Overall Expectations: Media Literacy
1.1 demonstrate an understanding of the key concepts of media literacy
1.2 employ critical literacy skills as media consumers
1.3 examine how media shape ideologies and culture
2.1 identify values and ideologies in media texts
Specific Expectations:
Over a period of days, create awareness of the following:
- texts, media and media tools
- fads, trends, and icons
Model how to examine the text grammar characteristics (structures, features, codes and conventions) associated with one of the following; have students work in groups to choose, examine, and present one of the others:
- sitcoms
- advertisements
- fast food commercials
- the front page of the newspaper
- comedy shows
- TED Talks
Watch closely a scene from a TV show or a film and determine how meaning and atmosphere are created and messages are communicated.
MediaSmarts Resources
- Advertising and Male Violence
- Alcohol on the Web
- Bias in News Sources
- Body Positive Ads
- Buy Nothing Day
- Camera Shots
- Celebrities and World Issues
- Don’t Drink and Drive: Assessing the Effectiveness of Anti-Drinking Campaigns
- Editing Emotions
- Gender and Tobacco
- Gender Messages in Alcohol Advertising
- Marketing to Teens: Alternate Ads
- Marketing to Teens: Gender Roles in Advertising
- Marketing to Teens: Gotta Have It! Designer & Brand Names
- Marketing to Teens: Marketing Tactics
- Marketing to Teens: Talking Back
- Online Marketing to Kids: Strategies and Techniques
- Popular Music and Music Videos
- Selling Tobacco
- Sex in Advertising
- Sports Personalities in Magazine Advertising
- Television Broadcast Ratings
- The Blockbuster Movie
- The Pornography Debate: Controversy in Advertising
- The Price of Happiness
- Thinking Like a Tobacco Company
- Tobacco Labels
- Truth or Money
- Video Games
- Video Production of a Newscast
- Watching the Elections
- Writing a Newspaper Article
Overall Expectations: Film, Television and Video
1.1 demonstrate an understanding of the key concepts of media literacy
1.2 employ critical literacy skills as media consumers
1.3 examine how media shape ideologies and culture
2.1 identify values and ideologies in media texts
2.2 discern the production process of media texts
2.4 dissect meaning from complex media texts
3.2 use media to communicate an idea, adapting it for a variety of audiences and purposes
Specific Expectations:
- Investigate treatment of particular social issues on television;
- Conduct “market” research through creating and conducting a television/video viewing survey;
- Analyze the technical aspects of a number of film sequences;
MediaSmarts Resources
- Camera Shots
- Crime in the News
- Diversity and Media Ownership
- Editing Emotions
- Images of Learning
- Miscast and Seldom Seen
- Relationships and Sexuality in the Media
- Television Broadcast Ratings
- The Blockbuster Movie
- Transgender Representation in TV and Movies
- Who’s Telling My Story?
Overall Expectations: Advertising, Marketing and You
1.1 demonstrate an understanding of the key concepts of media literacy
1.2 employ critical literacy skills as media consumers
1.3 examine how media shape ideologies and culture
2.1 identify values and ideologies in media texts
2.2 discern the production process of media texts
2.4 dissect meaning from complex media texts
3.2 use media to communicate an idea, adapting it for a variety of audiences and purposes
3.3 apply key concepts of media literacy as creators of media texts
Specific Expectations:
- Construct a personal shopping list of brands, services, and products that the students use in their everyday lives—a brand profile will show how advertising is integrated into their lives; list where they have purchased items (sporting events/concerts/stores) and the effect advertisements had on their decisions.
- Work in groups to research and present findings about the following concepts:
- how intended audience influences the choices an author makes in creating an advertisement
- language-use in texts to convey tone, atmosphere, and point of view
- commercials in a specific medium (e.g. Super Bowl commercials) to evaluate the ideas
- product, type (TV/radio/web/print/billboard) and time allotted to advertisements throughout the day
MediaSmarts Resources
- Advertising and Male Violence
- Alcohol on the Web
- Body Positive Ads
- Don’t Drink and Drive: Assessing the Effectiveness of Anti-Drinking Campaigns
- Gender and Tobacco
- Gender Messages in Alcohol Advertising
- Marketing to Teens: Alternate Ads
- Marketing to Teens: Gender Roles in Advertising
- Marketing to Teens: Gotta Have It! Designer & Brand Names
- Marketing to Teens: Marketing Tactics
- Marketing to Teens: Talking Back
- Online Marketing to Kids: Protecting Your Privacy
- Online Marketing to Kids: Strategies and Techniques
- Selling Tobacco
- Sex in Advertising
- The Blockbuster Movie
- The Pornography Debate: Controversy in Advertising
- The Price of Happiness
- Thinking Like a Tobacco Company
- Tobacco Labels
- Truth or Money
- Video Games
- Watching the Elections
Overall Expectations: Media and the Internet
1.1 demonstrate an understanding of the key concepts of media literacy
1.2 employ critical literacy skills as media consumers
1.3 examine how media shape ideologies and culture
2.1 identify values and ideologies in media texts
2.2 discern the production process of media texts
2.4 dissect meaning from complex media texts
3.2 use media to communicate an idea, adapting it for a variety of audiences and purposes
3.3 apply key concepts of media literacy as creators of media texts
Specific Expectations:
- Investigate privacy laws in Canada regarding the tracking of information and advertising. Research a variety of terms related to ethical mining of personal information such as: hacking, fraud, phishing, semantic mapping, etc.
- Take an in depth look at the dynamic world of social media.
- Search an agreed upon topic using different search engines.
- Have students compile a list of “free” social media sites for further research.
MediaSmarts Resources
- Authentication Beyond the Classroom
- Break the Fake: Hoax? Scholarly Research? Personal Opinion? You Decide!
- Break the Fake: Verifying Information Online
- Deconstructing Web Pages
- Digital Skills for Democracy: Assessing online information to make civic choices
- Mixed Signals: Verifying Online Information
- Privacy Rights of Children and Teens
- Reality Check: Authentication 101
- Reality Check: Authentication and Citizenship
- Reality Check: Getting the Goods on Science and Health
- Reality Check: News You Can Use
- Reality Check: We Are All Broadcasters
- Shaking the Movers: Youth Rights and Media
- The Invisible Machine: Big Data and You
- The Privacy Dilemma: Lesson Plan for Senior Classrooms
- What Students Need to Know about Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy
- Who Knows? Your Privacy in the Information Age
- Your Online Resume