Table Of ContentDOCUMENT RESUME
CS 511 379
ED 468 414
Media Literacy into Any
12 Basic Principles for Incorporating
TITLE
Providing Support, Education,
Curriculum. Project Look Sharp:
Prepare Students To Survive in
and Training To Help Teachers
World.
a Media-Saturated
Ithaca Coll., NY.
INSTITUTION
1999-00-00
PUB DATE
partnership between Ithaca
13p.; Project Look Sharp is a
NOTE
Education, Center for
College (through the Center for Teacher
in the School of
Research on the Effects of Television
Park School of
Humanities and Sciences, and Roy H.
Lansing school
Communications); the Ithaca, Dryden, and
BOCES.
districts; and Tompkins-Seneca-Tioga
http://www.ithaca.edu/looksharp/
For full text:
AVAILABLE FROM
resources/integration/l2principles.pdf.
Descriptive (141)
Guides - Non-Classroom (055) -- Reports -
PUB TYPE
EDRS Price MF01/PC01 Plus Postage.
EDRS PRICE
Development; Elementary
Critical Thinking; *Curriculum
DESCRIPTORS
Effectiveness; *Mass Media
Secondary Education; Instructional
Selection; Program Descriptions;
Use; *Media Literacy; *Media
Motivation; *Teaching Methods
*Student Attitudes; Student
Media Bias
IDENTIFIERS
ABSTRACT
promote and support
Project Look Sharp is an initiative to
into classroom curricula at all grade
the integration of media literacy
to evaluate the effectiveness of
levels and instructional areas, as well as
It provides the following 12
media literacy education in the schools.
incorporating media literacy into any
guidelines as basic principles for
observation, critical thinking,
curriculum: use media to practice general
media to stimulate interest in
perspective-taking, and production skills; use
familiar with a
in which students may be already
a new topic; identify ways
standard pedagogical tool; identify
topic through media; use media as a
topic fostered by media content; develop an
erroneous beliefs about a
the ways
credibility and bias in the media; compare
awareness of issues of
topic; analyze the effect that
different media present information about a
issue; use media to build and
specific media have had on a particular
media to express students' opinions
practice specific curricular skills; use
of the world; use media as an assessment
and illustrate their understanding
the community. Four or five
tool; and use media to connect students to
principle.
(PM)
examples are provided to illustrate each
that can be made
Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best
from the original document.
PR
CT
J
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Educational Research and Improvement
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION
CENTER (ERIC)
O This document has been reproduced as
received from the person or organization
originating it.
O Minor changes have been made to
improve reproduction quality.
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Points of view or opinions stated in this
document do not necessarily represent
official OERI position or policy.
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Providing support, education,
TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
and training to help teachers
INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)
1
prepare students to survive
in a media-saturated world
BEST COPY
AVAILABLE
2
Page 2
7115/LS Bro-00/01 1/8/01 4:33 PM
P
R,SZ A.&
initiative representing a
Project Look Sharp is a media literacy
(through the Center for
partnership between Ithaca College
Research on the Effects of
Teacher Education, the Center for
and Sciences, and the
Television in the School of Humanities
and
Communications); the Ithaca, Dryden,
Roy H. Park School of
Tompkins-Seneca-Tioga BOCES.
Lansing school districts; and
speakers or workshops, or working
For information about arranging
please contact
with Project Look. Sharp in some capacity,
Cyndy Scheibe, Director
Project Look Sharp
Ithaca College
1119 Williams Hall
Ithaca, NY 14850-7290
Phone: (607) 274-3471
Fax: (607) 274-1925
E-Mail: [email protected]
Website: www.ithaca.edu/loolcsharp
Ithaca College, 1999
All rights reserved.
materials within fair use guidelines,
Permission is granted to copy these
and Ithaca College.
provided credit is given to Project Look Sharp
3
AVAILABL E
BEST COPY
Incorporating Media Literacy
into Any Curriculum:
12 Principles
and
Media literacy is the ability to access, analyze, critically evaluate,
Sharp
produce communication in a variety of forms. At Project Look
include television, radio, books,
we define "media" very broadly to
magazines, newspapers, billboards, movies, recorded music, video
communication, such as the Internet.
games, and computer-assisted
Media literacy education began in the 1970s with an emphasis on
discrimi-
protection (from the so-called "evil effects" of media) and
nation (between so-called "good" and "bad" media content); most
Over
media literacy materials and initiatives were aimed at parents.
the past 15 years there has been a shift toward an emphasis on
media literacy as empowerment (stressing critical thinking and
production skills); more materials are now aimed at schools and
teachers. The empowerment model emphasizes the political, social,
and economic implications of media messages and stresses the
importance of using media effectively and wisely.
This booklet is designed for teachers and support staff at all grade
levels who are interested in using media literacy in their classroom
media
curricula. The principles are based on the concept of weaving
literacy training into the curriculum whenever and wherever possible
throughout the school year. We feel this approach is much more
effective than simply treating media literacy as a special, isolated
topic and may better meet the needs of teachers who are already
overwhelmed with the demands of a full curriculum.
about
The following 12 principles are general guidelines for thinking
For each
ways to integrate media literacy into any curricular area.
principle, media literacy can be incorporated through the use and
analysis of existing media content (as illustration material, material
(creating new
to critique, etc.) and/or through media production
The activities
messages using print, audio, video, or digital media).
listed for each principle are meant as examples only. Following the
activities that meet
same general ideas, you may think of additional
the needs of your class or curricular area. We encourage you to share
media literacy into
your ideas and experiences with us as you build
your classroom curriculum.
Project Look Sharp: vinarmithaca.edu/looksharp
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Use media to practice general
observation, critical thinking,
analysis, perspective-taking,
and production skills by
about information
) encouraging students to think critically
information from
presented in any media message (including the
home)
their textbooks or the popular media they use at
might be interpreted
) pointing out ways in which media messages
differently by people from different backgrounds or groups
by asking students to
fostering observation and general memory skills
read print material,
look for specific things when they view videos or
afterward
and then asking them about those things
issue at hand to identify
10 allowing students to go beyond the curricular
(e.g., the
and comment on incidental aspects of a media message
material, the techniques
characteristics of the people presenting the
which advertising and
used to attract attention, and the ways in
content)
product messages intrude into other types of media
the production of media
) fostering creative skills through encouraging
messages about a topic
Use media to stimulate
interest in a new topic by
clip or
showing an exciting or familiar video
0
reading a short book or story (fiction or non-
fiction) about the topic
read, analyze,
having students work in small groups to
article about the
and discuss a controversial magazine or newspaper
topic
brief article to stimulate
0 using a short video, magazine illustration, or
they already know or
discussion, encouraging students to express what
their opinion about a topic
information about the topic on the
) showing students how to search for
Internet
media product (a montage
0 encouraging students to plan and design a
report) about the topic
of pictures, a video, a newspaper or magazine
for other students to view
Project Look Sharp: ionnom.ithaca.edunookshatp
Identify ways in which
students may be already
familiar with a topic
through media by
giving examples from popular media
students might
content to illustrate what
they might
already know about a topic or things
be familiar with that relate to the topic
topic is typically treated academ-
0 drawing links between the way a
popular media (e.g., written poetry
ically and how it might be used in
advertising jingles)
vs. song lyrics or
related to the topic might be
P clarifying the way specific terminology
than it might be in the popular
used differently in an academic sense
culture
students have gained from media
P building on the intuitive knowledge
character development,
about the content area (e.g., about story and
problem solving, terminology, rhyming)
Use media as a standard
pedagogical tool by
P providing information about the topic
through a variety of media sources (books,
newspaper/magazine articles, instructional
of
videos, websites), comparing the usefulness
different media, and addressing conflicting
information that may come from different
sources
richly and
P using media to convey information more
discussion
classroom
effectively than would be possible with a standard
or demonstration
about) current events
P encouraging students to follow (and write
reported in the media about a topic
(reading material, search-
0 using media content as assigned homework
magazines, etc.)
ing for information about a topic in newspapers or
in class that they have
P encouraging students to share information
outside of class)
gotten from various media sources (inside or
Project Look Sharp: tttacr.ithaca.edallooksharp
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Identify erroneous beliefs
by
about a topic fostered
media content by
analyzing media content that misrepresents
false or misleading infor-
a topic or presents
mation about a topic
which data
I identifying misleading ways in
media (citing statistics incorrectly,
are presented in the
presenting unclear
drawing false conclusions from data,
figures and tables, etc.)
about a topic that may have
identifying false beliefs held by students
come from fictional media content
false or misleading media
encouraging students to create their own
advertise-
commercials, digitally manipulated print
messages (PSAs,
them present the message and "debunk"
ments, etc.) and then having
it for the other students in the class
Develop an awareness of issues
of credibility and bias in
the media by
(speaker)
I teaching how to recognize the source
of
of a media message and the purpose
might
producing the message, and how that
influence the objective nature of information
fiction and nonfiction in
I clarifying the distinction between
specific topic
different types of media reporting on a
about this topic
identifying ways to decide what are credible sources
books, magazines/journals, the
within different types of media (e.g.,
Internet)
information from many differ-
emphasizing the importance of getting
weight to different pieces of information
ent sources and how to give
other evidence vs.
(e.g., if the information is based on research or
personal opinion)
this topic, emphasizing ways in which
1 producing media messages about
and tone used to present
bias can be introduced through the words
what is selected to be presented
the topic, sources of information used,
and what is left out, etc.
the identity of the creator or
1 exploring how media messages reflect
how the same message might come
presenter of the message and
presented or created by someone of a
across differently if it were
different background, age, race, gender, etc.
Project Look Sharp: larww.ithaca.eduilooksharp
different
Compare the ways
media present information
about a topic by
information
0 contrasting ways in which
about a topic might be presented in a
documentary, a TV news report, a news-
advertisement, or an
paper article, an
empha-
educational children's program (what is
used to
sized, what is left out, what techniques are
present the information, etc.)
devoted to a topic in different
comparing the amount of time/space
discussing why the difference
media from the same time period (and
occurs)
that might be drawn by people exposed
0 analyzing different conclusions
medium vs. another
to information presented in one
media to best get across a
0 discussing the strengths of different
particular message
using different forms of media, or
0 producing reports about the topic
different
manipulating the same information and visuals to convey
messages
media have
Analyze the effect that specific
topic historically
had on a particular issue or
by
and/or across different cultures
have played (if any) in the history
I discussing the role that the media
changed the nature
of this topic (i.e., ways in which the media have
of this issue or topic)
discussing how people of earlier generations
might have learned about this topic, what
available to
sources of information were
them compared with sources available to
difference that would
us now, and what
make in people's lives
exploring the level of knowledge about a
topic in different cultures and how that
knowledge is influenced by the media
available
identifying media forms that are dominant or
in the
available in other cultures that may be seldom used
United States, and vice versa
BEST COPY AVAILABLE
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5
and
Use media to build
practice specific curricular
skills by
using print media (books, newspapers, maga-
comprehension skills
zines) to practice reading and
substituting excerpts from existing media content
examples
for standard story problems or practice
or
(e.g., to practice math skills, to correct grammar
adverbs)
spelling, to identify adjectives or
practice specific skills (e.g., grammar, poetry,
) using media production to
of media messages, scientific
math used in timing and proportions
distance, and lighting)
principles involved in calculating size,
skills that include media literacy
1 preparing examples for practicing
of news stories about differ-
information (e.g., comparing the lengths
analyzing
Nielsen ratings for different shows,
ent topics, computing the
described in advertisements)
the ways in which two products are
students to search for
fostering computer skills by encouraging
multimedia projects, and use
information on the Internet, develop
about a topic
computers to present information
students'
Use media to express
opinions and illustrate their
understanding of the
world by
encouraging students to analyze media
and bias issues of
messages for distortions
particular interest to them (e.g., messages
about sex and gender, messages promoting
harmful behaviors, race and age distortions
with the
in the "media world" compared
people
real world, and advertising targeted to
their age)
their feelings and knowledge through
1 encouraging students to express
media messages that they produce
of various media productions
0 encouraging thoughtful critiques
points of view about popular media
0 promoting discussion of different
articles and productions
111-4-1S-Prii
Use media as an
assessment tool by
having students summarize their
knowledge about a topic in a final report,
employing other forms of media beyond
the standard written report (e.g., computer-
illustrated reports, audio or video
productions, photographic illustrations)
I encouraging students to work in groups to
media
illustrate their understanding of a topic by creating mock
live or
productions (e.g., newspapers, advertisements, news reports,
videotaped skits)
from a news-
presenting, at the end of a unit, a media message (e.g.,
that contains false information about the
paper, magazine, or video)
and what is
topic and seeing if students can identify what is correct
incorrect in the message
the
Use media to connect students to
community and work toward
positive change by
..
finding collaborative possibilities for projects
with community institutions (museums,
libraries, galleries, etc.) that may involve
students analyzing or creating media
messages
0 having students contact community service
agencies related to the curricular area and
offer their assistance with production
skills (photography, video, design and layout,
projects
or computer skills) to help with agency
encouraging older students to teach production techniques or
school
media literacy principles to younger students in the same
0 using media forums (such as local community access TV, newspapers,
projects
and magazines) to communicate messages or share research
about the topic
