Ideas for Incorporating Media Literacy Strategies for Middle School Grades (and above)

Language Arts

• Analyze descriptors (adverbs, adjectives) used to describe different products or people.
• Compare the same current events stories covered in different media (TV, newspapers, magazines, radio) and analyze how the information is presented differently.
• Write scripts for TV commercials or programs, or new endings for existing programs.
• Write and produce a TV commercial or print advertisement.
  
  Social Studies

• Discuss the history of the introduction of television and other media into our culture, with key events that have influenced other historical events and issues (e.g., politics).
• Analyze the cities and parts of the country or world that are most often shown on television compared to those that are never shown, and discuss how realistically they are shown, and what people from other countries would think about Americans if they only "knew" us through television and movies.
  
  Math

• Conduct frequency counts of various aspects of media content, summarizing by different types of media (e.g., amount of violence, amount of advertising), using geometry to calculate area of coverage for print media.
• Calculate size distortions and other exaggerations in the media by computing proportions.
• Consider statistics that are left out to distort perception.
  
  Science

• Use excerpts and ideas from some of the science oriented programs (e.g. Bill Nye the Science Guy, National Geographic, Kratt's Creatures ) to introduce topics and generate discussion.
• Analyze unrealistic claims and portrayals shown in the media from a scientific standpoint (e.g., distortions in physical abilities, consequences of a fistfight).
  
  Health