Course: Media Literacy (General) This semester-long class is designed to teach the skills necessary to analyze a variety of media messages in society. Over the course of this semester, we will study print and television advertisements, TV sitcoms, movies, the news, and social media to determine how companies target and persuade the consumer to buy into their product as well as how media shapes and influences our society as a whole. Though this course is different from typical English classes in that we won’t be reading any books, we will study numerous nonfiction articles as well as apply critical thinking skills in order to “read” advertisements, TV shows, and films. Additionally, you will complete several projects and short writing assignments during the semester.
Big Ideas and Enduring Understandings
Media is always changing and evolving with society.
Media influences and perpetuates stereotypes in society. Media persuades its consumers to perceive themselves and others in a certain (and often times skewed) way.
Unit 1: Advertising and Persuasive Techniques Standards RI.11-12.1, 2, 6, 7
Essential Questions 1.
W.11-12.1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 10
2.
SL.11-12.1, 2, 4, 5 3.
How do advertisers persuade you to buy their product? How are demographics used in advertising and how can using demographics also be a form of stereotyping? How do advertisements change with the time periods and reflect and influence American values?
Approximate Time Frame: 4 Weeks Skills Students will analyze a variety of print and commercial advertisements, deciding how effectively persuasive techniques and ethos/logos/pathos are used, how the advertiser caters to a specific audience (along with any stereotypes that may bring) and how the advertisements reflect and influence societal values. Emphasis will also be placed on analyzing advertisements using the “Media Literacy Paradigm” method. Performance Task: Students will create an original product for which
Content Media --various print and commercial advertisements from the 1950s to present-day (magazines and YouTube) Nonfiction Articles --“Target Me with your Ads, Please” by Elinor Mills (CNET News) --“How do TV Commercials Influence American Culture” by Garth Sundem
Vocabulary --Ethos --Logos --Pathos --Persuasive Techniques: Bandwagon, Plain Folks, Celebrities, Beautiful People, Experts, Weasel Words, Bribery, Association, Rhetorical Question --Origin of the word “Advertise” --Consumerism --Demographics --Media Literacy Paradigm
they must produce either three print or commercial advertisements that depict how persuasive techniques, connections to ethos, logos, and pathos, and target audience change over different time periods. Unit 2: Television Standards RI.11-12.1, 2, 5, 7
Essential Questions 1.
W.11-12.1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 SL.11-12.1, 2, 5
2.
What values are represented in a variety of radio and television programs, and how do these values change over time, reflecting society and perpetuating its stereotypes? What is reality television and what kind of effect does it have on our society?
Skills Students will analyze radio and TV shows from a variety of time periods that cover the topics of family values, gender stereotypes, archetypes, teaching tolerance, and reality television. Students will examine how the time period, intended audience, and use of humor affect the content presented in the show, as well as what implications this has for viewers. Performance Task: Students will write a synthesis essay at the conclusion of the unit analyzing several episodes of one of the TV shows studied in class and how that show portrays certain archetypes.
Approximate Time Frame: 6-7 Weeks Content Vocabulary Media --Nuclear Family --clips from various TV shows --Dysfunctional Family that may include but are not --Gender stereotype limited to: “Leave it to Beaver,” --Archetype “Grounded for Life,” “Malcolm in --Tolerance the Middle,” “I Love Lucy,” “Full --Reality television House,” “Big Bang Theory,” “How I Met Your Mother,” “That 70s Show,” “The Simpsons,” “All in the Family,” “Boy Meets World” and “Duck Dynasty.” --clips from “War of the Worlds” and other radio programs from the 1940s/1950s and presentday. Many of these can be found on PRX.org. --Pleasantville (film) --The Truman Show (film) Nonfiction Articles --New York Times article on “War of the Worlds” from 10/31/1938 --“TV: Where Men Work and Women Clean” by Soraya Chemaly --“Reality TV: Rewarding Bad Behavior” by Tom Green (Huffington Post) --“Popular Culture: Reality TV is NOT Reality” by Jim Taylor
Unit 3: The News Standards RI.11-12.1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7
Essential Questions 1. 2.
W.11-12.1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 SL.11-12.1, 2, 4, 5, 6
3.
What is the difference between news and propaganda? Where does our news come from, and what types of news outlets are targeted at different groups of people? What are the advantages and disadvantages to accessing the news through various media outlets (newspapers vs. twitter, for example)?
Skills Students will understand the difference between news, editorials, and propaganda. They will study the history and evolution of the news chronologically, focusing on the impacts that newspapers, TV news, and social media news sources have had on society as well as what demographics each news outlet is targeted towards. Performance Task: Students will work on a collaborative class project to create their own print or digital news source.
Approximate Time Frame: 3-4 Weeks Content Vocabulary Media --News --Modern Marvels: Newspapers --Editorial or similar documentary --Propaganda --clips from TV news coverage of --Journalism the JFK assassination, 9/11, and --Yellow Journalism Sandy Hook (YouTube) --Historical Figures: --TV clips that show examples of Julius Caesar, Joseph propaganda (YouTube) Pulitzer, Walter Cronkite Nonfiction Articles --various current news articles --“How John F. Kennedy’s Assassination Changed Television Forever” by Tierney Sneed (US News) --“Early Sandy Hook Coverage Once Again Reveals a Confused, Failed Media” by David Zurawik (The Baltimore Sun) --“What Effect has the Internet had on Journalism?” by Aleks Krotoski (The Guardian) --“New Era of Media is a Mess” by Barth Keck (New Haven Register) --“The Transition to Digital Journalism” by Paul Grabowicz
Unit 4: The Internet and Social Media Standards Essential Questions 1. How does society’s obsession RI.11-12.1, 2, 4, 5, with the Internet and social 6, 7 W.11-12.1, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10 SL.11-12.1, 2, 3, 5
2.
media affect our everyday lives? What are the advantages and disadvantages to using social networking sites?
Skills Students will analyze the impacts of social media and social networking on society, determining whether this type of media is ultimately beneficial or detrimental to society as a whole. Performance Task: Students will write a short (2 page) reflective essay commenting on their own experiences with social media in conjunction with one of the articles or films studied in class.
Approximate Time Frame: 3-4 Weeks Content Vocabulary Media --Social Media --The Social Network (film) --Social Networking --various YouTube clips of “Viral --Google Videos” (Ex: “Gangnam Style,” --Facebook “What Does the Fox Say,” “David --Twitter After Dentist,” etc.) --YouTube --Viral Video Nonfiction Articles --Historical Figures: --“Is Google Making us Stupid?” Mark Zuckerberg by Nicholas Carr (The Atlantic) --“Is Facebook Making us Lonely?” by Stephen Marche (The Atlantic) --“Cashing in on Your Hit YouTube Video” by Claire Cain Miller (New York Times) --Social Networking page on procon.org
