{"id":30562,"date":"2021-08-31T21:44:06","date_gmt":"2021-09-01T01:44:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.frankwbaker.com\/mlc\/?page_id=30562"},"modified":"2023-12-07T10:07:23","modified_gmt":"2023-12-07T15:07:23","slug":"how-to-get-started-in-media-literacy-instruction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.frankwbaker.com\/mlc\/how-to-get-started-in-media-literacy-instruction\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Get Started In Media Literacy Instruction"},"content":{"rendered":"

How To Get Started In Media Literacy Instruction<\/strong>
\nby Frank W Baker<\/p>\n

I am often asked: how do I start to teach my students media literacy? The question reflects the fact that most teachers have not received sufficient instruction in order to begin addressing \u201ccritical thinking about media messages.\u201d<\/p>\n

Media literacy is more important than ever\u2014now that we live in a world ripe with disinformation, conspiracy theory and more—all designed to fool unsuspecting people.<\/p>\n

Media literacy at its core is about encouraging our students to question the media they come in contact with. That means everything from a meme, to a social media post, to YouTube videos, TikTok and beyond.<\/p>\n

What is media?\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0What is literacy?
\n\"\" \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

I am surprised at how few students can define the words media and literacy. (So why not start here?)\u00a0 Then by combining the two words (media + literacy) it may give students a better understanding of what is meant by the phrase \u201cmedia literacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the earliest definitions of media literacy was to \u201caccess, analyze, evaluate, interpret and create communication in a variety of forms.\u201d\u00a0 [See my previous post Students As Media Evaluators.]\n

A word that I am fond of, found in the Ontario Ministry of Education\u2019s media literacy definition,<\/a>\u00a0 is \u201ctechniques.\u201d What techniques, we might ask students, are used to both attract attention and increase believability?<\/p>\n

Every media text has an author and a purpose. I am fond of asking students, for example: \u201cwhat is the purpose of television?\u201d ( it\u2019s not to entertain) and \u201cwhat is the purpose of advertising?\u201d ( it\u2019s not to sell). \u00a0[See What Do Want Students To Know About The Media<\/a>.]\n

A teacher might invite students to bring into class a media example from their world.\u00a0 By asking them to do this demonstrates that a teacher values the media and popular culture of her students.\u00a0 In addition to examples from social media, students could also share a favorite TV series, film, video game or music artist.<\/p>\n

Posting the common media literacy questions<\/a> for all students to see is a good way to get them started down the road to becoming better critical thinkers. \u00a0Students should have opportunities to ask and consider: who created the message; for what purpose; for which audience; what might be omitted (and why) and who benefits from the message. (There are many more questions of course.)<\/p>\n

Consider the types of media that are used in instruction: everything from photos, to illustrations; videos and books.\u00a0 Once students get into the habit of asking those media literacy questions, that skill can transfer from their personal media favorites to their school media.<\/p>\n

Visual Literacy: One of the most important skills<\/u><\/strong>
\n<\/u>I am an advocate of helping students to hone their visual literacy skills using still images before teaching with about moving images (video and film.)<\/p>\n

What does it mean when we say we want students to have visual literacy skills?\u00a0 In the art classroom this question appears to be central, but outside of art, I am not sure how often middle grades educators engage students in visual literacy skills.\u00a0\u00a0 Yet, almost every book contains images; as do web pages, news feeds, and their social media accounts.<\/p>\n

I have previously written about engaging them in \u201creading\u201d photographs, for example. They are exposed to thousands of images but rarely do they conduct a \u201cclose read\u201d of what they see. [See Teaching Kids To Read The Images They See<\/a>. }<\/p>\n

Engaging Students While Watching Video<\/u><\/strong>
\n<\/u>Let\u2019s admit here: most of us have never been taught HOW to watch television or film. That\u2019s too bad because those media communicate as much, if not more so, than words on a page. So it stands to reason\u2014if you\u2019ve not received instruction on teaching media as text, you certainly couldn\u2019t pass those skills onto your students.<\/p>\n

One of THE most effective strategies when using video in instruction is to utilize \u201ccritical viewing skills\u201d\u2014how words and images work to imply meaning.\u00a0 One of the easiest ways to do this is to prepare a list of \u201cpre-viewing questions\u201d—what do you want students to know, notice and be aware of BEFORE they watch and listen?\u00a0 Next, an educator should also introduce and define vocabulary (or other words and phrases) that students are certain to encounter WHEN watching. Lastly, once the video has concluded, an educator should create and pose a list of \u201cpost-viewing questions\u201d to make sure students understand everything AFTER they just experienced the video.<\/p>\n

Viewing (as defined in the Canadian Common Curriculum framework) is \u201d an active process of attending and comprehending visual media, such as television, advertising images, films, diagrams, symbols, photographs, videos, drama, drawings, sculpture and paintings.\u201d (Source<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Today we call this \u201cactive viewing\u201d (as opposed to \u201cpassive viewing\u201d) I have previously written about the importance of helping students understand \u201cfilm as text.\u201d\u00a0 If this is foreign territory to you, read my previous posts:\u00a0 \u201cHow to Close Read The Language of Film.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nLet\u2019s consider for example the recent Emmy-nominated series \u201cUnderground Railroad,\u201d<\/em> which aired on the AMAZON PRIME streaming network. \u201cIt tells the story of a young slave named Cora who escapes a plantation in Georgia and makes a long, arduous journey across several states while being pursued by a dogged slave catcher named Ridgeway.\u201d (Source<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Unless prepared in advance, with some pre-viewing, media literacy questions, students may believe they are<\/u> seeing true history on the screen.<\/p>\n

Students watching this series could be challenged to identify what techniques the filmmakers used to make the film authentic. For example, costume, setting, music, etc.<\/p>\n

Although the Underground Railroad actually existed, the story told in this series is fiction\u2014some of which is based on historical events.<\/p>\n

Adding to the confusion are those films which are heavily promoted as \u201cBased On A True Story,\u201d which again lulls viewers into thinking they\u2019re seeing THE true story.<\/p>\n

The Research Process<\/u><\/strong>
\nSo I am a strong proponent of having your students conduct research to answer the questions: what was true and what was not in a film they may have been watching or assigned to watch.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s not forget: engaging students in this process also meets the Common Core Standards:\u00a0 (Grade 7) \u201c\u00a0Compare and contrast a written story, drama, or poem to its audio, filmed, staged, or multimedia version\u201d and (Grade 8) \u201cAnalyze the extent to which a filmed or live production of a story or drama stays faithful to or departs from the text or script, evaluating the choices made by the director or actors.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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