SCDE  2007 English Language Arts Teaching Standards

                                  Guiding Principle 8
An effective English language arts curriculum utilizes all forms of
media to prepare students to live in an information-rich society.

In today’s dynamic society, all forms of mass media are used to inform
and persuade. Proficient students apply critical techniques to evaluate
the validity of the information they encounter. In a culture where persuasive
and invasive media messages abound, students need to think critically about
what they read, hear, and view. The challenge for students is to respond to
these media messages personally, critically, and creatively. The inclusion of
media literacy in South Carolina’s academic standards recognizes the powerful
force of mass media in the twenty-first century.

Today’s emerging technologies include many multimedia devices and programs
that depend on the appropriate application of technology and thus require media
literacy skills: digital photography, DVDs, CD-ROMs, high-definition digital television,
Internet streaming, MP3 players, nonlinear (computer/video) editing, PDAs
(personal digital assistants), PowerPoint presentations, blogs (Weblogs), and more.

The skills of critical inquiry—the ability to question and analyze a message, whether
it be textual, visual, auditory, or a combination of these—are a crucial element in
literacy instruction. The production of visual media is also a crucial element, enabling
students to acquire and demonstrate an understanding of advertising, aesthetic
techniques, audience, bias, propaganda, and intellectual purpose. Integrating into
the ELA curriculum the vocabulary and skills associated with media presentations
helps students develop lifelong habits of critical thinking. 

Click here to read excepts from the ELA standards that correlate to media literacy.