Content Area: Language Arts Literacy

 

Index: 3.5A Grade 8 CPI 3

 

Standard: 3.5 - Viewing and Media Literacy

 

Strand: A - Constructing Meaning

 

Cumulative Progress Indicator: 3 - The student will analyze and respond to visual and print messages (e.g. humor, irony, metaphor) and recognize how words, sounds, and still or moving images are used in each medium to convey the intended messages.

 

Grade: 8

 

Sample Activities:

 

·       Students bring in birthday cards, holiday cards, or other messages they have received that they feel are humorous. The class discusses what makes them funny.

 

·       After students read or listen to Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe, the teacher has them consider ways in which the artwork reflects the contrasts between the daughters in the story. Students learn how the visual form can be used as a reflection of story theme.

 

·       Students look at a poster of New York City, drawn from a Manhattan resident’s eyes. In it, Manhattan is very large, and New Jersey and the rest of New York City are quite small. Students then create a visual of a place or situation in which something they value is exaggerated to show the students’ attitudes or perspectives towards it.

 

Vignettes:

 

·       Create a Display Advertisement