Incorporating skills and procedures which students can use in many areas of the curriculum, this book, and accompanying "teacher's guide," provides interactive activities that are fun and that help students in grades 4 through 12 become critical viewers of television. The book provides homework activities that turn the normally wasted…

Two bibliographies of publications from the International Visual Literacy Association (IVLA) are presented. The first covers the period from 1983 through 1989 and lists 261 publications from the IVLA at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. The second covers from 1990 through 1993 and lists 201 publications. The comprehensive…

Everyone sees through advertisements, yet no one is immune from their appeal. In a writing class the students were able to look at ads without being injured or seduced by them, but doubted that others could do the same. It is important to encourage students to discuss what they actually think about writings rather than what they are supposed to…

Discusses using educational and popular films and television for history instruction. Argues that students need training to see the bias built into film making through the editing process. Urges that critical thinking must be developed in students to make use of mass media coverage of historical and current events as teaching tools. (DK)

Contends that history teachers should help students develop critical viewing and thinking skills about visual images. Discusses the emerging practice of blurring the lines between entertainment and information in television, films, and other visual presentations. Provides two sets of questions to help students analyze documentaries, television…

Some steps toward the integration of media and visual literacy across the curriculum of secondary school classrooms are described, focusing on a project in Pennsylvania that uses collaborative processes to involve educators at secondary and higher levels in the design, development, and implementation of a statewide integrated framework for visual…

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, a black seamstress, refused to give up her seat to a white man on a public bus in Montgomery, Alabama, and she was arrested. On that day, Rosa Parks became the mother of the modern civil rights movement. This study guide may be used as a companion to "The Rosa Parks Story" video which aired on CBS…

The possibility of enhancing the comprehension of television news reporting through a school program of literacy education was studied in Italy with 60 7th graders and 50 11th graders. Results demonstrate that even brief critical viewing instruction can have an impact on student comprehension and attitudes. (SLD)

Outlines classroom techniques for analyzing historical films and documentaries. Provides student materials to develop media literacy. Suggests that role-playing might be useful in stimulating student consideration of the actual production of a documentary. Emphasizes the transfer of critical insights developed in class to other media experiences.…

Examines the role of television in media education and investigates methodological and organizational principles adduced for the study of media during Mediamix, a weekly television program for 10- to 14-year olds shown on TV Malta. Results of an evaluation of the series, including surveys of viewers and teachers, are reported. (Contains 23…

Classifies types of photographs, describing which are most effective in social studies and history instruction. Explores problems in textbooks' use of photographs. Outlines a six-step question model to help students make inferences when analyzing photographs. Develops three lessons using historical photographs to discover more about a photo's time…

Argues that communication scholars and media educators in the United States can gain theoretical and practical insights by closely examining young people's media comments and by acknowledging their complex and dynamic lives. Offers an ethnographic analysis of young adolescents' comments about television. Analyzes their comments in relation to the…

Investigated graduate preservice teachers' perceptions of urban students and schools, exploring how they arrived at these perceptions through personal experiences/contacts and other means. Students completed surveys about their image of urban schools and students and examined commercial Hollywood films, discussing their role in shaping…

Discusses children's access to information through the media and parents' responsibility to protect them, noting what parents should know and how they can learn more. One sidebar examines parenting in the information age. Another sidebar describes how three states are helping parents use critical viewing to take charge of their televisions. (SM)

As the general public demands to know what and how students are learning, schools face some unprecedented issues of accountability regarding student performance. In order to acquire data which is accurate and useful, teachers are turning to more formative assessment methods. These methods convey the ideas that assessment should engage students in…