Overview........Lesson Plan Summary.........Sample Lessons.........Culminating Activity........Resources
English Week 1: The Media and You
1 2 3 4 5
Objective: Begin to develop a personal reference about one’s relationship with the media. Objective: Using advertising as an example, identify coded messages put forth by the media and their impact on social justice. Objective: Analyze media for main ideas. Summarize key points and build on ideas presented. Objective: Analyze media for main ideas. Summarize key points and build on ideas presented. Objective: Develop debate skills. Demonstrate an understanding of this week’s topic through effective debate.
Topic:Introduction to the Media: Students will work in small groups to list positives and negatives of a life without TV, radio, internet, newspapers, magazines. In summary we will review people's thoughts as a large group. Journal reflection at end of class. Topic: Teacher demonstrates breaking down an ad campaign on race, gender, sexuality , etc. stereotypes in the media. Student groups will choose an ad campaign they like or dislike and will analyze what the ad says or implies about race, gender, age, sexuality, etc. How does it reinforce/break down injustices in our society? Students will examine why the ad is effective or not. Oral presentation to class. Topic: Teens and the media...an ugly picture: students will read a negative article about youth in the United States. We will then work in groups to summarize the main points of the article in preparation for Friday's debate. Groups will add their own ideas. Topic: Teens and the media...what’s real?: students will read an article that reacts to the negative image of teens in the media and purports to give a more accurate representation of youth in the United States. We will then work in groups to summarize the main points of the article in preparation for Friday's debate. Groups will add their own ideas. Topic: Teens and the media... Class debate. Students will be broken into 2 teams and will have 2 minutes each to counter-argue their positions.
Literacy Aspect: Sutdents will analyze media based on personal experience and communicate their throughts to their peers. They will formulate their ideas in their journal writings. Literacy Aspect: Students will organize their ideas and improve their public speaking skills during their presentations to the class. Literacy Aspect: Students will reinforce reading and interpretation skills. Students will develop media literacy and awareness. Literacy Aspect: Students will reinforce reading and interpretation skills. Students will develop media literacy and awareness by exploring subjectivity and objectivity. Literacy Aspect: Students will develop oral literacy, critical thinking and analytical skills.
HOMEWORK: Watch 1-2 TV shows or read 1-2 magazine or newspaper articles every day this week. Keep a journal where you note the source and title of the show or article. What do you like or dislike about what you read or saw? Do you see any messages about race, gender, sexuality, age, etc. implied in what you read or watched? If you watched the news or read a newspaper, do you see any bias in the writing? To be collected on Friday.
English:

- Overview

- Lesson Plan Summary

- Sample Lessons
English Week 2: The Media and Your Community
6 7 8 9 10
Objective: Analyze visual material based on themes media’s role in community justice. Determine how style of film aids in delivery of the message. Objective: Using advertising as an example, identify coded messages put forth by the media and their impact on social justice. Objective: Analyze media for main ideas. Summarize key points and build on ideas presented. Objective: Analyze media for main ideas. Summarize key points and build on ideas presented. Objective: Develop debate skills. Demonstrate an understanding of this week’s topic through effective debate.
Topic: Watch and take notes on "Straight Outta Hunter's Point" a film by Kevin Epps. What are the injustices facing this community? How does this movie address these issues? What is the media’s role and responsibility in this community? How does the style of the movie affect the movie’s message? Journal reflection at end of class. Topic: Discuss yesterday's film. Work in groups to talk about reactions and thoughts about the film. How has the media contributed to some of the problems facing this community? How has it helped? What accountability does the media have to the community? How does this film differ from a newspaper article or song you might hear about this same topic? Prepare 3 questions for speaker tomorrow. Topic: Speaker: Willie Ratcliff, Publisher of San Francisco Bay View Newspaper (National Black Newspaper of the Year award winner) to speak about the media's role in social justice in BVHP. (He was in the movie “Straight Outta Hunter’s Point.”) Students will prepare 3 questions each in advance. 15 minute discussion at the end of class on ideas presented by the speaker. Topic: Work in groups to compare and contrast the 2 images of communites presented in the music videos “Industry” by Wyclef and “Thug Luvin” by Ja Rule. How do these 2 media images impact social justice on the community level? How do they build or break down community? How realistic are these 2 images? Topic: Watch Culture of Fear segment of "Bowling for Columbine," a film by Michael Moore. Discuss why this neighborhood in LA is made to look so violent. Who does this perception hurt? Who benefits? How does it impact this community? Write about some false perceptions about the community you live in or your political, religious, or cultural community. How could the media help counter these perceptions?
Literacy: Using graphic organizer, students will expand note-taking skills. Literacy: Identify and discuss main points of film. Write questions for speaker. Literacy: Expand oral comprehension and listening skills. Literacy: Interpret and discuss symbols in music videos. Literacy: Using what you have learned, write about stereotypes or false perceptions in the media.
HOMEWORK: Watch 1-2 TV shows or read 1-2 magazine or newspaper articles every day this week. Keep a journal where you note the source and title of the show or article. What do you like or dislike about what you read or saw? Do you see any messages about race, gender, sexuality, age, etc. implied in what you read or watched? If you watched the news or read a newspaper, do you see any bias in the writing? To be collected on Friday.
English Week 3: The Media and the U.S.
11 12 13 14 15
Objective: Explore the connection between politics and art in the case of hip hop music. Objective: Use visual symbols and written cues to express key ideas. Objective: Creative reinterpretation of another student’s work. Discover how motivation influences the media’s decisions. Objective: Oral presentation, distill key points from yesterday’s exercise. Objective: Compare two different types of media related to the same topic. How do subjectivity and objectivity affect the meaning?
Topic: Why is hip hop sometimes called the CNN of black youth? Read article from Davey D’s Hip Hop Website called: “Is Hip Hop Dead?” Discuss hip hop’s political and social responsibilities to American youth. Journal entry: write about a person whose politics or ideas about society you admire. How has this person used the media to put forth his or her message? Topic: You are in an advertising department of a major music company. You have just learned of a new hip hop or rock artist who writes raps or songs that are socially responsible. Work in pairs to create a poster and write a1 minute radio advertisement for this new artist. Don’t forget to let your audience know what ideas this person represents! Be prepared to explain your symbols and themes. Topic: Exercise in corporate ownership of media. Find a partner and swap articles or raps you wrote last week. Put yourself in the shoes of a corporate media giant. Your goal is to change the other person’s work so that it will sell the most papers or albums. Think about your experience in seeing how the media manipulates images to shift people’s perceptions. Be creative! Topic: Share/perform articles/raps with the rest of the class. Reflect on this process in your journals. What did you learn about justice in the media in this process? Topic: Discussion of subjectivity and objectivity in the media. Compare CNN article about Diallo shooting to Wyclef song “Diallo.” How does the media affect the message of justice? Analyze in groups, discuss in large group.
Literacy: Exericse reading comprehension, analytical and writing skills. Literacy: Connect visual representations to writing skills. Literacy: Augment creative writing skills. Literacy: Practice persuasive oral communication. Review key points in writing. Literacy: Determine and write key ideas in graphic organizer. Communicate ideas in groups.
HOMEWORK: This week we’re studying positive and negative symbols and themes in hip hop. Choose 1 album from an artist you listen to (any type of music) and write a brief 2 page essay about the symbols and themes in his or her work and how they have an impact on society. If you have a series of music videos from the artist, you may use that instead. Quote lyrics to suppport your ideas. Internet research about the artist should be incorporated into your own thoughts and analysis. You can use the Hip Hop Circuit Website to begin research on hip hop or to get song lyrics.
English Week 4: Hip Hop Around the World
11 12 13 14 15
Objective: Consider how American media is transferred to other cultures. Begin to evaluate the impact caused by this. Objective: Outline main ideas and begin analysis of portions of the film. Continue evaluation of this medium. Objective: Investigate how a particular medium changes as it is translated to other cultures through group research. Objective: Oral presentations comparing and contrasting U.S. with another country’s hip hop. Objective: Revise papers in response to peer and teacher criticism.
Topic: Topic: Hip hop in France. Read an article about hip hop in the Paris banlieues and what hip hop has come to mean to this culture in preparation for tomorrow’s film. Discuss how this particular form of the media has been exported to other countries and how it’s meaning has changed depending on the culture it has encountered. Small groups work together to fill in worksheet comparing and contrasting hip hop messages in France and in U.S. Listen to MC Solaar (French rap artist) while working in groups. Topic: Watch portions of “La Haine” (aka Hate). This film focuses on the idea that hate breeds hate. It incorporates aspects of hip hop culture and how it may have influenced marginalized groups in France such as the Arab, white and black characters depicted in the film. How does the style affect the message of the film? What are the positive and negative themes you see carrying over from American hip hop culture? Do you see any of these as cultural mis- understandings? Write your ideas on a sheet of paper. To be collected at the end of class. Topic: Library research project: Groups assigned to do library research on hip hop in Japan, the Philippines, Columbia, South Africa and Russia. Use the Hip Hop Circuit to begin your search. Spend the period researching what hip hop means in these different contexts. What has been preserved from U.S. hip hop? What has changed? How has American culture impacted the music of this country? Has the music given rise to new ideas, and are the effects positive or negative? Be prepared to give a mini presentation in class tomorrow. Using CD’s provided by teacher, find a song from your country that you would like to play for the class during the presentation. Topic: Group oral presentation of findings on hip hop around the globe. Topic: Bring in draft of culminating activity. Get help with your work from peers and teacher. Exchange copies and work in pairs to better your work!
Literacy: Use graphic organizer to define and write key ideas. Literacy: Expand note-taking skills. Literacy: Literacy in internet medium, reading and writing. Literacy: Augment oral presentation skills. Organize ideas clearly and effectively. Literacy: Reading and correcting of other students work to maximize impact and comprehension of ideas.
HOMEWORK: Work on culminating activity ('zine). Use rubric provided. Get help in class on Friday or after school.