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In this lesson, students are introduced to the idea that what they see in media can be deceptive. They explore the idea that media are “framed” by their creators and consider what parts of the world are left out of the frame.
On the internet, it can be hard to tell what’s true and what’s false—but we have to make a lot of decisions based on how reliable we think things are. In Reality Check, you’ll learn how to find clues like finding where a story originally came from and comparing it to other sources, as well as how to use tools like fact-checking sites and reverse image searches.
Time Management
The Digital Literacy Training Program for Canadian Educators workshop provides an overview of essential digital literacy skills and key concepts of media and digital literacy, familiarizes participants with the digital experiences of Canadian youth, and introduces the resources and tools that are available through MediaSmarts’ USE, UNDERSTAND & CREATE digital literacy framework.
A Guide for Trusted Adults is based on YWCA’s consultation with Canadian girls and young women about their concerns and the issues they face online and on social media platforms and the ways they want the adults in their lives to support them.
This is the second of three lessons that address gender stereotypes. The objective of these lessons is to encourage students to develop their own critical intelligence with regard to culturally inherited stereotypes, and to the images presented in the media.
The lesson begins with a review of stereotypes that are associated with men and women and their possible sources - including the role of the media. Students deconstruct a series of advertisements based on gender representation and answer questions about gender stereotyping in advertising.
This lesson introduces students to the ways in which advertisers use mascots to make consumers feel a particular way about their brands. Working from ads taken from different media, students discuss how food ad mascots are created and for what purpose. Students then will create their own mascot to help understand how mascots communicate the “personality” of a brand.
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.
Privacy Playground, Cybersense and Nonsense, Top Secret!, Allies and Aliens, Passport to the Internet and MyWorld have been retired because Flash Player is no longer supported.
This lesson looks at food photography and the different techniques used by food stylists to make foods look appealing in advertisements.
In this five- or six-day unit, students create a video podcast to present balanced, unbiased perspectives on global development issues.
Making Your Voice Heard: A Media Toolkit for Youth is designed to help young people understand how the news industry works, why youth stereotyping happens and how they can access media to get positive youth voices and stories heard.
In this lesson students look at the less obvious methods used by advertisers to reach consumers: humorous, self-depreciating ads, product placement, product association with celebrities, ads promoting empowerment and affirmation and ‹advocacy› advertising.
In this lesson students explore gender roles in advertising by taking an ad campaign they have seen which is specifically directed to one gender, and redesigning the campaign to target the opposite gender.
In this lesson students identify how we associate social status with brand name products, and how we believe others perceive us by what we wear. Students will also explore the notion of “brand identity” and how companies use social networks, and advertising strategies to create parasocial relationships with their consumers. To assess their learning, students then independently analyze the identity of a brand of their choice and create a mock ad that more openly communicates its implicit appeal.