Quebec Competencies Chart - The Pornography Debate
Author: MediaSmarts
Level: Secondary Cycle Two
Subject Area: English Language Arts
Lesson Link: The Pornography Debate
Description: This lesson will introduce the issue of pornography for classroom discussion. To help students understand the difficulty in determining the sometimes very fine lines between erotica, freedom of expression, and sexual exploitation and to familiarize them with guidelines for making these distinctions.
Cross-curricular Competencies |
Broad Areas of Learning |
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This lesson satisfies the following English Language Arts Competencies from the Quebec Education Program:
COMPETENCY 2 Reads and listens to written, spoken and media texts
Constructing a Reading of a Text
- Focuses on the relationship between self as reader and the text to construct an interpretive reading
- Activates relevant prior textual knowledge before, during and after reading text(s) to monitor the meaning(s) s/he is making, (e.g. uses what is known about a writer/producer and her/his style to make predictions, draws on knowledge of structures and features of a specific genre, applies knowledge of codes and conventions particular to specific texts)
- Activates relevant prior personal knowledge and experience to make sense of a text which is frequently expressed in text-to-self connections, text-to-world connections, text-to-text connections
- Asks questions of self, writers(s) and text(s) as s/he reads to clarify and focus reading
- Determines the most important ideas/messages/themes in a text
- Draws inferences from a text
- Retells or synthesizes what s/he has read, e.g. attends to the most important information and the quality of the synthesis itself to better understand the text
Reader, Text, Context
Draws inferences about the view of the world presented in a text
- Identifies the characteristics of the writer/producer and evaluates how these influence meaning, i.e. how stance, socio-cultural context, values and/or beliefs shape the world of the text
- Explores how power relationships are constructed in the text
- Examines how language (word, sound and image) is shaped to present ideas and information
- Makes connections between the depiction of different groups in texts and the context or setting of a text
Justifies her/his interpretation(s) of texts on the basis of own fluency as a reader
- Evaluates the way specific codes and conventions of a spoken/written/media text are employed to have an impact upon the assumptions, actions, values and beliefs of readers:
- codes and conventions of a specific genre that are employed to have an impact on readers in general or on a target audience in particular
- mode(s) of representation (sound, word and image) that influence the message(s)/meaning(s) of a text and how these reveal the intention(s) of the writer/producer(s)
- linguistic and textual features that situate or position the reader, e.g. connotations and denotations, stereotypes and bias, aspects of characterization and setting that evoke a specific emotion or response, appeals to mainstream values and beliefs
- issues and topics that present alternative values, beliefs, lifestyles in order to evaluate meanings for self as part of a process of interpreting a text
- Interrelates characteristics of the writer/producer(s) of a text and self as a reader:
- identifies characteristics of the writer/producer(s) of a text and applies this knowledge to determine how the text is designed to appeal to self as a reader, e.g. writer’s style, producer’s values or intent
- evaluates a perspective or point of view and its impact on self as reader
- recognizes the use of rhetorical strategies, e.g. use of first person to convey attitudes and feelings about an issue/topic, appeals to common beliefs or values in a culture, appeals designed to evoke a certain age group
COMPETENCY 3 Produces texts for personal and social purposes
Researching as a Writer/Producer
- Develops topics that are personally and socially relevant:
- considers open-ended question(s) to facilitate topic development
- broadens and/or narrows the scope of the topic
Assuming Roles as a Writer/Producer
- Explores different dimensions of a character, issue
- Applies language conventions to establish relationships, e.g. using gestures to elicit sympathy; using statements, conditions and commands to imply control and power; tilting the camera up to show authority
- Plays against audience expectations for specific effect
Characterizing an Audience
Investigates how different target audiences use and respond to particular texts:
- identifies factors that constitute a target audience and evaluates how media texts are shaped to suit them
Public and Private Space
Conducts a genre analysis:
- compares and contrasts texts within a social function, i.e. Why do people produce them? Who has access to these texts? Do they serve the same purpose? How do they communicate the values of a community?
- evaluates the structures, features, codes and conventions used
- evaluates the affordances of genre and mode, e.g. why a news article works better in a certain situation than a memoir
- examines how language (sound, word and image) is shaped:
- to represent and/or exclude people, events, ideas and information
- to organize and develop ideas
- for special effect
Applying Codes and Conventions
- Explores the representation of gender, race, appearance, culture, social class
Planning and Drafting
- Brainstorms ideas, clarifies and extends thinking by talking with peers and teacher
Going Public
- Presents text to intended audience