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WIINDMILL PRESS Publishing (Canadian publisher of media literacy books and resources)
The Ontario Ministry of Education's 1999 Grade 9 Curriculum lays out specific expectations for teachers to teach media literacy within the English curriculum, both at the academic (ENG1D) and applied (ENG1P) levels.
The new English curriculum consists of four strands:
Literature Studies and Reading
Writing
Language
Media Studies
Because of the pervasive influence in our lives of print and electronic media, it is important for students to learn how to understand and interpret media works. In the English Program, students should have frequent opportunities to analyze various aspects of media communications, including key elements of the works themselves, the audience and production codes and practices. Students should also learn about the media through the process of creating their own media works, using a range of technologies to do so. By working in the various media to communicate their own ideas, students will develop critical thinking skills and understand at first hand how media works are designed to influence audiences and reflect the perspectives of their creators. Students will also develop production skills that may open up career opportunities in the entertainment and communications industries. Students should be encouraged to appreciate the media as sources of personal information and pleasure.
By the end of this course, students will:
use knowledge of the elements, intended audiences, and production practices of a variety of media forms to analyze specific media works;
use knowledge of a variety of media forms, purposes, and audiences to create media works and describe their intended effect.
Specific Expectations
I. Analyzing Media and Media Works
By the end of this course, students will:
demonstrate critical thinking skills by identifying the differences between explicit and implicit messges in media works;
identify how elements of media forms are used in a variety of media works and explain the effects of different treatments;
compare and explain their own and their peers' reactions to a variety of media works;
identify factors that influence media production and distribution and explain the effect of these factors on specific media works
II. Creating Media Works
By the end of this course, students will:
adapt a work of literature to another media form and determine what aspects have been strengthened and/or weakened by the adaptation;
create media works for different purposes and explain how each has been designed to achieve its particular purpose;
create media works appropriate to different audiences and explain why a particular design should appeal to a particular audience.
Overall Expectations
By the end of the course, students will:
identify and describe the elements, intended audiences, and production practices of a variety of media forms;
use knowledge of a variety of media forms, purposes, and audiences to create media works.
Specific Expectations
I. Analyzing Media and Media Works
By the end of the course, students will:
demonstrate critical thinking skills by indentifying the differences between explicit and implicit messages in media works;
identify and describe the elements used to structure media works in a variety of forms;
compare the reactions of different people or groups to a variety of media works;
identify factors that influence media production, distribution, and advertising.
II. Creating Media Works
By the end of the course, students will:
adapt a work of literature for presentation in another media form;
create media works for different purposes;
analyze the characteristics of different audiences and create media workss designed specifically for them.
We decided to list activities for both academic and applied since the expectations are so similar. As a teacher, you will modify these activities for your given class.
have students analyze a TV show and show the differences between family life in the show and family life experienced in real life
have students identify and evaluate the variations in treatment and emphasis of different covers that have been designed for the same book
study camera angles by looking at comic books; have students label the various angles and distances
study camera angles by finding pictures in magazines that use the different angles and distances
study camera angles by showing a clip from a movie and freezing the picture so students can identify the angle/distance
study sound effects in a film by covering the screen and have students listen only for the "sounds" in a particular scene; have students list the sounds then show the clip to see if students were correct
cover the TV screen and listen to a scene from a movie students will not be familiar with; be sure the scene has several characters or show several scenes with one or two characters; have students describe in a sentence the personality of a character based on the voice; for artistic students, sketch a picture of what you think this character looks like; have students attempt to describe the looks of the character, including hair style, clothes, facial expressions, etc.; show the clip
study various newspaper headlines; have students bring in three good headlines that make a reader want to read the story; ask students why readers might want to read more based on the headline; identify action words in headlines;
interview or survey peers and family about reactions to a particular media work; write a report of the results
bring in several magazines; make a chart assesing the different audiences that read the magazines and the qualities about each magazine that would appeal to the chosen audience
show an episode of a popular show; give a handout listing the products for that show; have students choose target audience for the show; analyze why certain products would be advertised for the show
give students possible scenerios from books (episodes from books that can stand on their own) and have students write interesting headlines for the stories
ask students to bring in the front pages of papers; analyze the photographs on the cover; compare several days' worth of papers; do you see a theme in the type of photo used by a particular paper (violence, cutesy, etc)
collect small pictures and reproduce them on paper; have students give captions for the pictures; have students choose one of the pictures and write a news report
bring in government regulations and industry codes governing advertising aimed at children; consult copyright laws; this might be a good Internet research project for a class: for one period, have students search the CRTC for radio and TV regulations; compare the U.S.'s system by consulting the FCC
recast a short story, novel or poem as a storyboard, movie poster, book jacket or song
to study the "purpose" of a media form, have students construct several media; for example, have students plan and write a sample web page on how to use a provincial park campsite responsibly and another on the pleasures of camping
design advertisements in the several media to sell similiar products to different age groups (children and adults)
design two different book covers for the same novel (aim them at different demographics) or an alternate book cover for a novel you are reading or have read in class
