Using The Media to Turn Kids On To
Learning
Frank Baker, media educator
(published Spring 2004, SC Middle School Assn Journal, Vol. XXII,
No.1 pp. 15,18)
Can you name your student’s favorite TV show?
Musical artist? Movie?
Believe it or
not, the culture of middle school kids is an important element that should be
considered
in classroom instruction.
I’m willing to wager that many of you
reading this haven’t a clue who the latest hip hop
artist is, or what line of clothes all the kids are wearing, or who is their
favorite TV star.
But the answers to these questions are important for middle school literacy.
Kids pay more attention to visual mediums and are more likely to get their
“news and
information” from non-print media (television, Internet, radio, etc.). We all
know that our
students spend an enormous amount of time in front of the screens (TV and
computer). If
you believe some of the research, media have tremendous influences over young
people.
Now, in 2004, the media have been made a
part of
Language arts standards. The new standards, approved in 2002, include VIEWING,
in
addition to reading, writing, listening and speaking.
As a media educator, I have been
recruited by the SC State Department of Education to
help introduce educators to the new “viewing” standard and to show teachers
how it can
easily be integrated into instruction.
For many teachers, integrating a new standard can be a challenging if not
daunting task.
My advice has been to start slowly and to use resources that you might be
comfortable
using.
Using Movies In The Classroom
Motion pictures are a natural for middle schoolers. They attend the movies
regularly and
they can intelligently discuss what they like or don’t like about a particular
film, the director or the stars.
Teachers can go beyond simply comparing a novel to its film version.
Film has a language all of its own. I have prepared a teacher guide to the
film “To Kill A Mockingbird.” In
it, I introduce teachers to elements like camera
movement, sound effects, music, set decoration and more.
With a school video camera,
students can create their own “movie.”
Political Advertising
Here we are, again, upon another political campaign season. Commercials for
candidates
are already appearing on local TV stations. These “spots” use many of the
proven
techniques of persuasion. Teachers can record these legally and use them as a
way to
teach the various techniques. Using a simple “storyboard,” students can
research a
candidate, and create their own “commercial” in print.
Representation
The media have a way of making us look at the world as if their way was the only
way.
Why are so few minorities shown in TV, movies and magazines?
Students can be assigned to examine how magazines represent the ideal body
image.
Examining a history of advertising, for example, can reveal how tobacco has been
promoted over the years.
Television
The various genres appearing on
television are recycled from years past. Students can be
assigned to write a review of a particular favorite, while concentrating on
style of
wardrobe and its influence on current trends.
Advertising can be studied for its role in
“targeting an audience.” TV news
is ripe for study too: can students find many stories
about young people their age?
Math & Science
Television and radio rely on ratings. Having students study ratings and
understand their
importance could be a math activity. I have developed a web page called “Math
In the
Media,” designed to get young people to understand how the news uses numbers.
In relation to the political advertising, students can determine how much it
costs to
broadcast a 30-second spot on their
local TV station.
In science, students can study how science is reported and represented. Are all
of the
spokespeople male?
CONCLUSION
This past year, Sue Swaim, the executive
director of the National Middle Schools
Association, endorsed ‘media literacy’ and offered these recommendations:
"If you're a member of a middle level teaching
team and engaged in integrative curriculum design, media literacy becomes a
natural link based upon your students' interests and the importance of building
critical thinking skills. For example, ask students to research a topic of
pertinent interest to them. Have them review and critique news articles or other
sources of information about the pros and cons of the issue. Let them write some
articles of their own demonstrating the way media can present different
viewpoints. Are there opportunities to critique or develop their own media
campaigns on the issue? Could they design a website around the topic or develop
images to be seen in advertisements, billboards, or mailings geared to
influencing a person's opinion? Can they use their math skills to conduct
research on the effects of a particular product on consumers? The challenge will
be to keep the work focused on helping students understand what is behind every
message they receive and how to use that knowledge and their critical thinking
skills to form well-rounded opinions and to become better informed consumers of
media messages” Reprinted
with permission: National Telemedia Council, publisher of Telemedium-The
Journal of Media Literacy, © 2002, from Fall 2002 special issue "Media
and Youth- How The Media Construct Teens," http://www.nationaltelemediacouncil.org
For more info about many of the topics
raised in this article,
I recommend the Media Literacy Clearinghouse website, www.med.sc.edu/medialit
The author co-presented a day long
workshop on media literacy at the National Middle
School Conference in
Powerpoint used at the SCMSA conference
workshop, March 6, 2004.