Media Literacy

Students are often told they speak incorrectly or use bad grammar. Telling students of color in rural or urban areas that they speak “incorrectly” or “ghetto” can have a negative effect internally. I give students in my class ...

In my Latino/Latina literature class, my primary intent is to help my students see the inequities created in our society by pervasive racism and discrimination. This project asks that the students watch two hours of television, focusing only on ...

This is the twelfth lesson in the Reading Ads with a Social Justice Lens series.   As children learn about justice and injustice, and become increasingly aware of stereotypes and bias in the world ...

This is the eleventh lesson in the Reading Ads with a Social Justice Lens series.   Children need empowerment strategies for what to do when faced with biased messages. In other words, they need to ...

This is the tenth lesson in the Reading Ads with a Social Justice Lens series.   Once students become accustomed to thinking about the power of advertising, they are also ready to think about how an ...

This is the ninth lesson in the Reading Ads with a Social Justice Lens series.   On one hand, it is easy to argue for more diversity in advertising. On the other hand, asking for diversity creates ...

This is the eighth lesson in the Reading Ads with a Social Justice Lens series.   Advertisements often send constructed messages about how families are supposed to look, implying, for instance, that ...

This is the seventh lesson in the Reading Ads with a Social Justice Lens series.   Once children have been introduced to the idea of representation in advertisements, they can begin to consider its ...

This is the sixth lesson in the Reading Ads with a Social Justice Lens series.   Advertisements’ biased representations can affect our perceptions of others. For example, ads may show some groups ...

This lesson is the fifth in the Readings Ads with a Social Justice Lens series.   If advertisements can perpetuate stereotypes, they also have the power to break them down. Children are sensitive ...

Advertisements do more than just sell products; they play a role in creating and perpetuating stereotypes as well. We can reduce the power advertisements have to reinforce stereotypes by teaching children ...

Media plays a powerful role in perpetuating stereotypes. Children must learn to think carefully and independently about the messages in advertisements. By learning about the concept of stereotypes and the ...

Children are surrounded – and targeted – by advertisements: on television, the computer, even on their journeys to and from school. Children need specific strategies for reading and talking about ...

As students learn to be critical readers and thinkers, it is important that they learn how to read and respond to everyday media. Throughout the series , students will practice the strategies developed in ...

Children see and hear advertisements constantly. Television shows, radio stations, websites, even most streets and sidewalks are peppered with advertisements. Children need to be explicitly taught about these ...

This is the final lesson in the Using Photographs to Teach Social Justice series. Preceding lessons explored a variety of social justice issues through the lens of photographers and their pictures. This ...

The photo shows two students collecting signatures to protest the treatment of women at the university. This lesson is part of the  Using Photographs to Teach Social Justice  series. ...

In this lesson, students analyze a photograph of Mildred Jeter Loving and Richard Loving—the interracial couple that took the case of their marriage all the way to the Supreme Court—as a springboard for ...

In this lesson, students analyze a photograph from the freedom riders’ protest. This lesson is part of the  Using Photographs to Teach Social Justice  series. Objectives ...

In this lesson, students will analyze a photograph of people protesting what they see as an unjust law: A law prohibiting marriage equality in California. This lesson is part of the  Using Photographs to ...

The photo is a portrait of homelessness and poverty. The scene shows a woman sitting on a couch, surrounded by clothes and various household items. A man stands near her.  This ...

In this lesson, students compare and contrast two photographs of women. In doing so, they evaluate how a photo creates a mood and how photos can encourage or challenge stereotypes. This activity is part of the ...

Photographs may tell a story or make a statement about a greater concept or ideal. Sometimes photographers use the subjects in a photo to convey a message. This lesson is part of the  Using Photographs to ...

In this lesson, students will analyze photographs that show people with different abilities and of different ages to explore assumptions about ability, age and activism. This is part of the  Using Photographs ...

Using Photographs to Teach Social Justice  is a series of 12 lessons. Each lesson focuses on a contemporary social justice issue. These lessons are multidisciplinary and geared toward middle- and ...

In this lesson, you will analyze two photographs, each dealing with a different element of identity. This is part of the Using Photographs to Teach Social Justice series. ...

Using Editorial Cartoons to Teach Social Justice is a series of 14 lessons. Each lesson focuses on a contemporary social justice issue. These lessons are multidisciplinary and geared toward middle and high ...

Activities will help students understand strategies used in editorial cartoons and create an editorial cartoon that focuses on a social justice issue. This is the final lesson in the ...

Activities will help students: understand the use of dialogue in editorial cartoons question why one group might blindly hate another group This is the thirteenth lesson ...

Activities will help students explore how editorial cartoons often use familiar adages or idioms in new ways to make a point about something. This is the seventh lesson in the series ...