|
|
|
|
How Does the News and Its Delivery
|
 | The student will learn how to analyze and critique advertising. |
| The student will be able to identify racial and gender issues in news and entertainment. |
| The student will observe the media's role in politics and how polls reflect and shape public opinion. |
| The students will be able to analyze film, video, television, and print for effects created through production and editing techniques. |
| The student will become aware of what the news includes, what it leaves out, and why those decisions are made. |
| The student will begin to recognize point of view and balance in reporting. |
Media Literacy Top 10 List For Analyzing The News
Created by Sue Lockwood Summers, MEDIA ALERT! (303-738-8137)
#10 Analyze the photographs that accompany various news stories, and discuss how those specific photos were selected
#9 Compare and contrast news stories reported by various mass media formats (e.g. News magazines, newspapers, and TV newscasts)
#8 Determine the reliability of the source of the information
#7 Examine the words used to describe and report
#6 Evaluate the headlines in newspapers
#5 Determine what content is factual and what is opinion
#4 Analyze a news story that used quotes taken out of context, and discuss the reason for selecting those particular quotes.
#3 Consider the placement and length of a specific news item, and discuss why it was given that particular placement
#2 Determine the target audience for a specific news story or feature
#1 Reflect on what was not covered in the news story or newspaper.
Words in italics can be found in the glossary.
Media Literacy: The 5 Ws (and an H)
Created by Sue Lockwood Summers, MEDIA ALERT! (303-738-8137)
WHO is affected by the media?
- Define " mass media".
- List types of print and electronic media.
- Discuss how various media are intended for different audiences
WHAT role do the news media play in our society?
- What is the role of the newspaper?
- What is the responsibility of the media?
- What is the responsibility of the consumer?
- What is the role of the media in a democracy?
- What skills are necessary for message consumers?
WHERE can the consumer find information in a newspaper?
- Where is the "hard news" located?
- Where is the "soft news" located?
- Where is the national news?
- Where is the local news?
WHY are media literacy skills necessary to interpret the contents of a
newspaper?
- List some skills needed to properly interpret the contents of a newspaper.
- List ways to give feedback to the media.
WHEN interpreting a news article or ad, how can you be more analytical?
- Become more aware of the use of language and images.
- Determine the source of the information.
- Notice the various methods used to capture your attention.
- Reflect on what was not included in the news story or ad.
HOW does creating a newspaper improve your media literacy skills?
- Evaluate the criteria for selection.
- Determine the form and content of each page.
© 2004 MEDIA ALERT!
| bias | An unfair preference or dislike of something or someone. |
| editing | The act of splicing or putting together film or videotape clips in order to create a television commercial, program, or movie. |
| gatekeeper | An individual or group that controls the flow of information or entertainment. The gatekeeper can select, delete, prioritize, ignore, or reorganize information. The managing editor of a newspaper is an example of a gatekeeper. |
| “hard” news | The facts or data involved in a news story. An example would be the “who, what, where, when, and how” information that is in a news item. |
| mass media | Communications format that uses technology and reaches many people. Television and radio are mass media. |
| media literacy | The application of critical thinking to the messages of the mass media. Media literacy is the ability to access, analyze, interpret, evaluate, and communicate messages in a variety of forms. |
| medium | A communications format, such as an e-mail or letter or TV |
| news magazine | A term that refers to a weekly print magazine or television program that summarizes and analyzes the news. |
| Newspapers in Education (NIE) | The department of a newspaper that is in place to serve educators by offering curricula and services. Teachers may arrange to have multiple copies of the newspaper delivered for classroom use by contacting this department. |
| peer pressure | The influence by peers on the way one thinks, speaks, dresses, and behaves. It can be positive or negative. |
| Public Service Announcement (PSA) | An announcement on television or radio for charitable, safety, public interest, or other worthwhile endeavors. They are presented free of charge by broadcasters. |
| “soft” news | The portion of a newspaper or news program that is extraneous or added for human interest. Examples are the society or restaurant columns in a newspaper or a celebrity interview during a television news broadcast. |
| soundbite | A small amount of audio or video text that is meant to capture the essence of a speech or document. Length may vary, but in general, soundbites are anywhere from 5 to 15 seconds. |
| storyboard | A scene-by-scene depiction of the story, including detailed sketches with notes about voice-overs, sound effects, and other media elements that accompany the scenes. |
| tabloid | A term given to the weekly newspapers that focus on sensational or bizarre news stories. These are typically filled with celebrity scoops or human-interest stories, a great deal of photographic matter, and are half the page size of an ordinary newspaper. |
| target audience | The group of viewers toward whom a particular program, movie, commercial, or advertisement is directed. |
Activities to Analyze the News
<www.pbs.org/inthemix/newnormal/teacha_media.html>
“The American Promise”, free videotape and teaching guide
<www.farmers.com/FarmComm/AmericanPromise>
Connect the Newspaper to your Curriculum
<www.education-world.com/a_curr/curr163.shtml>
Government Documents
<www.ourdocuments.gov>
McREL National Media Standards
<http://198.17.205.11/compendium/Benchmark.asp?SubjectID=7&StandardID=10>
McREL National Standards and Benchmarks Compendium
<www.mcrel.org/compendium/browse.asp>
Media Literacy
<http://teacher.scholastic.com>
<www.pbs.org/teachersource/media_lit/getting_started.shtm>
PBS Media Literacy Ideas
<www.mediaworkshop.org/september11/cartoons.html>
<http://orpheus.ucsd.edu/speccoll/dspolitic>
Political Cartoons by Dr. Seuss
<www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson140.shtml>
Teaching Kids about the Newspaper
, <www.cnnstudentnews.com>
Cable News Network (CNN)
<www.snopes.com>
Urban Legends
<http://urbanlegends.about.com/science/urbanlegends>
<www.kathyschrock.com/abceval/index.htm>
<http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/eval.html>
<www.openairwaves.org>
Who Owns the Media?
<www.consumersunion.org/telecom/owns_news.htm>
<http://gpn.unl.edu>“
The Furry News: How to Make a Newspaper”, Reading Rainbow video, From GPN:
<http://gpn.unl.edu>
“Critical Viewing”, video and guide, From GPN:
<www.timeforkids.com>
Famous Faces from TIME, “Time For Kids”,
“Heroes for Today”, monthly Reader’s Digest
<www.timeforkids.com>
Issues and Images from TIME, “Time for Kids”,
The EYE SPY PROGRAM: Early Youth Education Program Coloring Book, order at
<www.primett.org>
MEDIA ALERT! 200 Activities to Create Media-Savvy Kids, Sue Lockwood Summers,
MEDIA ALERT, 2000.
<www.MediaAlert.org>
Changing the World through Media Education, Rosen, Quesada, and Summers, Fulcrum Publishing, 1998.
The Web-Savvy Student: Ten Media Literacy Activities to Help Students Use the Internet Wisely, Betsy Hedberg, Curriculum Adventures, 2001. <www.studentactivities.com>
“Sitcom Sleuths”, order at <www.primett.org>
Did you know that Disney owns ABC, ESPN, Miramax Films, and the A&E, History, FOX, and Biography channels?
Check out more about media ownership at <www.thenation.com/special/bigten.html>.
“Based on interviews with 245 children ages 8 to 17, the new study also shows that 35% of kids have videogame systems in their rooms, 14% have their own DVD player, and 9% have Internet access via a PC in their bedrooms. According to a just-released Knowledge Networks/SRI study, almost two-thirds (61%) of children now have a television set in their bedrooms, 17% have their own PC.”
Taken from "How Children Use™ Media Technology”
Children’s use of media:
Activity
Hours per week
Internet surfing 16.7
Watching TV 13.6
Radio 12
Talking on phone 7.7
Reading books/magazines 6
“US youngsters
hooked on to Net, TV, say researchers”
www.Indiantelevision.com Team
(16 August 2003 )
“62% of fourth graders say they spend more than three hours per day
watching TV.
64% of eighth graders report watching more than three hours of TV per
day.”
Source: Educational Testing Service study, 1990
“According to The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, 61% of the U.S. public said newspapers are their principal source for most national and international news. According to the Newspaper Association of America, over half of all adults (53.5%) in the top 50 U.S. markets read a daily newspaper and nearly two thirds (63.8%) read one on Sunday.”
“Children account for over a quarter of the U.S. population but only 10% of all local news stories.”
Taken from “The Local Television News Media’s Picture of Children – 2001”
“The overall number of children's shows decreased by almost half (47 percent) over the past five years, from a total of 88 programs per week across all stations in 1998, to just 47 shows in 2003. Overall, the study found young viewers lost three hours of kids' TV on Saturdays, four hours on Sundays and 90 Minutes each weekday since 1998.”
Taken from Children Now (<www.childrennow.org>)
Media Literacy Skills Related to CSAP Tests
Concepts:
| fact vs. opinion |
| predict what happens next |
| what happened first, second...? (sequencing) |
| vocabulary improvement |
| comprehension of ideas |
| writing strategies |
| organizational skills |
| evaluation of photos, graphs, etc. |
| analysis and synthesis of ideas |
| reasoning |
| personalization of facts (reflection) |
| summarization skills |
| persuasive writing |
| relevance of information |
| judge reliability of source |
| fact vs. fantasy |
| develop questions for research (Big 6) |
| critical thinking |
|
|
