Gender Messages in Alcohol Advertising

In this lesson, students think critically about culturally inherited gender stereotypes, and explore how stereotypes about men and women are promoted and reinforced through the images and messages in alcohol ads. In the first half of the lesson, students discuss the nature of gender stereotypes, common male and female stereotypes, and where these stereotypes come from. Students also explore why adolescents are a particularly vulnerable group when it comes to stereotypes about gender and gender relationships. In the second half, students view and discuss alcohol ads that integrate gender stereotypes into messaging about drinking.

Alcohol Marketing, Gender Representation, Marketing & Consumerism, Stereotyping

Kids, Alcohol and Advertising - Lesson 3: Understanding Brands

Understanding Brands is the third in this series and is intended as a stepping stone to Lesson 4, Interpreting Media Messages. In this lesson, students learn about the importance of branding for developing customer loyalty and recognition of products.

Alcohol Marketing, Marketing & Consumerism

Kids, Alcohol and Advertising - Lesson 4: Interpreting Media Messages

In this lesson, students investigate the importance of branding and messaging, especially as they relate to parity products such as beer and alcohol.

Alcohol Marketing, Marketing & Consumerism

Ontario Health Curriculum: Media and Digital Literacy Connections for K-12

The new Ontario Health and Physical Education curriculum released this year by the Ontario Ministry of Education is the first major revision to the subject area in almost 30 years.

Body Image, Cyberbullying, Digital Health, Diversity in Media, Excessive Internet Use, Food Marketing, Gender Representation, Internet & Mobile, Marketing & Consumerism, Online Ethics, Professional Development, Resources, Social Networking, Video Games

Connected to Learn: Teachers' Experiences with Networked Technologies in the Classroom

For more than twenty-five years, Canadian teachers have been at the forefront of getting students online and preparing them to use the Internet in safe, wise and responsible ways. Thanks to the SchoolNet program in the 1990s, many young Canadians had their first experiences with networked technologies in their classrooms and school libraries. However, MediaSmarts' recent Young Canadians in a Wired World, Phase III study shows that even now, our so-called "digital natives" still need guidance from their teachers.

Authenticating Information, Digital Citizenship, Internet & Mobile, Media Production, Professional Development, Resources, Social Networking

Relationships and Sexuality in the Media

In this lesson, students learn to question media representations of gender, relationships and sexuality. After a brief “myth busting” quiz about relationships in the media and a reminder of the constructed nature of media products, the teacher leads the class in an analysis of the messages about gender, sex and relationships communicated by beer and alcohol ads. Students analyze the messages communicated by their favourite media types and then contrast it with their own experience.

Alcohol Marketing, Digital Health, Gender Representation, Marketing & Consumerism, Movies, Pornography, Sexting, Television

Mirror Image: Reflections on Gender and Media

From the tablet to the TV screen, media are a huge influence on how we see ourselves and our world. Nowhere, perhaps, is that more true than when it comes to gender: media provide many of our ideas of what “male” and “female” are, and many of our models of how to behave, what to avoid doing, and whom to emulate in order to play the role we’ve been assigned. 

Alcohol Marketing, Gender Representation, 2SLGBTQ+ Representation, Stereotyping, Television

Digital Literacy Training Program for Canadian Educators Workshop

The Digital Literacy Training Program for Canadian Educators workshop provides an overview of essential digital literacy skills and key concepts of media and digital literacy, familiarizes participants with the digital experiences of Canadian youth, and introduces the resources and tools that are available through MediaSmarts’ USE, UNDERSTAND & CREATE digital literacy framework.

Digital Citizenship, Internet & Mobile, Professional Development

Digital Literacy 101 For Teachers

How can teachers equip their students to successfully and ethically navigate the digital world?

Digital Citizenship, Internet & Mobile, Professional Development, Resources

Lights, Camera, Action! Making Media in the Classroom, Made Easy

Matthew Johnson

For nearly thirty years, Canadian teachers have been at the forefront of getting students online and preparing them to use networked technologies safely, productively and responsibly. Many young Canadians have their first experiences with the internet in their classrooms and school libraries. Over the past decade, though, while digital tools have come to provide new opportunities for creating and distributing digital content, MediaSmarts’ research shows that most Canadian teachers aren’t making media in the classroom.

Comics, Digital Citizenship, Internet & Mobile, Media Literacy 101, Media Production, Movies, Professional Development, Resources, Video Games