QUESTION: Media Literacy for Urban Students

[Dalin Ulrich]

Hello everyone! I teach in an urban school district and was wondering if anybody could give me some ideas of current media I can incorporate in my high school classroom this upcoming year that appeals more to urban youth (my students are primarily Latino). If you could also give suggestions about how I could implement these different materials, I would be quite grateful. I'm also interested in learning about ways I can stay current with music my students listen to.

 

Thanks!

 

-Dalin

[Frank W. Baker]

Why not invite your students to bring in their favorite magazines. You can involve them in a deconstruction of the cover images and words, as well as the ads and their persuasive techniques. Regarding music, they can bring in their favorite songs and you can have them study the lyrics, the company that promotes the music, the marketing of same and more.
They can create CD covers for their favorite artists or even concert posters using software like Glogster. Ask them about their favorite films and why they like them. Introduce them to the language of film and help them to understand the tools and techniques filmmakers use that help create meaning. Engaging them in popular culture, and their media, is a great way to get started.  For more ideas, surf over to the web site that I maintain, the Media Literacy Clearinghouse: I think you will find dozens of ideas there.

[Ryan Goble]

Hey Dalin - have you had a chance to look at some of the playlist tools like:

PLAYLIST: CONNECT THE MINDS (CTM) ACTIVITY + ARTICLE PDF!!!
PLAYLIST: CONNECT THE MINDS (CTM) QUIZ - PDFs for College, HS, MS, ...
DID YOU READ QUIZ?" - CARTOON EDITION

PLAYLIST: BETA MEDIA CIRCLES PART I

PLAYLIST: THREE 4 THINKING