While parents may find certain representations of violence wholly appropriate for young people, there’s a wide continuum of content that exists online and in the media. Anything from a cartoon cat having an anvil comically dropped on his head to video images of real-life injuries and deaths can be accessed online by children and youth.
Research has found that these things are most likely to be scary to children:
To make students aware of the ways in which male violence is used and promoted in advertising.
In this lesson, students explore the absence, or unrealistic portrayal, of consequences to violence in the media.
This lesson helps children become aware of the types of violence that appear in the media, the frequency with which these acts occur, and how they respond to these acts. It begins with a guided discussion about the different types of violence and then, how violence is portrayed in the media. Using worksheets, students then survey the shows they enjoy for acts of violence and then, as a class, compile and discuss their findings.
In this lesson, students are introduced to the ways video games may impact their mental and physical health. Students start with a reflection on their use of video games, specifically the amount of time they play and the role of games in their lives. This is followed by a class activity based on several key questions relating to the positive and/or negative effects video games may have on our health. Finally, students will be given an opportunity to debate key claims on the health effects of video games.
In this lesson, students explore the gratuitous use of violence in sports.
In this lesson, students become aware of the types and amounts of violence in children's programming, and how media violence influences young viewers.
This lesson develops a beginning awareness by students of how they feel towards, and respond to, different sports, and how the media represents athletics.