ENG2D Media Unit - Understanding Bias, Misrepresentation & Miscast

 

In this unit, students will explore important concepts and information on the common topics seen in most media texts: bias, misrepresentation, and miscast. Students will critically explore and discuss how these terms function in mainstream society, along with the importance of diversity and representation in order to create a more equitable and accurate representation of news, events, and people.  

Students will partake in a number of activities that incorporate group and individual work, supplemented with class discussions at the end of each day. Finally, in small groups, students will demonstrate their overall understanding of bias, misrepresentation, and miscast through creating an in-depth and interactive presentation analyzing a current topic reflective of the themes presented in this unit. Please see below for the daily instructional lesson plans, activities,  materials, and RPT for this unit. 

Media Unit: Overview 

Day 1 - Bias in News Sources (Adapted from Media Smarts) 

• Introduction of what bias is, and how to identify bias in the media 
• Explanation of RPT

Day 2 - Diversity and Media Ownership (Adapted from Media Smarts) 

• Class activity exploring two different articles on diversity in the media 
• Consolidation of discussion in Venn Diagram 

Day 3 - Miscast and Seldom Seen (Adapted from Media Smarts) 

• MTV Video & discussion questions 
• Assessment #1 - Presentation Checklist 

Day 4-5: "Spill-Over" periods for previous lessons, activities, dicsussions, AND teacher-conferences for final RPT.

• Begin presentations if class is ready! 

And the Award Goes To...! A Rich Performance Assessment Task for ENG1D

Please enjoy my take on the Rich Performance Assessment Task applicable for ENG1D. This task combines an oral communication (Speech) and media (Movie Poster) components. 

RPAT Snapshot: After reading several texts spanning various genres of literature, students will select ONE (1) character to embody and write from the perspective of. Students will also select ONE (1) award's category to nominate that character for a specific award. They will then plan, develop, and edit an acceptance speech for that award. A post-speech interview will be conducted with the host (aka teacher) in order to assess the depth to which students understand the character they chose, text from which they came from, and other texts/characters studied in constrast as well. Finally, a movie poster will be created to highlight the category with which the chosen characters are nominees for.  

RPAT Slideshow - A breakdown of the TASK. Follow the Teacher Copy for the complete outline. 

1. RPAT Schedule 
2. List of characters - Appendix 1
3. List of possible awards/categories - Appendix 2 
4. Curriculum Rationale

Assessment & Evaluation Tools: 

1. Speech (Essay) Outline
2. Written Draft Checklist
3. Movie Poster Rationale 
4. Post-Speech Interview Questions 
5. RPAT Complete Rubric 

Supplementary Lessons: 

1. Plan of Development (P.O.D.) - Lesson: extra support for creating a P.O.D. for essays
2. Media Literacy - Lesson: explores the techniques used in different forms of media  

Take One Leave One - Sharing Resources

    Sharing resources, lessons, and materials happens beyond just between colleagues, as there are millions of online resources available for teachers to use and adpat in their own classrooms. Some resources require a payment, understandably so, while others are free for the general public. Two great websites that I’ve used a lot during my time at Thomas Merton are Ereading Worksheets and Curio. I’ve relied on Ereading for ‘gap-filling’, or extra practice/support for ELL students as well as students who are a little rusty with the basics, such as identifying elements of a short story, or figurative language. On the flip-side, Canada Reads is where I was able to help shape a novel study while I was teaching 3U.They provide excellent context, information, and graphics on specific authors and their work. I’ve decided to include both resources to demonstrate the spectrum with which types of online resources are available - as you’ll see, the range is quite large!

Back to the Basics: EReading

Focus on Short Stories: "The Lottery Ticket" - applicable for grades 5-9

    This is a short story I use as part of the final assessment in mPLAR English as it is not an overly long story but, provides opportunities for students to analyze the text for important meanings and themes. What’s great about this activity is that there is an answer key to the multiple choice questions which makes it easier for marking. There is also a vocabulary in the footnotes section to assist with certain language barriers. There are 20 more short stories included on this website and what’s neat is that you can download the story, and any other resource in multiple files. Everything is available to download as PDF for easy uploading, a Word Doc for easy editing, or simply in a link format if you were to embed the story on another online platform. Though there are tons of materials on this site, figurative language, text structure, point of view, to name a few, this is should be a great place to start. There are also powerpoint presentations on topics like theme which should serve as inspiration for a teacher’s own lesson. Ereading doens’t provide fully drawn out lesson plans, as it is more of a good resource bank, especially for those students who need extra support and practice with core literacy skills. I would recommend this site to ESL/ELL teachers as well as it does a great job with providing other basic skill developing, practice work.

Extending your Understanding: Curio (CBC)

Novel Study: The Marrow Theives by Cherie Dimaline

    You may have heard or seen this resource before, but Curio is where it’s at when it comes to information and study guides for different novels. There is an excellent Canada Reads (on Curio) page for The Marrow Theives which comes with interviews and other videos of Dimaline talking about her experiences writing her book, and why she wrote it. There are also teacher guides and question prompts to help frame the direction of the novel study. What is also great is that there are related topics to those in the novel with clickable links to explore that topic in further detail. Curio is a great place to get started on ideas for a new book or unit as there are other great resources on multiple topics all of which you can easily search up. There is even a great ‘how-to’ graphic on how to use Canada Reads in the classroom. Curio is a lovely Canadian resource that allows different authors' voices to be heard, while presenting the information in an approachable and student friendly manner - I highly recommend! I've purchased a memoir called From the Ashes by Jesse Thistle which outlines his life growing up Metis and homeless, and the challenges he overcame. I'm very excited to read it this summer, and to see that he also has a page dedicated to his book as well. Another great place to start if you ever have to teach this novel.

Whether you’re looking for something super basic, like a refresher on the different types of irony used in literature, or you’re looking for contextual information on a new novel, these resources would be a great place to start! 

I’d love to hear your thoughts on these resources, feel free to take one and/or leave one! 

Take One Leave One - Sharing Activities

    One of the many, many, benefits of this great profession is that a large part of teaching is collaboration and sharing resources. You’ll never feel lost or run out of ideas! I have Google folders from numerous schools and teachers that I’ve accumulated over the years, and it makes me feel so grateful to work in a field where (for the most part) exchanging ideas and materials is strongly encouraged - no need to reinvent the wheel here, just improve it! I always ask a teacher, new or veteran if they ever “need anything”. Don’t have a quiz? Rubric, or text? I’ve got it, and if I don’t I know someone who just might. English is so universal in that our core concepts remain constant, but the ways in which teachers interpret and decide to present or teach the material is up to them. This is when creativity pours out and you can get a better sense of that teacher’s style and adaptation. Having something to look off of just for inspiration does wonders if you’re a new teacher, or if you’re stuck in a rut. I remember there was a time when teachers would be very protective and almost territorial over their work, which is understandable. Lessons and activities don’t just create themselves however, I’m glad to teach in a time where the mentality of hoarding your work is rare to come across and after all, it’s all about making everyone’s lives a little easier, and if that means sharing a quick lesson why not!?

    When prompted with this week’s topic of sharing one lesson, activity, or resource on this blog, I immediately thought of my ‘Why we Study Indigenous Literature’ lesson. This lesson stood out to me because not only was it the lesson I conducted during an appraisal but, the reactions and behaviours of my Grade Nine students is something I’ll never forget. I gave this lesson in order to frame our learning and understanding while we read our novel study. [Students had the choice between The Marrow Theives or Indian Horse] I was apprehensive not because I was being evaluated but, because I wanted to make sure my lesson was appropriate and did justice to better understanding exactly why we study Indigenous literature.

    I broke down my lesson into a few sections which are outlined in my agenda. Teaching in a Catholic school, we started the lesson by praying to an Indigenous patron saint. Next, we filled in a note while watching some videos, and went through terms, much like a ‘lecture’ portion of a class. Finally, students had the chance to examine different news articles on contemporary Indigenous issues. In groups, they read the article and answered several questions. This not only gave the important context before we started the novels but also, introduced important themes to look out for while we read.

    Now more than ever, it’s important to recognize and address Canada’s history, and treatment towards Indigneous people in order to walk sincerely on the path of reconciliation. Students should be learning about important Indigenous issues well before grade nine, but if this isn’t possible then grade nine it is - and I’m happy to be the one to do it! Having the students watch difficult but crucial videos with the voices of Canada’s Indigenous people, informs them that it’s important to recognize it’s part of every Canadian’s past, for if it weren’t for Indigenous people, we wouldn’t be here. Having a fill in the blank note also helps with any DI needs in the class.

    The lesson also covers brief summaries and theme topics for the novels we were reading in the novel study unit, which helps to scaffold student understanding so that they aren’t thrown off when they come across a specific theme or message in the novels. Concluding the lesson with some group work allows students to socialize in small groups, and consolidate their learning while further enhancing their knowledge by looking at contemporary Indigenous news issues. Please feel free to take all or some of the materials for my lesson below - I hope you use it, or at the very least, it inspires you to try something new in your own practice!  

Lesson - 'Why we Study Indigenous Literature' & Note

Article - 'Our Culture is Everything'

PS! The groups were given chart paper and markers to record their answers to the questions. Groups presented their ideas afterwards :) 

Let's Take a Look at Literacy!

 

This week's topic of discussion focuses on the importance of literacy - more importantly, strategies to support learners struggling with literacy. Below, you will find a step-by-step plan of action to target literacy issues within a local high school in the Halton Catholic District School Board. In combination of the Literacy Proposal, important statistics at the school, school board, and provincial level will be outlined in order to frame our understanding of student success with the OSSLT. 

The OSSLT is a graduation requirement throughout the province of Ontario, and other provinces across the country. As educators, we want all of our students to succeed so, it's crucial we take time to draft and implement a plan to help them find the strategies that work best for them in order to be successful on the OSSLT and in all aspects of literacy. 

Enojy! Literacy Proposal 

Finland vs. The North Americas - A Comparion of Education

Today's topic of discussion and review, is based on the ideas from "Why are Finland's Schools Successful?" by LynNell Hancock. Canada and the US can learn a lot from this Nordic country, and if anyone needs a refresher on why we enter this great profession, it's surley us - teachers. 

Below is a critique & comparison to Finland & the Noth Americas' education system, priorities & overall apporach: 

“This is what we do every day, prepare kids for life.” A phrase you sometimes forget as an educator. Finland’s approach to education is in a sense, more holistic and human to that of Canada’s. The Finnish education system tries to ‘catch the weakest student’ where in places like the North Americas, it is more common to ‘weed out the weakest’. This means that schools will generally suggest a ‘lower’ level for students who aren’t strong enough in an academic setting. The complete opposite happens in Finland - teachers will do everything they can so that every student, no matter the ability, will succeed (this also includes holding students back a grade if absolutely needed). 

The article also states, “if you only measure the statistics, you miss the human aspect”, which is another stark difference when comparing Finland’s take on testing and standards. Things in Canada are looking up, but for a long period of time, aspects like test scores and daily homework outweighed aspects of what learning actually meant. Education is held at such a high degree in both countries but, the approach to how students receive and demonstrate learning greatly differs. There is ‘no rush’ in Finland, where in Canada there seems to be a strict timeline and expectations as soon as a child enters kindergarten. 

Finally, Finland’s education system is largely run by people in education, unlike the North Americas where business and politics have had a huge hand in educational affairs, which also speaks to what drives the overall goals of education in both countries. I think Finland provides a great reminder to the North American education systems to not forget that, “we [educators] prepare children to learn how to learn, not how to take a test...” and learning is life-long, tests are not.

Comparing Canadian Implementations of the English Curriculum

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to teach English in another province? What are the similarities or differences between Ontario's English Curriculum to that of say, British Columbia's? Look no further, this week's topic is an indepth, cross-comparison (yet still breief) of ON & B.C. in terms of each province's treatment of high school English. 

Here is a sneak peak at the report below:  

 This report aims to critically analyze and explore the comparisons between how the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia have managed important aspects of their respective English curriculums. The report will aim to highlight how each province responds to standards, testing, and organization of grade level expectations and skill sets students are expected to attain throughout their high school experience.

The full report can be accessed here.

Please share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below! :)