Charles: Focusing on Literacy Skills [Summarizing]

Now that you have selected the IMPORTANT DETAILS from the short story, you are ready to connect them together to form your own SUMMARY of the text.  By rewriting the text keeping only the key details while omitting the unnecessary you will have a strong grasp of the ACTION in the text..   Charles: A Focus on Literacy Skills Charles is … Continue reading Charles: Focusing on Literacy Skills [Summarizing]

Charles: Focusing on Literacy Skills [Determining Importance]

Having READ and ANNOTATED the story Charles, you will now DETERMINE IMPORTANCE by selecting specific QUOTATIONS from the story that support why you self-selected the most important parts of the text for each page. Charles: A Focus on Literacy Skills Charles is a short story written by Shirley Jackson in 1948.  A full copy of the text can be READ … Continue reading Charles: Focusing on Literacy Skills [Determining Importance]

Teaching Literacy Skills through Assignment Creation

The best way to demonstrate that you understand something is to explain it to someone else.  Allow students the opportunity to demonstrate that they understand a concept by flipping expectations and allow them to create assignments rather than complete them.   Introduction This lesson focuses on having students READ A SHORT STORY and then break into small groups (I … Continue reading Teaching Literacy Skills through Assignment Creation

Gender Representation Lessons: Downloadable Resources

This page contains all the downloadable resources for the Teaching Gender Representation in the Media lessons.  While each lesson is a classroom-ready three part lesson, the various resources have all been collected in this location for teaching convenience.   Gender Lesson Resources All resources and lessons can be used for non-commercial classroom use.   THE TOY BOX … Continue reading Gender Representation Lessons: Downloadable Resources

Gender Representation in the Classroom: Final Thoughts

Gender representation is a serious issue that is constantly changing.  Each month brings new issues to the forefront; strong teachers will use current events to help shape their dynamic lessons. This lesson is part of a large mini-unit on Teaching Gender Representation in the Media.  It can be used as a stand-alone piece or part of … Continue reading Gender Representation in the Classroom: Final Thoughts

Gender Lesson: Reshaping Gender Normative Roles

Students need to be empowered to become agents of change in the world.  Digital communication and social media are powerful tools that our students are already familiar with; showing them how to utilize these tools to enact real change allows them to reshape the media landscape that surrounds them. Having already looked at targetted writing … Continue reading Gender Lesson: Reshaping Gender Normative Roles

Gender Lesson: Using the Media Triangle to Annotate Advertisements

It's important that students know how to identify and name problematic messaging in the media they consume.  From Facebook to Twitter to Television and Websites, our students view hundreds of advertisements a day.  Having already seen how problematic messaging exists in the media we consume, in our past lesson, this lesson will arm our students … Continue reading Gender Lesson: Using the Media Triangle to Annotate Advertisements

Gender Lesson: The Past is Present – Part 2

Advertisements often have problematic gender messaging; however, advertisements can also be used to combat negative messaging, drawing attention to problematic norms. Building on the negative messaging from The Past is Present - Part 1 students should have a strong notion of the problematic messages that are inherenant in media pieces, and gendered advertisements.  This lesson will … Continue reading Gender Lesson: The Past is Present – Part 2