Curated OER
Who Knows? Your Privacy in the Information Age
Teach young adults how to become advocates for their privacy in the modern information age. In a series of five lessons, learners explore their beliefs and opinions about privacy vs. the actual laws regarding who has the right to access...
Media Smarts
TV Dads: Immature and Irresponsible?
Examine gender stereotypes on television, focusing on fathers portrayed in sitcoms and advertising. Questions on a handout direct learners to consider the types of fathers they see on television and one advertisement is highlighted as...
Curated OER
Let's Plan a Trip!
Take a virtual trip to see other countries and cultures! After learning about different cultures and populations, English learners think about a place they'd like to visit. Small groups or individuals plan a trip to a country of their...
Media Smarts
Violence on Film: The Ratings Game
Learn about film and TV ratings systems in Canada (includes a comparison to the MPAA system) and how they influence appropriate viewing for youths. A detailed commentary about the film Seven pointed at revealing flaws in ratings systems...
Curated OER
Tobacco: Promotion Tactics and the Law
Youths aged 13 & 14 are most likely to notice and remember in-store tobacco promotions. Class members dissect tobacco advertising tactics and learn about relevant legislation by participating in guided discussion. Assessing...
Curated OER
Gender Roles: Exposing Stereotypes
A series of activities help middle- and high-schoolers identify and explore gender stereotypes and how they can lead to violence and abuse. Use think-pair-share to activate whole class brainstorming about what it means to "be a man" and...
Media Smarts
Bias
See how bias operates firsthand. Half of the class reads one article while the other half reads another article on the same event. The obvious differences emerge when the two sides talk about their observations though. Several handouts...
Media Smarts
Hoax? Scholarly Research? Personal Opinion?
Divide your class into groups to study the validity of online sources. One group looks at the authority and accuracy of four listed websites, another group looks at advocacy and objectivity, and the third group looks at currency and...
Media Smarts
Selling Tobacco
Take a look at tobacco advertising techniques through the decades. Learners analyze the differences in strategies, and write an essay on the advertising history of one brand of tobacco, how tobacco advertising has changed over time, or...
Media Smarts
Violence on Television
Focus on a specific incident of violence on television in the case of the Canadian Broadcast System showing Silence of the Lambs on public television. Look at the broadcasting codes and a complaint that was filed against the Association....
Media Smarts
The Citizen Reporter
Ripped from the headlines! Discuss topical social issues like racism, discrimination, and diversity while exploring the concept of citizen journalism. Begin with a professional-looking presentation on the history of citizen journalism....
Media Smarts
The Newspaper Front Page
Hot off the presses! A perfect instructional activity idea for a journalism class or even a language arts class looking to incorporate some informational texts. Young writers analyze the front pages of various newspapers to determine the...
Curated OER
ICYouSee: A Lesson in Critical Thinking
Stress the importance of authenticating online resources and understanding the sources of websites' information with this activity. Using a Web-based activity, the lesson prompts young learners to think critically about determining the...
Media Smarts
Marketing to Teens: Gender Roles in Advertising
Young learners explore gender roles in advertising by taking an ad campaign they have seen which is specifically directed to one gender, and redesigning the campaign to target the opposite gender. After leading a guided discussion about...
Curated OER
News Journalism Across the Media: Introduction
Although students are aware of news as information that influences their perceptions of the world, they are often unaware of the various ways to present that information. Encourage them to investigate, discuss, analyze and make valuable...
Media Smarts
Television Broadcast Ratings
Explore the relationships between programming, advertising, and the ensuing rating wars. Help develop the media smarts of your pupils through this examination of advertisers for popular shows. Although the included Sweep Chart features...
Media Smarts
Learning Gender Stereotypes
How do media representations influence our attitudes? Examining advertisements through the filter of gender representation forms the basis of this, the second of three lessons that address gender stereotypes. Resources include links,...
Florida Center for Instructional Technology
Communicating with Mentors
Nothing says 21st century learning skills like an Internet-based collaborative learning lesson plan focused on using technology to compile and synthesize information. An embedded video shows you what collaborative learning in high school...
Curated OER
American Imperialism
Critical analysis skills can be built in a variety of ways. Using editorial cartoons (both domestic and foreign) learners will consider how American Imperialism was perceived during the late 19th century. Critical thinking questions,...
Media Smarts
Scripting a Crime Drama
Develop novice script-writers. Small groups sift through a sample script, noting any script-writing conventions to share with the whole class. Using these conventions and plot structures, these groups compose a script for a 10-minute...
Media Smarts
Marketing to Teens: Talking Back
Teach your class to talk back in a constructive and respectful way. This focuses in particular on talking back to the media and to advertisers when they have concerns. Learners participate in a brainstorm and then compose letters or...
Media Smarts
Online Propaganda and the Proliferation of Hate
After thoroughly examining the purposes and techniques of propaganda, your class will create and curate a Propaganda Museum to display and deconstruct original works of propaganda. Materials include propaganda techniques vocabulary, a...
Media Smarts
Definitions and Comments about the News
Enable your class to construct a definition of the word "news" and compare it those provided from other sources. The activity, worksheet, and discussion that ensues would make a strong introduction to any media study you undertake.
Media Smarts
Don't Drink and Drive: Assessing the Effectiveness of Anti-Drinking Campaigns
Have your class explore alcohol awareness public service announcements. Provided are a detailed plan and a complete set of materials for doing just this. Learners are exposed to a series of approaches and advertisements and decide which...