In this lesson students learn about the systems used to classify films, TV programs and video games. Students are asked to take a critical look at the criteria applied to classify these media products, and then take into account and discuss the underlying social and political aspects arising from those systems.
This outcome chart contains media-related learning outcomes from the Northwest Territories Grade 5 Health Education curriculum, with links to supporting resources on the MediaSmarts site.
The purpose of the Learning Strategies open elective credit is to help students “gain transferable skills and strategies that will enhance and increase their school engagement…”[1]
There are five key areas pertaining to the course:
Themes
A. How Our People Lived Long Ago
B. Our Changing Communities
C. The Faces of the NWT
D. Current Events
Overall Expectations:
7. the challenges and opportunities that arise from cultural diversity
8. opportunities for citizens' participation in community affairs
Specific Expectations:
Skills:
One of the barriers to youth pushing back against prejudice is not wanting to over-react, particularly if they feel their peers were just ‘joking around.’ Humour, however, can often be a cover for intentional bullying and prejudice. In this lesson, students analyze media representations of relational aggression, such as sarcasm and put-down humour, then consider the ways in which digital communication may make it harder to recognize irony or satire and easier to hurt someone’s feelings without knowing it. Students then consider how humour may be used to excuse prejudice and discuss ways of responding to it.
Level: Grade K to 3
About the Author: Matthew Johnson, Director of Education, MediaSmarts.
Duration: 10-15 minutes per activity
This lesson is part of USE, UNDERSTAND & ENGAGE: A Digital Media Literacy Framework for Canadian Schools.
According to the 2023 Elementary English Language Arts and Literature curriculum, “language is a uniquely structured system that forms the basis for thinking, communicating, and learning.” The curriculum is built around the six strands of language learning: reading, writing, listening, speaking, viewing, and representing, with each strand touching on aspects of digital media literacy.
Outcome Chart - Nova Scotia - Healthy Living Grade 8
Quebec Competencies Chart - Adversmarts: Understanding Food Advertising Online
Quebec Competencies Chart - Rules of the Game