UOIT

Critical Media Literacy Lesson Plan

Searching for the Real Girl

Marni Hoogeveen, 100390792, Section 411/24/2009

EWorkshop Lesson Plan for Media Literacy Marni HoogeveenSearching for the Real GirlPeeking Behind the Curtain of the Celebrity Beauty Machine Lesson FocusThe focus of this lesson is to increase student awareness of the degree to which human beauty is misrepresented in the media. Students will examine the techniques media use to fabricate, or construct, an artificial, unattainable version of “perfection.” Finally, students will use technology to create a digital poster for the purpose of increasing awareness about the effects media images can have on healthy body image.

RationaleStudents at the Grade 5 level tend to buy in to the messages, both overt and implied, that they encounter in the media. This lesson uses images of celebrities they know and admire, in an effort to undercut the extreme power these images can hold over the preteen’s mind. In addition, the digital poster-making activity requires that students develop their skills in accessing images on the web, and communicating a message to a specific audience.

AssessmentStudents will be assessed on the digital poster that they produce as a final activity in the lesson.

Students will have to use digital media in order to create the poster. They will be asked to communicate their understanding of how the

media can affect body image. They will be asked to describe a technique used to distort images in

the media.

Prior KnowledgeStudents will need to be able to use the computer to access images on the Internet, and to import these into a graphics or MS Word file. Offer assistance to any students who are uncomfortable with this exercise.AnnotatedCurriculum Expectations

Grade 5, Health and Physical Education, specific expectation: describe the influence of the media on body image (e.g., shape and

size)

Grade 5 Language Arts, Media Literacy specific expectations 1.1 identify the purpose and audience for a variety of media texts

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1.2 use overt and implied messages to draw inferences and construct meaning in media texts

3.4 produce a variety of media texts for specific purposes and audiences, using appropriate forms, conventions, and techniques

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Materials/Preparation for Teaching The teacher will need to be familiar with the PowerPoint presentation

designed for this lesson. It can be downloaded at ScreenCast.com at this link: http://www.screencast.com/t/ZWJjYThmMzY

The teacher will need to be familiar with the processes of downloading images from the Internet and creating poster files.

A screen for the PowerPoint presentation must be available in the classroom for the instructor-led portion of the lesson.

Copies should be made for every student in the classroom of the Individual Assignment (the last page of the PowerPoint presentation) and the Assignment Rubric. Both of these are included at the end of this lesson plan file.

Students will need access to computers for the individual portion of the lesson.

Supply copies of teen and other magazines, as possible, for the individual portion of the lesson.

Students who find images in magazines will need access to a scanner.

Differentiated Instruction:When students embark on the digital poster-making project, offer a mini-lesson on the technical aspects of the activity to the sub-set of students who will feel more comfortable with a refresher. If possible, walk through the whole process with these students, talking your way through all the steps. Encourage English Language Learners to develop ideas and craft messages together, though they must all produce individual posters. Some may need specific attention to help them find the words they need to express their messages.

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THE LESSON

The Hook

Begin the PowerPoint presentation. The Hook is the second slide, show media images of four media personalities the students will know.

To begin, ask students to identify the individuals: - Zac Efrom- Vanessa Hutgens- Robert Patterson- Selina Gomez

Conduct the thumbs-up, thumbs-down exercise to get the before-picture.

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Agenda

Show the next slide, and review the day’s agenda. Inform students that there will be printed directions and a rubric for the

assignment, which they will receive later in the lesson.

InstructionProgress through the PowerPoint lesson:

With above slide, students will identify the extremely thin models. Focus on the question of who created the images and why. What is the purpose of the advertisements? Who is the intended audience? What meaning are they

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constructing? Draw out the students’ responses when they acknowledge that they will never match the image of beauty in the ads.

With the above slide, focus on the absence of visible minorities. Whose reality is this anyway? How does the constructed meaning conflict with the ethnic makeup of North American society? How is this discriminatory? Note, the bottom left add is for window cleaner. Good place to ask, what is the implied (underlying) message?

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Now we turn to the media’s ability to construct a convincing illusion of “reality.” The above trio of slides shows how the media can transform what a person looks like. It also prods students to think about the meaning of “perfection.” They will likely respond with “yes” to the first question on the first slide—do these women represent perfection? But no to the same question on the second slide. But that leaves them with an uncomfortable contradiction when it is revealed that these people are one and the same.

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For the above slide, it is important to have the students identify what is different about the two images before viewing the video. They will identify makeup and hairstyling. Probably not PhotoShoping. That will be revealed in the 1-minute video, which can be accessed by following the hyperlink on the slide. Note, ensure sound is up so that students can hear the music. You may wish to play the brief video more than once.

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Just in case the boys in the class are starting to feel superior, the above slide will show that men are also subjected to PhotoShopping. Can the boys in the class live up to these images showing constructed male beauty? This is a perfect place for bringing in the idea of overt and implied messages. Overt message: This man uses the perfume. He smells wonderful, which women like. Implied message: If you use this perfume, you will smell wonderful too, and you will attract women and look handsome, too.

The above slide contains a hyperlink that connects to a five-minute video that shows the actual PhotoShopping of an image. Beforehand, you may wish to show students the next slide, which outlines the think-pair-share activity. This will inspire them to make a comprehensive list of the techniques used to transform the image.

Hold a class discussion, using the above questions as starters. Use this discussion to show students that what they’ve just gone through – becoming aware – will protect them somewhat from the impact of media images of perfection.

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Application

Pass out the two handouts: the directions for the investigation (identical to the final slide of the PowerPoint presentation), and the rubric for the poster they will produce.

Discuss the assignment with students, and give them a chance to ask questions before you begin.

You may wish to assign the poster creation, or at least the image search, for homework.

Before students begin, ask them to write on the back of their poster one big thing that they learned through this activity.

Sharing/ReflectionUse the following questions to assess how the lesson went:

Were my students successful? Did my instructional decisions meet the needs of all students? What worked well? What will I do differently in the future? What are my next steps?

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Poster Campaign to Encourage Media Literacy

1. Search through the Internet, teen and fashion magazines, and other media for advertisements. Find one good example of “perfection” that you believe would be hard to live up to.

2. Scan your image or save it from a web site to create a .jpg file.

3. Import your image into MS Word or a computer graphics program.

4. Create a mini-poster with your visual. The purpose of your poster is to help other students in your school understand how distorted media images can influence body image.

Think about how you can get across that message effectively.

Identify the audience and the purpose of the image you chose.

Identify both the overt (obvious) and the implied (hidden) message of the image you chose.

Create a message that will suit your audience—other students.

5. Give your poster a title and a caption of a few sentences.

6. Share your mini-poster with your classmates.7. Before handing in your poster, write on the back one

big thing that you learned from this activity.

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Rubric for Poster to Encourage Media LiteracyName: ________________________________________ Date: ________________________

Categories Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4

Knowledge and Understanding

Student demonstrates limited understanding of the influence of the media on body image.

Student demonstrates some understanding of the influence of the media on body image.

Student demonstrates considerable understanding of the influence of the media on body image.

Student demonstrates thorough understanding of the influence of the media on body image.

Thinking Student identifies the purpose and audience of the chosen image to a limited degree.

Student identifies the purpose and audience of the chosen image to a moderate degree.

Student identifies the purpose and audience of the chosen image to a satisfactory degree.

Student identifies the purpose and audience of the chosen image to a high degree.

Thinking Student identifies overt and implied messages in the chosen image to a limited degree.

Student identifies overt and implied messages in the chosen image to a moderate degree.

Student identifies overt and implied messages in the chosen image to a satisfactory degree.

Student identifies overt and implied messages in the chosen image to a high degree.

Communication

Student expresses and organizes ideas and information with limited effectiveness.

Student expresses and organizes ideas and information with some effectiveness.

Student expresses and organizes ideas and information with considerable effectiveness.

Student expresses and organizes ideas and information with a high degree of effectiveness.

Communication

Student creates a message

Student creates a message

Student creates a message tailored to a

Student creates a message

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tailored to a specific audience with limited effectiveness.

tailored to a specific audience with some effectiveness.

specific audience with considerable effectiveness.

tailored to a specific audience with a high degree of effectiveness.

Application Student transfers knowledge about media influence to the context of a poster campaign with limited effectiveness.

Student transfers knowledge about media influence to the context of a poster campaign with some effectiveness.

Student transfers knowledge about media influence to the context of a poster campaign with considerable effectiveness.

Student transfers knowledge about media influence to the context of a poster campaign with a high degree of effectiveness.

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