Media Smarts
Making Media for Democratic Citizenship
Pupils analyze global issues. In this video podcasting lesson plan, pupils research Internet and print sources regarding selected global development issues. Pupils plan and create video podcasts that feature their research findings.
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The Ad Campaign
Students explore how political candidates use mass media to deliver their messages to voters. Focusing on specific issues in the upcoming election, students create television commercials representing different parties' views.
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Media Literacy
Learners evaluate the effectiveness of Internet book clubs, present their findings to the class, and design their own on-line book club (under the umbrella of a fictional television program) to encourage non-readers to read more.
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On the Air
Young scholars explore the issue of race in television since the 1950's, focusing specifically on African-American entertainers. After researching important issues, events, and television personalities of specific decades, students...
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Outbreak!
Students investigate their knowledge about HIV/AIDS and read an online article about treatments that have been prolonging lives of sufferers. They create media campaigns to promote HIV/AIDS awareness.
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Race to the Presses
Students explore how the news media relays information about race in the United States by creating collages from newspapers and magazines and by sharing their reflections about the responsibilities of the news media in covering...
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Saving Face
Students research the allegations of unfair or illegal business practices of various corporations, then create media campaigns that seek to improve the companies' images.
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It's Just a Game?
Students consider their attitudes toward concrete and abstract violence in the media before developing hypotheses that assess the effect of gender and age on people's attitudes toward such violence and designing a survey to test those...
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In King's Words
Students analyze writings of Mr. Martin Luther King Jr. They read and discuss an article, and in pairs, research and analyze a written work or speech by Dr. King, create a mixed media collage to represent the text, and write an artist...
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Roman Holiday in Google Earth
Students plan an itinerary for an educational trip to Rome. In this research skills instructional activity, students use Google Earth to conduct research for their project in their travel teams. Students also set up blogs to share their...
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The Art of Violence
Violence and human suffering, as represented in art and film, are the focus of an investigation of the power of visual images and the moral implications of such representations. Class members examine “Guernica,” Pablo Picasso’s massive...
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Treasure Hunters
Students design an on campus treasure hunt to find various architectural vocabulary words which they then create definitions for on the blog page on the Environmental Design website.
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Vital Voters
Young scholars create voter education campaigns to raise awareness of and interest in the government for future voters.
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Oh, I Believe in Yesterday
Who is Aimee Mann? Read the New York Times article "P.S. I Loved You," included here, and have your readers answer a series of reading comprehension questions. Afterward, encourage your class to brainstorm ways in which they...
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Public Defenders
Students research laws related to copyright and privacy for pamphlets educating the public about their rights when publishing original works on the Internet.
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Visit My Class Wikis
Students visit the links on the blog site to learn about class wikis. In this technology integration lesson, students visit the links to view class wikis.
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Walking with the Emperors: Exploring Imperial Rome
Young scholars travel Rome. For this geography skills lesson, students explore famous places in Rome with Google Earth tools. Young scholars research the city of Rome and create touring videos that feature their findings.
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On the Attack
Students explore how government restrictions and over fishing impact the ecosystems of sharks and contribute to or curb their danger to humans. They synthesize their understanding of the issues by creating board games in groups.
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You Can't Stop The Pop
Students reflect on the popular culture of their own country and explore the "Korean Wave" of popular culture in East Asia. They research the popular cultures of various countries around the world and present their findings in an...
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Follow the Leaders
Students research current world political leaders, as well as the opinions of their supporters and critics, in order to create a "Present Political Leaders Hall of Fame" display for the classroom.
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Sex, Guise, and Video Games
Students examine the portrayal of women in action-adventure video games and in other forms of entertainment to assess whether or not these portrayals perpetuate positive images of women in today's world. They develop new female video...
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Tee-Hee T.V.
Young scholars examine the concept of satire by reading lyrics to a song and reading "Soap and the Campus: A Web-Site Spoof Succeeds." They create treatments for parodies based on current television shows.
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My Summer Vacation
Students study the United States geography using Google Earth. In this U.S. geography lesson, students create travel journals about five U.S. geographical locations. Students research the human and physical characteristics for each region.
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The Second Draft of History
Students draft entries about a recent historical event for a history textbook using two specific sources of information. They then compare their entries and examine the differences.