Quebec Competencies Chart - Media literacy key concepts Lesson 6: Each medium has a unique aesthetic form

Author: MediaSmarts has partnered with Concerned Children’s Advertisers to develop a suite of videos on each of the media literacy key concepts.
Level: Grade 4-6
Lesson Length: 45-90 minutes
Lesson Link: http://mediasmarts.ca/teacher-resources/media-literacy-key-concepts-lesson-6-each-medium-has-unique-aesthetic-form

Description: In this lesson, students compare print and TV ads for the same product and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each medium to communicate a particular message. The class then brainstorms a public service message and discusses which medium would be a better way to communicate it and why.

Cross-curricular Competencies

Broad Areas of Learning

  • To exercise critical judgement
  • To use creativity
  • To use information and communication technologies (ICT)
  • To communicate appropriately
  • Media Literacy 

This lesson satisfies the following Competencies from the Quebec Education Program:

English Language Arts

To Read and Listen to Literary, Popular and Information-Based Texts

  • To use a response process when reading and listening to literary, popular, and information-based texts
  • To construct her/his own view of the world through reading and listening to literary, popular and information-based texts
  • To construct a profile of self as reader
  • To self-evaluate her/his reading development
  • To construct meaning by applying appropriate reading strategies

To Write Self-expressive, Narrative and Information-based Texts

  • To integrate her/his knowledge of texts into own writing
  • To self-evaluate her/his writing development
  • To follow a process when writing
  • To construct profile of self as writer
  • To use writing as a system for communicating and constructing meaning

To Represent Her/His Literacy in Different Media

  • To apply appropriate strategies for constructing meaning
  • To self-evaluate her/his development as a viewer and producer of media texts
  • To follow a process to respond to media texts
  • To construct her/his own view of the world through the media
  • To follow a production process in order to communicate for specific purposes to a specified audience

To Use Language to Communicate and Learn

  • To use language (talk) to communicate information, experiences and point of view
  • To self-evaluate her/his language development
  • To use language (talk) for learning and thinking
  • To apply her/his knowledge of linguistic structures and features
  • To interact in collaborative group activities in a variety of roles

Visual Arts

To produce media works in the visual arts

  • To use creative ideas inspired by a stimulus for creation of media works
  • To share his/her experience of media creation
  • To use transforming gestures and elements of visual arts language according to the message and the intended viewer
  • To organize the elements that he/she has chosen, depending on the message and the intended viewer
  • To finalize his/her media creation