Media Literacy Recap

For the Media Literacy Project, Megan and I focused on how relationships are portrayed and constructed through sex and sexuality. We set our lesson up to be part of a larger unit. Each lesson would focus on one aspect of media: news/newspapers, reality TV, music, sitcoms, and commercials/advertisements. The lesson we introduced to the class was on Reality TV.

For the unit, Megan and I created a WebQuest (which is still underproduction). Students would complete analysis tasks for homework that would correspond to the following class day's lesson. The analysis tasks would ask students to view a certain pre-selected aspects of media, then respond to questions in a blog. Their analysis would then help them in lesson projects, as well as the unit's culminating project.

For each class, depending on the media we were focusing on that day, students would work with a technology program to develop a small project (either individually or with a group), using that media and showing how it corresponds/relates/influences their lives. For example, for the lesson on Reality TV, students would be working with iMovie. After reviewing a YouTube clip from homework and discussing it as a class, students would get into groups of three, search for Reality TV related pictures or video clips, and create their own iMovie film. The photos and clips will have to show/explain how they see how relationships in their lives. Groups would then briefly explain why they chose the images they did, and how they think Reality TV may or may not influence their view of relationships based on sex and sexuality.

The mini-projects during the lessons will help students int he unit's culminating project, in which students must use several aspects of media to define, show an understanding, and analyze relationships in their lives as constructed through sex and sexuality. Students will also choose a way to present their projects; the mini-projects during lessons will have allowed students to practice using different programs. After completing the projects, students will present the projects, explaining why they did what they did and integrating important vocabulary learned and used throughout the unit.

Megan and I also created a short iMovie to show with our Media Literacy Project, which is actually out Project Block 4 creation. The movie compared relationships in the media and relationships in "reality."