Looking at News
The newspaper offers a fun and useful tool to learn about the workings of print media. In this lesson, students learn basic information about newspaper journalism through guided class discussion and group and individual activities.
Recognizing Emotional Appeals
This is the third lesson in the Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum series, though it can also be delivered independently. In it, students learn how we can be persuaded by emotional appeals as well as by arguments. After identifying emotionally charged words, they find them in an article and analyze their persuasive effect. Students study a public service announcement to examine how images and story can be emotionally persuasive, then watch a pair of videos to compare how they use emotional persuasion. They then conduct a red teaming exercise to identify the possible risks or drawbacks of using emotional appeals and ways of mitigating those. Finally, they create their own persuasive work using emotionally charged languages, images and music.
Contemporary Canadian Studies 11
Overall Expectations:
Learners will justify a response to a question relating to an issue in Canadian history.
Specific Expectations:
10.1: Formulate an inquiry question in relation to an issue in Canadian history
Mirror Image
In this lesson, students learn tobacco and nicotine advertising through the “rules of notice” of visual media. Students move from identifying factual design elements to interpreting their emotional impact and evaluating the broader societal implications of these constructions. Students then create an original counter-advertisement or parody ad that challenges industry narratives and unmasks manipulation.
Outcome Chart - Ontario - Geography CGG3O: Travel and Tourism: A Geographic Perspective
This chart contains media-related learning outcomes from Ontario, Curriculum for Geography CGG3O: Travel and Tourism: A Geographic Perspective, with links to supporting resources on the MediaSmarts site.
Outcome Chart - Prince Edward Island - Health Education Grade 2
This outcome chart contains media-related learning outcomes from the Prince Edward Island Grade 2 Health Education with links to supporting resources on the MediaSmarts site.
Building Your Online Brand
Like it or not, if you use the Internet you have an online identity. Some people call this your "brand." What's a brand?
Outcome Chart - British Columbia - Applied Design, Skills and Technologies 4-5
This outcome chart contains media-related learning outcomes from the BC Applied Design, Skills and Technologies 4-5 curriculum, with links to supporting resources on the MediaSmarts site.
Social Smarts: Nothing Personal!
A new smartphone is a big responsibility for kids, who have a lot to learn about using them safely, especially when it comes to protecting their privacy.
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada has created a graphic novel, Social Smarts: Nothing Personal! to help young Canadians to better understand and navigate privacy issues in the online world.