Category Archives: Applications

Culture Jamming

Culture Jamming is a great way to teach students to think critically about the messages that are being portrayed in popular media. It draws attention to the power of media, and its influence on society, particularly to our values and personal views surrounding consumerism. In a unit teaching about critical media literacy, culture jamming popular advertisements would be a great activity for students of any age. For example, the teacher can provide students with popular images, and ask students to analyze the messages they portray. Then student can modify or add to the images to create a meaningful critique of popular media. Look below for some examples!

h#ps://www.adbusters.org/content/theres-li#le-mcdonalds-everyone

http://pure.au.dk/portal-asb-student/files/99819881/201306600.pdf

h#ps://www.oma.org/Resources/Documents/Fries%20Obesity%20Warning.pdf

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/168533211036207545/

Unit Plan: Analyzing TV Programs

This is a sample unit plan on teaching students about critical media literacy. It specifically focuses on how students can analyze and investigate the ways in which stereotypes, social groups, and social values are portrayed in the media; how television shows influence our personal and societal values. This unit plan is an excellent resource for teachers looking to teach students about the effects of media on our personal lives, and how to critically evaluate television shows and other popular media. Throughout 4 lessons, students are able to come up with critical guiding questions, use these questions to critically analyze television shows, collaboratively work with peers and discuss their findings, and reflect on their learning.

The unit plan also includes a “Media Observation Sheet”, which is an excellent handout to use with students in the grade 4+ age. It allows students to think about the values and messages depicted in the media through observation, and then think about how these may influence them in their personal lives.

ReadThinkWrite. (2007). Classroom Resources, Critical Media Literacy: TV Programs. Retrieved from http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/critical-media-literacy-programs-96.html?tab=4#tabs

Core Concepts and Guiding Questions

When teaching students about critical media literacy, teachers can provide key guiding questions. As students explore the Internet and visit different web pages, we should encourage them to critically engage in the deconstruction and construction of web pages. This handout provides a practical example of some of the questions students can ask themselves when visiting new websites. In the classroom, teachers can use this handout as a base to helps students understand what they are reading and/or uploading onto the Internet, and help them “read between the lines”.

The core concepts outlined in this handout include:

  1. All media messages are constructed.
  2. Media messages are constructed using a creative language with its own rules.
  3. Different people experience the same media message differently
  4. Media have embedded values and points of view.
  5. Most media messages are organized to gain profit and/or power.

Keeping these core concepts in mind, students can then look at the key questions and guiding questions to deconstruct the website content to evaluate its authorship, format, audience, content and purpose.

These core concepts also come into play when students are creating or uploading content onto the Internet. Students can look at the key questions and guiding questions to reflect on their own values, intentions, and messages of the content.

Source: http://www.medialit.org/cml-medialit-kit