Reading Media Lesson Plan

Level: Grades: 5-9

Duration: 1 to 1 ½ hours, plus time for the assessment activity 

About the author: Matthew Johnson, Director of Education, MediaSmarts

This lesson plan is part of the Close Reading Media Across the Curriculum program. Funding provided by the Government of Ontario.

This lesson is part of USE, UNDERSTAND & ENGAGE: A Digital Media Literacy Framework for Canadian Schools.

Overview

In this lesson, students are introduced to the idea of “reading media” through a medium’s rules of notice and the maker’s framing choices of what to include and what to emphasize. After a modeled and then guided introduction to these ideas, students analyze a work to identify how it uses rules of notice and framing and consider what meaning these choices communicate.

Learning outcomes

Key concepts/big ideas: Students will understand…

• Media are constructions: every visual element and decision (e.g., lines, shapes, colours, distance and angle) is a choice made by a creator, and these creative choices are influenced by the creator’s purpose and point of view
• Media have commercial considerations: commercial purposes (such as advertising) influence the content and framing of a work
• Media have social and political implications: all works communicate messages about people and society, which may result from conscious choices or unconscious biases
• Each medium has a unique aesthetic form: different media and genres possess distinct "rules of notice" and conventions (e.g., specific uses of line, shape, colour, distance and angle) that creators utilize to direct attention, communicate messages, and shape the audience's experience

Framework topics: Students will know…

• Reading media: the effects of common “rules of notice” used in visual media, such as line and shape, colour and distance and angle
• Media representation: advertising often presents different representations of reality based on perceived target demographics (e.g., boys vs. girls), reflecting advertisers' assumptions about their interests and preferences
• Consumer awareness: how choices of rules of notice and framing are used to appeal to specific audiences

Core competencies: Students will be able to…

• understand that all media works are deliberate "constructions" rather than objective reflections of reality and that these creative choices are influenced by the creator's own point of view, opinions, biases, and assumptions
• engage in critical discussions about the social implications of media, such as how advertising reinforces or challenges stereotypes related to gender, and how their personal views align with or diverge from these portrayal

This lesson and all associated documents (handouts, overheads, backgrounders) is available in an easy-print, pdf kit version.