Curated OER
Lesson: Unmonumental: Yesterday's News
Upper graders are tasked with developing a social consciousness as they analyze the impact of the news media. They view a presentation depicting various media events in order to understand threshold moments in history. There are three...
Media Smarts
Cinema Cops
A study of how public perception is both reflected and influenced by film and television, this instructional activity helps students develop an awareness of audience as well as a critical view of media. Depictions of police in television...
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Media Awareness: Key Concepts in Advertising
Learners examine the basic concepts of advertising. In this media awareness lesson, students discuss target audience, art, and purpose in advertising to determine what makes an advertisement effective or ineffective. Learners evaluate...
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Lesson: Looking Closer: The Artwork of Wangechi Mutu
Social issues of gender and media stereotypes, begins with a multi-sensory experience. Learners view the painting Backlash Blues and make critical comments based on what they see. They then read the Langston Hughes poem and listen to the...
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Expressive Self Portrait - Mixed Media
Students create self-portraits using prior artistic knowledge and personal experiences. Emphasis is placed on the works of Albrecht Durer, Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Frida Kahlo, Romare Bearden, and Chuck Close for inspiration.
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Political Cartoons: Literacy
Readers decode and deconstruct political cartoons to heighten critical thinking, extra-textual literacy, and making meaning from symbolism and metaphor. A compatible activity to use in English class when your 8th or 11th graders are...
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Lesson: Mathias Poledna: Crystal Palace
Film analysis takes critical thinking, connections, and context. Upper graders look at the film installation, Crystal Palace in terms of the film makers choices, presentation, and perspective of truth. After an analytical discussion of...
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Lesson: Mixing Metaphors across Current Events and Literature
Expression, current events, and art can go hand-in-hand. After analyzing a multi-media piece entitled, Trade Canoe for Don Quixote, the class explores their own expressive process. They create collages that show a current event or issue...
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Lesson: Paul Chan: 1st Light and 5th Light
Paul Chan's latest exhibit includes seven manifestations of light. Today, kids analyze the pieces 1st Light and 5th Light. They consider the concept of opposed or dualistic realities found in literature, society, and Chan's work. They...
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"War of the Worlds": A Broadcast Re-Creation
Why did Orson Welles' 1938 Broadcast of a adaptation of H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds cause such a panic? To answer this question, class members listen to the original broadcast and research the panic that resulted. They then engage...
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Landscape Confection: Pre-visit Activity
Upper graders explore the concepts of landscape art, man, nature and their inter-relationship. This is a critical thinking and analysis activity intended to prepare the class for an up coming trip to a local art museum. They analyze,...
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Lesson: Paul Chan: Alternumeric Fonts
Learning to analyze language, symbols, and codes is part of becoming a deep and critical thinker. Young analysts consider their ability to see hidden messages as they analyze the work of Paul Chan. There are two fully developed...
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Ethnographic Film: Representations of the Other in Media
Students examine how film represents different cultures. They think critically about these representations and how they affect people who are watching them.
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Ad Awareness from Admongo.gov
Students explore mass media by completing worksheets in class. In this consumerism lesson, students discuss the meaning behind advertisements and how they are used in television, the Internet and print. Students analyze a group of ads in...
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Ad Creation from Admongo.gov
Students explore consumerism by completing a worksheet. In this advertisement lesson, students discuss the relationship between the media and consumerism while analyzing advertisements from the Internet, magazines and T.V. Students...
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Mixed-Media Self-Portrait with Symbols
Young scholars watch segments of a video to explore portraits. They create a self portrait using mixed-media.
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Multi-Media Still Life
Students create a multi-media collage still life that reinforces basic skills taught in art class. They use watercolor, markers, gluing and cutting skills.
Developing a Global Perspective for Educators
The Lorax - Language
First graders identify text features and how they communicate meaning to the reader. In this media literacy instructional activity, learners view the movie The Lorax and discuss how students from another country would respond to this...
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Lesson: Paul Chan: "Score for the 7th Light"
Music, art, and poetry coalesce in a single exhibition, and in a single lesson. Critical thinkers analyze the Fluxus art movement as it's seen in the work of Paul Chan's 7 Lights. They consider the use of poetry and music in his work,...
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Life as a Legend: Marilyn Monroe: What is Beautiful?
Students consider the notion of beauty and what impact the media and popular culture have on it. In this cross curricular lesson, students examine print ads, write down and share their thoughts on them. Then students form literary groups...
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Media Awareness: Helping a Product Cross the Finish Line
Students develop critical thinking skills to understand and create advertisements. In this journalism lesson, students analyze the elements necessary for effective advertisements and work in cooperative groups to create and present...
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Taking a Closer Look (Critical Viewing)
Students explore persuasive writing in advertisements. For this advertisements lesson, students evaluate tobacco advertisements for persuasion techniques. Students then create a counter advertisement against smoking.
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The Visual Grammar of Film
Students analyze film terminology to become analytical views and critically examine media. In this film analysis, students identify film terminology and explain the effects of the director's choices. Students analyze cinematic and...
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Popular Music and Music Videos
This resource is part of a three-activity unit that introduces your class to the concept of popular culture and the role that it plays in their lives. Here, learners examine the importance of the music industry and music videos in pop...