Resources for Teachers - Television

Media Stereotypes

This lesson familiarises students with stereotypes and helps them understand the role that stereotypes play in television’s portrayal of life. The lesson begins with a discussion about the types of stereotypes that are common in media, why stereotypes are used in media, and the possible negative influences of stereotyping. Students will analyze a media character in terms of stereotypes and then create their own character as a way of demonstrating their awareness of stereotyping. To further increase their awareness of stereotypes, students will participate in a number of writing, drawing and viewing activities that include deconstructing segments from television programs, drawing stereotypical and non-stereotypical figures, and writing a poem about stereotypes.

Comparing Real Families to TV Families - Lesson

In this lesson, students learn how the media construct reality by studying the families portrayed on television, and comparing them to the real-life families they know: their own, and those of their peers.

Gambling in the Media

This lesson looks at the increasing prominence of gambling in the media, particularly movies and television.

Mirror Image: Reflections on Gender and Media

From the tablet to the TV screen, media are a huge influence on how we see ourselves and our world. Nowhere, perhaps, is that more true than when it comes to gender: media provide many of our ideas of what “male” and “female” are, and many of our models of how to behave, what to avoid doing, and whom to emulate in order to play the role we’ve been assigned. 

Favourite Sports and Athletes: Introduction to Sports Media - Lesson

This lesson develops a beginning awareness by students of how they feel towards, and respond to, different sports, and how the media represents athletics.