Media literacy is a broad topic when one begins to consider all the ways we are influenced by media in the marketplace. I think David’s poster project was a good introduction to a wide-ranging topic. He could continue to strengthen their awareness and understanding of the commercial messages by venturing into other media outlets. Some activity ideas are:
1) View television commercials to interpret the nonverbal and verbal messages in an advertisement. What message or mood does the soundtrack create? What do the visual images of the commercial reveal? How did the commercial make your students feel? Did they want to buy the product, why?
2) Discuss sponsorship and brand placement. How sports figures are paid to wear certain brands and how movies and TV shoes also do brand placement as a way to get more money from companies.
3) Who is in the ad, is it a famous person, a movie star, or sports hero? Why are they acting in the commercial? Why do advertisers choose to have celebrities sell their products?
4) View banner ads on the Internet, spam and companion ads on Web sites. Where do these lead, what are they trying to sell, and are they legitimate?
5) Discuss the models in an ad. How are they stylized? What kind of effort was made to give a model a certain look? Is it realistic for regular people to look like that? Why do advertisers choose professional models for their commercials? Is an ad sexist or does it stereotype?
6) Have students write down the commercial brands they like to eat and investigate the companies they choose to buy food from. Do these companies use false advertising? Do they harm the environment? Is the product healthy? How do food advertisers try to sell their food to kids?
Following discussions about messages in the media, students may want to take action against a company that was unscrupulous or whose product was inadequate. Students could create their own “Consumer Reports” or write to companies, politicians, and generate their own ideas on how to take action. They could do research on different ads then conduct their own awards show with categories such as most persuasive ad on TV, most aggressive Internet ad campaign, etc. There are many ways to help children become more media literate and aware of the messages they receive everyday.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
2 Literacy Moments
Describing my first encounter with a children's book is quite a challenge for me. I have read so many children's books over the last 16 years that I can't separate the books of my childhood from my adulthood. However, one memory I have is of a first grade teacher reading Charlotte's Web by E.B. White everyday after lunch. I was captivated by the story and found the animal characters in the story so endearing that it was hard to say good-bye to them when the book was over. As a child, I think I related to Fern’s love for Wilbur because of my affection for our family dog, Abigail (a basset hound, that was smelly and poorly behaved like most basset hounds). As a child, I also liked books that with mischievous characters. Templeton, the self-absorbed, scavenging rat, who lives in Wilbur’s barn, is one of my favorites. E.B. White’s simple descriptions and lively characters make this story memorable even for people like me; whose childhoods are blurred by age and parenthood.
Elie Wiesel’s autobiography, Night, is both his memoir and testimony of what happened to him during the Holocaust. It is a book that made a difference in my life because his painful story is a reminder of what occurs when people are intolerant of other races, religions, classes, etc. When I teach children, I always try to bring a message of tolerance to the classroom. Helping children accept each other’s differences is important to me.
Night is also a book about survival. Survival stories remind me of the strength people are able to find within themselves to overcome the worst circumstances. How does someone survive such destruction and go on living? Where do they find their strength? How does someone live with so much fear? Why didn’t they give up? It is inspiring to know someone can survive the darkest of times.
Elie Wiesel’s autobiography, Night, is both his memoir and testimony of what happened to him during the Holocaust. It is a book that made a difference in my life because his painful story is a reminder of what occurs when people are intolerant of other races, religions, classes, etc. When I teach children, I always try to bring a message of tolerance to the classroom. Helping children accept each other’s differences is important to me.
Night is also a book about survival. Survival stories remind me of the strength people are able to find within themselves to overcome the worst circumstances. How does someone survive such destruction and go on living? Where do they find their strength? How does someone live with so much fear? Why didn’t they give up? It is inspiring to know someone can survive the darkest of times.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Visit to Politics and Prose
Mini Research #2 Observations in a Local Bookstore
The bookstore I visited was Politics & Prose located in Northwest D.C. My visit coincided with the toddler story hour so I was unable to spend much time in the easy reader, picture book section. However, I did spend time browsing in the non-fiction and juvenile fiction areas. There were many books representing diverse cultures and social issues. I found most of these books in non-fiction areas. Books are displayed in brightly labeled sections such as Sports, Holidays, Parenting, Science, Poetry, Art, Geography, Biography, World Religion, Juvenile Fiction and entire section devoted to Ramadan. I found that the authorship was as diverse as the cultures represented in the books.
Some of the books that touched on social issues and cultural diversity were:
What the World Eats by Faith D’Aluisio
This book presents family photographs from around the world. In the photos, families are positioned next to all the groceries they eat in a week. Each chapter discusses the cost of the food in that country and how people transport it and buy it. This book represents a diverse group of cultures through a simple topic.
A School Like Mine: A Unique Celebration of Schools Around the World by UNICEF
This book presents images and information about many schools around the world. Some of the countries represented are Ireland, Peru, China, Egypt and Canada.
Prita Goes to India by Prodepta Das
This story describes a young girl’s trip to India to visit relatives. There are many photographs of Indian life.
Snow Fallng in Spring: Coming of Age in China During the Cultural Revolution by Moying Li
Moying Li describes how she fled from her private school during the Cultural Revolution to the countryside. While in the country, she escapes the communist takeover by burying herself in classic literature but the Maoists begin to destroy all the books.
My Heart Glow: Alice Cogswell, Thomas Gallaudet and the Birth of American Sign Language by Emily Arnold McCully
After struggling to teach Alice Cogswell, a young deaf girl, basic reading and writing. Thomas Gallaudet travels to Europe to find a way to help deaf students communicate. When he returns from Europe, he sets up a school where he and his students develop American Sign Language together.
Poetry for Young People by Langston Hughes
This collection of Langston Hughes poems has striking illustrations and depicts American life during the Great Depression and Harlem Renaissance. Some of the poems in the book are: “Sue Wears Red” and “Mother to Son.”
Up Close: Ella Fitzgerald Jazz Legend by Tanya Lee Stone
The author describes Ella Fitzgerald’s success as a jazz singer as well the discrimination she faced on the road, especially in the Segregated South.
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
Is the story on a young girl hoping to find her estranged mother while she goes on a week-long car trip with her grandparents to Idaho.
The White Nights of Ramadan by Maha Addasi
This is a fictional story about a family celebrating Ramadan. The illustrations show how a Muslim family spends time together during this holiday period.
Some of the books that I felt stereotyped were:
Famous Movie Wedding Gowns by Tom Tierney. I have to admit I really enjoyed looking at this paper doll book but I do think it was geared to the “princess” audience.
The Daring Book For Girls by Miriam Peskowitz and The Dangerous Book For Boys by Hal Iggulden are reference books about a range of topics. Some of the chapters for girls were how to jump rope, play cards (hearts and gin), press flowers and negotiate a salary.
Topics for boys were how to tie knots, fish, play poker and perform coin tricks. Two of the chapters were entitled “The Golden Age of Piracy” and “Famous Battles.” The publisher did not have a section on how to negotiate salary for boys.
The books in the store were accessible to everyone who can speak and read English. It is a family-friendly space where young children and their parents would like to stay awhile and read stories. (Some places are not very accessible to families with young children.) One thought I had was that there were not a lot of books in Spanish. Given D.C.’s large Hispanic population, I found this surprising. Washington is an international city and I think the store grasps the need to appeal to a diverse population. However, their Spanish language resources were limited.
The bookstore I visited was Politics & Prose located in Northwest D.C. My visit coincided with the toddler story hour so I was unable to spend much time in the easy reader, picture book section. However, I did spend time browsing in the non-fiction and juvenile fiction areas. There were many books representing diverse cultures and social issues. I found most of these books in non-fiction areas. Books are displayed in brightly labeled sections such as Sports, Holidays, Parenting, Science, Poetry, Art, Geography, Biography, World Religion, Juvenile Fiction and entire section devoted to Ramadan. I found that the authorship was as diverse as the cultures represented in the books.
Some of the books that touched on social issues and cultural diversity were:
What the World Eats by Faith D’Aluisio
This book presents family photographs from around the world. In the photos, families are positioned next to all the groceries they eat in a week. Each chapter discusses the cost of the food in that country and how people transport it and buy it. This book represents a diverse group of cultures through a simple topic.
A School Like Mine: A Unique Celebration of Schools Around the World by UNICEF
This book presents images and information about many schools around the world. Some of the countries represented are Ireland, Peru, China, Egypt and Canada.
Prita Goes to India by Prodepta Das
This story describes a young girl’s trip to India to visit relatives. There are many photographs of Indian life.
Snow Fallng in Spring: Coming of Age in China During the Cultural Revolution by Moying Li
Moying Li describes how she fled from her private school during the Cultural Revolution to the countryside. While in the country, she escapes the communist takeover by burying herself in classic literature but the Maoists begin to destroy all the books.
My Heart Glow: Alice Cogswell, Thomas Gallaudet and the Birth of American Sign Language by Emily Arnold McCully
After struggling to teach Alice Cogswell, a young deaf girl, basic reading and writing. Thomas Gallaudet travels to Europe to find a way to help deaf students communicate. When he returns from Europe, he sets up a school where he and his students develop American Sign Language together.
Poetry for Young People by Langston Hughes
This collection of Langston Hughes poems has striking illustrations and depicts American life during the Great Depression and Harlem Renaissance. Some of the poems in the book are: “Sue Wears Red” and “Mother to Son.”
Up Close: Ella Fitzgerald Jazz Legend by Tanya Lee Stone
The author describes Ella Fitzgerald’s success as a jazz singer as well the discrimination she faced on the road, especially in the Segregated South.
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
Is the story on a young girl hoping to find her estranged mother while she goes on a week-long car trip with her grandparents to Idaho.
The White Nights of Ramadan by Maha Addasi
This is a fictional story about a family celebrating Ramadan. The illustrations show how a Muslim family spends time together during this holiday period.
Some of the books that I felt stereotyped were:
Famous Movie Wedding Gowns by Tom Tierney. I have to admit I really enjoyed looking at this paper doll book but I do think it was geared to the “princess” audience.
The Daring Book For Girls by Miriam Peskowitz and The Dangerous Book For Boys by Hal Iggulden are reference books about a range of topics. Some of the chapters for girls were how to jump rope, play cards (hearts and gin), press flowers and negotiate a salary.
Topics for boys were how to tie knots, fish, play poker and perform coin tricks. Two of the chapters were entitled “The Golden Age of Piracy” and “Famous Battles.” The publisher did not have a section on how to negotiate salary for boys.
The books in the store were accessible to everyone who can speak and read English. It is a family-friendly space where young children and their parents would like to stay awhile and read stories. (Some places are not very accessible to families with young children.) One thought I had was that there were not a lot of books in Spanish. Given D.C.’s large Hispanic population, I found this surprising. Washington is an international city and I think the store grasps the need to appeal to a diverse population. However, their Spanish language resources were limited.
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