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Grade 4 Expectiations and Activities

BACK to Ontario Media Literacy Main Page
WIINDMILL PRESS (Canadian publisher of media literacy books and resources)


According to the Ontario Ministry of Education's Elementary Curriculum in Media Education, grade 4 students will

identify camera angles and distance from the subject in photographs and describe their effects on the viewer's perceptions

identify and describe the different types of advertising that they encounter in their surroundings

create a variety of media works

Click here for a review and definition of Types of Media Works, Media Techniques and Purpose of Media Works


Activities for Your Grade 4 Classroom

Of course, these are only ideas, meant to jump-start your own concepts which you will infuse into your classroom based on the curriculum you are bringing to your fourth graders. The key for media literacy is not to have a media unit per se, but to use media literacy concepts throughout the school year in language studies.

review camera angles and camera subject distance with a handout

have students look through old magazines to find the different angles and distance shots

give students a theme (hockey, happy people) and have them find two examples of a high, low and flat angle shot and close-up, medium and long distance shot

put a variety of pictures on overhead and have students identify camera angle and distance and say why the photographer chose this angle or distance

explain the effects different camera angles can have on you as audience

show a tasteful clip from Jurassic Park or another appropriate film and find different camera angles and distance; discuss why the particular shot was chosen and how it makes the audience feel

as a homework assignment, ask students to bring in as many logos (actual or drawn) as they can find (to a maximum of 5 or 6)

as the teacher, bring in some lesser known logos (cars, insurance companies) and have students identify them

discuss why companies would want to have their logo in as many public places as possible; ask students if they believe people buy the products they see every day on billboards or on TV commercials

in a ten minute exercise, find as many logos as possilbe within the classroom--on T-shirts, baseball caps, etc

make a chart of the most popular logos and ask students in discussion why these logos are so popular

show the Nike logo or another that is highly popular in your classroom; ask students why this logo is so important to children; write down words students use to describe why the Nike Swoosh is important, for example--cool, awesome, etc

ask students how they decided the Nike Swoosh was "cool" or who told them the Nike swoosh was "cool"

introduce some Greek and Roman mythology (Nike means "Greek goddess of Victory") and what each mythological character means, the qualities that character stands for

find evidence of Greek myths in advertising and discuss what the advertiser is saying about that product when a certain mythological name is used

list animals and give them qualities (ie lions are mighty; rabbits are fast)

list three products that might go well with each of these animals

place students in groups; have students take pictures of each other with each providing one of each angle and camera-subject distance

challenge students by giving them a specific task in the pictures so that they might demonstrate other communication skills as outlined in the language curriculum: using gestures, facial expressions, to give a visual tour of a farm

have students use the video camera for the same purpose as above, encouraging students to work on voice, gestures, facial expressions, etc

CLICK HERE FOR BOOKS AND RESOURCES THAT WILL BE HELPFUL IN TEACHING MEDIA