collaborative writing, producing and publishing projects for peer audiences
• Listens critically