Language Arts

Grade 5: Media Literacy	Planning: Term # Tracking: Ach. Level
Overall Expectations	1	2	3	4
1.demonstrate an understanding of a variety of media texts;
2. identify some media forms and explain how the conventions and techniques associated with them are used to create meaning;
3. create a variety of media texts for different purposes and audiences, using appropriate forms, conventions, and techniques;
4. reflect on and identify their strengths as media interpreters and creators, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful in understanding and creating media texts.
Specific Expectations
1. Understanding Media Texts
Purpose and Audience: 1.1 identify the purpose and audience for a variety of media texts (e.g., this sitcom is designed to appeal to teenagers; this comic book is designed to appeal to younger girls; this CD-ROM contains information for people interested in sharks). Teacher prompt: "Who is this work intended/not intended for? What evidence in the work tells you that?"
Making Inferences/Interpreting Messages: 1.2 use overt and implied messages to draw inferences and construct meaning in media texts (e.g., overt message in an advertisement showing the product's user surrounded by friends: This product is so good that you and your friends will all like it; implied messages: Using this product will make you popular; not using it may make you an outsider; popularity is based on having the right things). Teacher prompt: "What are the overt and implied messages conveyed by this T-shirt, which displays the logo of a popular rock band? Is the implied message more powerful than the overt message? Why, or why not? Do you think this T-shirt sends a message about the person wearing it?"
Responding to and Evaluating Texts: 1.3 express opinions about ideas, issues, and/or experiences presented in media texts, and give evidence from the texts to support their opinions (e.g., explain why they think the coverage of an event by one media news source is more interesting and/or more reliable than the coverage of the same event by another source; defend an opinion about whether a media text that excludes groups such as girls or racial or ethnocultural minorities is sending a harmful message)
Audience Responses: 1.4 explain why different audiences might respond differently to the same media text (e.g., identify some different responses to their favourite music and suggest reasons for the differences). Teacher prompts: "What do you think of this media text? Who might agree or disagree with your opinion?" "How does gender/age/culture seem to influence people's choices? Give examples."
Point of View: 1.5 identify whose point of view is presented or reflected in a media text, ask questions to identify missing or alternative points of view, and, where appropriate, suggest how a more balanced view might be represented (e.g., this documentary about various athletes does not include athletes who have physical disabilities; another character could be included to represent their experience). Teacher prompt: "Whose point of view is missing in this media text? How could the text be changed to include that point of view?"
Production Perspectives: 1.6 identify who produces various media texts, the reason for their production, how they are produced, and how they are funded (e.g., publishers produce magazines for specific audiences to entertain, inform, and make money, using funds from sales and advertising; music companies produce CDs to entertain and make money, using funds from direct sales). Teacher prompt: "What are the different professions that would be involved in producing a newspaper? A CD? How much would it cost to produce a newspaper or a CD? How could we find out?"
2. Understanding Media Forms, Conventions, and Techniques
Form: 2.1 describe in detail the main elements of some media forms (e.g., television talk show: host, studio audience, guests, commercial breaks; news broadcast: news anchor, reporters, video clips, commercial breaks; television sitcom: standard set, regular cast, visiting actors, laugh track, plot problem and complications, happy ending). Teacher prompt: "What do you expect to see when you watch a sitcom that you don't expect in a talk show?"
Conventions and Techniques: 2.2 identify the conventions and techniques used in some familiar media forms and explain how they help convey meaning and influence or engage the audience (e.g. newspapers: separate sections for international/national news, sports, entertainment, and local events to appeal to a wide range of interests; headlines, photographs with captions, and graphics to add human interest and impact; photographs of columnists to signal that they are expressing a personal opinion). Teacher prompts: "In what ways are the layouts of these two newspapers similar? In what ways are they different? Can you suggest reasons for the similarities and differences?" "How many sections are there in this newspaper? What sorts of advertisements appear in the different sections? Can you explain why they differ?"
3. Creating Media Texts
Purpose and Audience: 3.1 describe in detail the topic, purpose, and audience for media texts they plan to create (e.g., an advertising campaign to encourage students to participate in a charity drive). Teacher prompt: "What do you want to say? Who is your audience? How do you want to influence your audience?"
Form: 3.2 identify an appropriate form to suit the specific purpose and audience for a media text they plan to create, and explain why it is an appropriate choice (e.g., a pamphlet or newsletter to inform parents, teachers, and students about environmental initiatives taken or planned by members of the school community). Teacher prompt: "Why would a pamphlet or a newsletter be better than a poster to communicate this message?"
Conventions and Techniques: 3.3 identify conventions and techniques appropriate to the form chosen for a media text they plan to create, and explain how they will use the conventions and techniques to help communicate their message (e.g., the components of the dinner menu for a restaurant: different sections for each course, descriptions of ingredients, catchy titles for different dishes, and prices are included to interest diners in the various dishes and give them information they need to make choices). Teacher prompt: "In what ways would a menu for a fast-food restaurant differ from a menu for a fine-dining restaurant?"
Producing Media Texts: 3.4 produce a variety of media texts for specific purposes and audiences, using appropriate forms, conventions, and techniques (e.g., • a T-shirt to be worn by a character in a story or television show • a pamphlet on a socially relevant topic they have studied this year • a collection of images (downloaded, clipped, or scanned, as appropriate) from various sources, such as magazines, the Internet, newspapers, or textbooks, to illustrate a topic from a cross-curricular unit of study • a flyer/poster, created using software, to advertise a school event • a mock television commercial for a food product, drink, or item of clothing • a news broadcast about a topic - such as immigration - from a cross-curricular unit of study • a breakfast, lunch, or dinner menu for a restaurant depicted in a novel, short story, or film)
4. Reflecting on Media Literacy
Metacognition: 4.1 identify, with some support and direction, what strategies they found most helpful in making sense of and creating media texts, and explain how these and other strategies can help them improve as media viewers/listeners/producers. Teacher prompt: "Reflect on the media product(s) you have created. What did you learn from the process? How will that influence your next effort?"
Interconnected Skills: 4.2 explain, with some support and direction, how their skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing help them to make sense of and produce media texts. Teacher prompts: "How are reading, viewing, and listening similar? How can your strengths in one area help you in another?" "How can listening to a music soundtrack help you understand the feelings of a character?" "How are talking, writing, and creating media texts similar? How do strengths in one area help you in another? How can writing skills help you in producing media texts?"

Expectations: Copyright The Queen's Printer for Ontario, 2006.  Format: Copyright B.Phillips, 1998.