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44 Viewing Skills

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331
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Viewing Skills Opening Page

Start-Up Activity

Review the table on page 331 that shows the screen-media habits of teenagers in the United States. Pause and give students time to reflect on where their own habits fit on the table. Compare your students’ results with average American teenagers. Are your students’ screen-media habits similar to the average teenager? 

Note that this chapter will show students how to view screen media with a close and careful eye. 

Think About It

“Media literacy is not just important, it’s absolutely critical. It’s going to make the difference between whether kids are a tool of the mass media or whether the mass media is a tool for kids to use.”

—Linda Ellerbee

Page 332 from All Write

Viewing Web Sites

Remind students that the Web is bursting with news and information; however, not everything they read online is accurate. Therefore, it's important to view Web sites with a critical eye. Students can ask the questions on this page to test the reliability of Web sites. 

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Page 333 from All Write

Watching the News

The information on the next two pages will help students view the news with a critical eye. Page 333 helps students check news for completeness. If possible, share a news story and have students use the 5 W's questions to check it for completeness. 

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Page 334 from All Write

Watching the News (Continued)

Read aloud the tips for watching news for correctness and point of view. Remind students that a single news story rarely provides the complete picture of a topic. Recommend that students read, view, and listen to a variety of other sources on the same topic to get a more complete perspective.

Also consider assigning the two related minilessons as a supplement to the instruction on this page.  

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Page 335 from All Write

Watching Special Programs

Review the next two pages prior to showing students a documentary or other special program related to a topic you are covering in your classroom. After students finish watching the program, have them write about it in their journals. (Refer them to page 336 for a sample entry.)

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Page 337 from All Write

Watching Commercials

Ask students to share some things that they like and dislike about commercials. Remind them that the primary objective of advertisers is to convince people to buy something, whether it be a product or an idea. Commercials endorsing political candidates, for example, sell ideas.

It’s important that students view commercials with a particularly critical eye to avoid manipulation. Carefully review the common selling strategies on pages 337 and 338. As an activity, show students an online video advertisement to see if they can identify the type of selling method. 

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Page 338 from

Watching Commercials (Continued)

After reviewing the specific selling methods of commercials, lead students through the other things to watch for: the people, the actions, and the special effects. Break up the class into three groups, and have each group analyze a commercial for one of the three categories. 

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