NOT MINDLESS SHEEP: DEVELOPING CRITICAL THINKING ABOUT MEDIA UNIT PRESENTATION BY FAITH RIVERS

UNIT OVERVIEW SOL: English 12.2 The student will examine how values and points of view are included or excluded and how media influences beliefs and behaviors b) Determine the author’s purpose and intended effect on the audience for media messages. Big Question: How does media influence what we do and think? Assessments: Formative – In-class work, participation in class discussion Summative – Create a piece of media to influence beliefs/behaviors and write a two page paper explaining: what you wanted your audience to know, do, or feel after viewing your piece of media how you composed your media to achieve that effect what you put into the media and why how your point of view and values contributed to the composition of your media

LESSON 1: AUTHOR’S PURPOSE AND INTENDED EFFECT Objectives: Students will know the three main types of author’s purposes: to persuade, to inform, to entertain Students will understand that all media has a purpose and intended effect Students will be able to identify an author’s purpose Students will be able to evaluate media to determine whether its intended effect was successful

LESSON 1: AUTHOR’S PURPOSE AND INTENDED EFFECT Model: Direct Instruction Lesson Process: First, show a clip of the propaganda from the reaping in the Hunger Games and explain how to determine the author’s purpose, the intended effect of the media, and whether the media achieved the author’s intended effect. Then, show the Super Bowl pug Doritos commercial and have the students break into pairs and evaluate it as I walk around and check for understanding. Last, show two more commercials, and let the students pick which one to evaluate individually by writing two paragraphs.

LESSON 2: PROPAGANDA Objectives: Students will know what propaganda is. Students will understand that all media has a purpose and intended effect Students will understand that media influences beliefs and behaviors. Students will be able to compare and contrast different types of propaganda.

LESSON 2: PROPAGANDA Model: Integrative Lesson Process: After a brief review of World War II, give the students a matrix of propaganda images from both Germany and the United States from World War II. The students will examine the charts individually and then the class will describe, compare, and search for patterns in the data set.

LESSON 3: POINT OF VIEW AND VALUES Objectives: Students will know what point of view is. Students will understand that values and point of view influence how media is presented Students will be able to analyze media to see why some things are included and excluded

LESSON 3: POINT OF VIEW AND VALUES Model: Graffiti Lesson Process: Watch three religious commercials and have the students evaluate them for how point of view and values influence what is included or excluded from the media. As a unit review, divide students into groups and use the graffiti model, with the categories of author’s purpose, author’s intended effect, propaganda, point of view, values, and media composition. For each category, students can write down what they’ve learned about the categories, give examples, explain and define them, and so on.