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Media Literacy
There is no denying that technology is rapidly changing, and changing the world around us at a shocking pace. Students growing up in the 21st century will need to be literate not only in the traditional definition of reading and writing text, but they will need to be media literate. They will need the skills to “read,” analyze, criticize, and respond to media in all forms: traditional text, digital, visual, and aural. Educators have a responsibility to their students to begin developing these skills, even at the elementary level. Read on to find out what media literacy is, what the core concepts are, and resources and ideas for making it a part of your classroom. Also, don’t miss the links at the bottom to great media literacy resources.

What is Media Literacy?

Media Literacy is a term that began in the United States in the late 1960s, when school librarians were first referred to as “media specialists” and the school library was referred to as the “library media center” to acknowledge the multiple media formats that were becoming a part of the library. In the 1960s and 1970s, the movement focused on the impact of television on children and using television for educational purposes. As the focus of education shifted to a “back to basics” approach in the 1980s, the media literacy movement was pushed to the side (Kymes, 2011). In more recent years, media literacy has been a focus of study in the field of education as well as communications. Scholars have worked to define, measure, and develop media literacy education (Rosenbaum, Beentjes, & Konig, 2008).

As a result of research, leaders in the field have defined media literacy as “the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and communicate media in a variety of ways” (Flores-Koulish, et al., 2011). Children need not only to be able to read and write in traditional formats of text, but also need to be able to “read” and respond to the language of sounds, images, and other multimedia. Being media literate includes, among other things, an understanding that media are created, and there are messages behind them that must be interpreted. It is being able to look beneath the surface, analyze information, and evaluate that information. Finally, students communicate with media by creating it themselves in a variety of forms (Flores-Koulish, et al., 2011).

What Are the Key Concepts for Teaching Media Literacy?
It is hard to deny that media literacy skills are essential. However, the question for educators remains: how do I teach my students to be media literate? A survey of teachers in my building indicated that there is much to learn about media literacy. Although 95% felt that they had at least some idea what media literacy was, 50% did not know how to integrate into their lessons. Only 12% of teachers surveyed felt confident that they could teach media literacy and find quality resources.

Thankfully, there are multiple organizations providing definition and direction for educators. The National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE) has defined six core principals of media literacy education along with Key Questions that are a great resource for leading in-depth discussions for older students. These resources can be found at http://namle.net/publications/core-principles/. Teachers of elementary students, though, will benefit from the Core Concepts and Key Questions developed by the Center for Media Literacy. The core concepts from both organizations are very similar, but the Center for Media Literacy provides direct application to the younger grades. The five core concepts are matched with a Key Question to guide lessons and discussion (Center for Media Literacy, 2005).

Core Concept 1: All media messages are “constructed.”
Key Question 1: Who created this message?
For Younger Children: What is this? How is this put together?

In exploring this concept, students need to understand that someone, or a group of people, worked together to create the finished commercial, television show, or article they are seeing. The consumer sees the final product, but never the other drafts and ideas that were rejected. Realizing that media are created and perfected helps create a crucial distance necessary to ask other important questions (Center for Media Literacy, 2005).

Core Concept 2: Media messages are constructed using a creative language with its own rules.
Key Question 2: What creative techniques are used to attract my attention?
For Younger Children: What do I see, hear, smell, touch, or taste? What do I like or dislike about this?

Media language uses its own forms of communication. For example, scary music produces feelings of fear, close-up camera shots imply intimacy, and large text suggests significance. Understanding that media language is used to appeal to feelings can help the viewer detect and avoid possible manipulation. Moreover, an understanding of media language can even increase one’s enjoyment of it (Center for Media Literacy, 2005).

Core Concept 3: Different people experience the same media message differently.
Key Questions 3: How might different people understand this message differently from me?
For Younger Children: What do I think and feel about this? What might other people think and feel about this?

All people have different life experiences that affect the way they view the world around them, including the media. Viewers are constantly attempting to make sense of the things they see and hear, and that is done through the lens of personal experience. The more questions that are asked, the more aware a viewer can be of accepting or rejecting a media message (Center for Media Literacy, 2005).

Core Concept 4: Media have embedded values and points of view.
Key Question 4: What lifestyles, values and points of view are represented in, or omitted from, this message?
For Younger Children: What does this tell me about how other people live and behave? Is anything or anyone left out?

Media tell a story. Even a 15-second commercial contains characters, settings, and a plot. Whoever created the media message made choices about a character’s age, appearance, gender, race, lifestyle, and choices. A discussion of this key question could include ideas about what kind of political or social ideas are being portrayed, and what values are being promoted. An even deeper analysis includes discovering possible points of view that are omitted, and why they were left out. Again, recognizing all of this subtext is important for a viewer to make decisions about accepting or rejecting the message (Center for Media Literacy, 2005).

Core Concept 5: Media messages are organized to gain profit and/or power.
Key Question 5: Why is this message being sent?
For Younger Children: Is this trying to tell me something? Is this trying to sell me something?

Traditionally, many media have been developed as money-making undertakings. For example, the advertisements in magazines and newspapers are the first priority, with news fitting around them. Commercials are carefully placed at different times and channels to target a specific consumer. Realizing that networks and publishers depend on selling time and space helps a viewer step back to reflect on why the message is being sent, who it is being sent to, and who is benefitting from the message. Moreover, the freedom the Internet allows for any individuals or groups to post persuasive messages is further reason to evaluate this key question. A close examination of this question can help a viewer determine if an Internet source is legitimate or unreliable (Center for Media Literacy, 2005).

What Does Media Literacy Look Like in the Elementary Classroom?
As educators become more familiar with the key concepts outlined by the Center for Media Literacy, using the key questions to enhance class discussions can be integrated when a teachable moment arises. As teachers use more and more media as learning tools, these questions follow naturally as an integrated part of the learning process. Critical thinking and questioning of all texts, even traditional print, builds skills necessary for media literacy.

Project Look Sharp, a media literacy initiative from Ithaca College, suggests basic ways to integrate media literacy and critical thinking into any curriculum. First, educators can model their own decision-making process by explaining to their classes how they chose a certain media in class. Teachers can stimulate interest in a new topic by allowing their students to do an informal media search about a new topic, or by sharing a blog, video clip, or news article to activate prior knowledge and start a discussion. When starting a new unit, teachers can involve students in creating an information plan that outlines the types of media that could be used, including their strengths and weaknesses (Schneibe & Rogow, 2008). Teachers can present media content that misrepresents a topic or follows a stereotype and discuss with students the dangers of getting information from only one source. When using video to teach, educators should show the video in segments. Then, stop frequently to discuss and guide students toward what they are looking and listening for (Schneibe & Rogow, 2008). All of these ideas can be easily integrated into lessons to develop media literacy without making drastic changes in curriculum. Project Look Sharp has many more suggestions that can be further explored at http://www.ithaca.edu/looksharp/.

Educators can be more intentional about teaching media literacy by creating units that meet core standards, but are deeply embedded with media literacy skills. Media literacy has been required for many Reading Master’s programs, and as a part of their study, Master’s students are required to develop media literacy units. One Master’s student designed a kindergarten unit that examined popular fairy tales and challenged gender roles within them. As a part of the unit, students dictated and illustrated a new version of Cinderella that included a boy Cinderella, mean stepbrothers, and a princess looking for a husband (Flores-Koulish, et al., 2011). Another student took a Social Studies unit, “In and Around the Land,” and expanded the lesson that asked students to analyze their school. The students created a slideshow of digital pictures and focused on appealing to the audience of a new family in town. Their goal was to persuade that family to come to their school (Flores-Koulish, et al., 2011). Using their own creative skills, teachers can integrate media literacy meaningfully into their unit and lesson plans.

As the need for media literacy becomes greater, there are an increasing number of free resources available to teachers online. One of these resources is Maryland’s Assignment: Media Literacy. Created by Renee Hobbs for Maryland State Department of Education, Assignment: Media Literacy is made up of six units of study for elementary, middle, and high school students. The elementary unit is geared toward students in third through fifth grade. Each unit contains video of commercials, documentaries, and television and movie clips. A downloadable PDF provides a teacher’s guide and reproducibles for students that aid in discussion as you work through each unit. Explore this great resource further at http://mediaeducationlab.com/assignment-media-literacy.

Another great online resource for teaching media literacy is PBS Kids. Arthur’s Guide to Media Literacy uses episodes of the Arthur show to connect to a media literacy concept. Lesson plans are provided for teachers to complete a follow-up activity in class. In one activity, students use pretend money to purchase a product based on an advertisement. This leads to a discussion about how ads can be deceiving. In another activity, students determine if newspaper headlines are fact or opinion. Many of the lessons could be completed meaningfully even without the television episode. All of the Arthur’ Guide lessons can be found at http://www.pbs.org/parents/arthur/lesson/medialiteracy/index.html. For older students, PBS has created the program Don’t Buy It. Appropriate for students in third to fifth grade, this program contains lessons that ask students to analyze their television watching habits, create their own advertisements, and reflect on the use of celebrity endorsements. Explore the scope of this program at http://pbskids.org/dontbuyit/teachersguide.html.

Conclusion
In the 21st century, educators must do far more than refer to the library as the media center or show an educational video in class. The media is very much a part of the lives of the students, and it must be a part of their education as well. To be successful, contributing citizens, consumers, and workers, students must learn to navigate the tricky nuances of media messages. This begins at an early age in the classroom, and teachers must be aware of how to develop media literacy skills. It is a process, and it must be started somewhere, no matter how small a step. Explore the links provided below to begin or extend media literacy education in your classroom.

Links
National Association for Media Literacy Education
http://namle.net/publications/core-principles/

Center for Media Literacy
http://www.medialit.org/

Project Look Sharp
http://www.ithaca.edu/looksharp/

Assignment: Media Literacy
http://mediaeducationlab.com/assignment-media-literacy

Arthur’s Guide to Media Literacy (for primary students)
http://www.pbs.org/parents/arthur/lesson/medialiteracy/index.html

Don’t Buy It (for older elementary or middle school students)
http://pbskids.org/dontbuyit/teachersguide.html

References
Center for Media Literacy. (2005). Media lit kit. Retrieved from http://www.medialit.org/cml-medialit-kit.

Flores-Koulish, S., Deal, D., Losinge, J., McCarthy, K., & Rosebrugh, E. (2011) After the media literacy course: Three early childhood teachers look back. Action in Teacher Education, 33. 127-143.

Hobbs, R. (2009). Assignment: Media literacy. Media Education Lab Temple University. Retrieved from http://mediaeducationlab.com/assignment-media-literacy.

Kymes, A. (2011). Media literacy and information literacy: A need for collaboration and communication. Action in Teacher Education, 33. 184-193.

Rosenbaum, J., Beentjes, J., & Konig, R. (2008) Mapping media literacy: Key concepts and future directions. Communication Yearbook, 32, 312-353.

Scheibe, C., & Rogow, F. (2008) 12 basic ways to integrate media literacy and critical thinking into any curriculum. Project Look Sharp. Retrieved from www.ithaca.edu/looksharp.