The Teacher's Guide to Media Literacy: Critical Thinking in a Multimedia World

Use media literacy to reach all students!

The Teacher′s Guide to Media Literacy starts by asking, "What does it mean to be literate in today′s world, and how can those literacy skills be developed?" The authors answer those questions by providing concrete, innovative ways to integrate media literacy across the curriculum and teach students to be independent, skilled, and reflective thinkers. Through dozens of suggested activities, teaching strategies, and lessons, this book′s unique vision allows schools to

• Integrate media literacy into teaching at all grade levels and core content areas
• Address key education standards
• Teach 21st-century skills and higher-order critical thinking
• Engage students by bridging schoolwork with their lives outside the classroom

In addition to dozens of activity ideas, the text and companion website include self-reflection exercises, voices from the field, a glossary of terms, and seven annotated, original, classroom-tested lesson plans that illustrate different approaches to media literacy in the classroom. In a time of hectic schedules and ever increasing expectations, the authors help teachers reframe their instruction to focus on the skills students need to succeed in the digital age.

 

Cyndy Scheibe is the Executive Director and Founder of Project Look Sharp, one of the leading media literacy organizations serving K-12 and college educators in the U.S. and a pioneer of curriculum-driven media literacy education. She is also an associate professor in developmental psychology at Ithaca College where she has taught courses in developmental psychology, media research, and media literacy for more than 25 years, and serves as the Director of the Center for Research on the Effects of Television Lab and Archive. A dynamic speaker and workshop leader, she was a founding board member of the National Association for Media Literacy Education, and is author of several articles on media literacy education and practice. She is a contributing editor to many of the media literacy curriculum kits developed by Project Look Sharp, and co-author of the Critical Thinking and Health kit series based on media literacy for elementary grades. She received her Ph.D. in Human Development (1987) from Cornell University.

Faith Rogow was the founding president of the National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE), a founding advisor of Project Look Sharp, and a founding editorial board member of the Journal for Media Literacy Education. She has been a leading media literacy educator, theorist, and strategist for more than two decades, with special interest in early childhood, pedagogy, and diversity issues. Her work is notable for merging academic expertise with grassroots sensibilities. In 1996 she created Insighters Educational Consulting to “help people learn from media and one another.” An award-winning speaker, master trainer, and training designer, she has taught thousands of educators, child care professionals, media professionals, and parents to understand and harness the power of media. She has created educational outreach materials for projects ranging from Sesame Street and Sid the Science Kid to hundreds of independent films, including those featured on PBS’ P.O.V. She is the author of many articles about media literacy, as well as Gone to Another Meeting: A History of the National Council of Jewish Women (University of Alabama Press, 1993). She received her Ph.D. in History (1987) from Binghamton University.