Lesson+2


 * Lesson Two **


 * The Assignment: ** Assessing and analyzing expectations and stereotypes based on how media presents characters in short clips
 * Purpose: ** Students are inundated with messages every time they turn on the television or head to a movie. They expect certain things from the shows and films they view. For instance, if a character has an Italian-sounding last name, it can generally be assumed that it is possible that character will be a villain. Why do we expect this kind of character to be a villain? It’s because traditionally villains have been represented in media as having an Italian heritage. There are numerous other examples of stereotypes in media. It is our goal in this lesson that students become aware of their own preconceptions based on very short clips, as well as become cognizant of their ability to make predictions based on those stereotypes. This will tie in to the film students will be viewing in subsequent lessons. //Hairspray// deals with stereotypes in a unique way. This lesson will provide students with the information they need to decipher and analyze the way the filmmaker presents information in the movie, as well as provide students practice in doing so through engaging, fast-paced clips.
 * Objectives: **

// Students will be able to: //

- Discern the different ways media presents the information it does and why this information is presented - Make predictions based on background knowledge of stereotypes - Develop techniques for analyzing the way media presents information and how media shapes expectations LA.910.6.2.2 - organize, synthesize, analyze, and evaluate the validity and reliability of information from multiple sources (including primary and secondary sources) to draw conclusions using a variety of techniques, and correctly use standardized citations
 * Sunshine State Standards: **

LA.910.6.3.1 - analyze ways that production elements (e.g., graphics, color, motion, sound, digital technology) affect communication across the media

or

LA.1112.1.6.1: The student will use new vocabulary that is introduced and taught directly

LA.1112.1.7.1: The student will use background knowledge of subject and related content areas, prereading strategies (e.g., previewing, discussing, generating questions), text features, and text structure to make and confirm complex predictions of content, purpose, and organization of a reading selection;

LA.1112.2.1.4: The student will analyze the way in which the theme or meaning of a selection represents a view or comment on life, providing textual evidence for the identified theme
 * Overt Instruction: **

We plan on teaching our students the main ideas presented by Carlos Cortes in his article titled, “How the Media Teach.” He lists five ways the media informs, followed by a definition and example for each point. Cortes asserts that media teaches through the following five ways: 1) Media present information 2) Media organize ideas 3) Media disseminates values 4) Media create and reinforce expectations 5) Media provide models of behavior Most students have no background in studying media, but almost every student will have personal experience with media. For this lesson, we plan on using overt instruction to teach students about these five different ways the media presents the information it does. The teacher will give a mini-lecture to familiarize students with these five ways media informs; students will be encouraged to take notes. Students will then be split into five groups. Each group will be assigned one of the ways media informs. Students will then come up with examples, from personal experience or from the lecture. The teacher will monitor this discussion period very closely to make sure students are on track with their assigned point. Students who may be accidentally focusing on another point, since many of them are interrelated, will be gently steered back to the point they should be discussing. After a fifteen minute discussion period, students will share their findings with the class to go into a more detailed analysis of each of the five points. Students will be viewing a series of clips from different television programs and answering a set of questions for each clip. It is important that students can answer honestly their own expectations based on these short clips.
 * Situated Practice: **

First, students will watch a clip from the pilot episode of the show //Glee//. They will be instructed to answer the following questions after they watch the clip: (http://www.megavideo.com/?v=E25L1FOU) · How many stereotypes did you count in the six minute clip? · Based on what you saw, what do you think these characters are going to be like or do in proceeding episodes?

Second, students will watch a clip from the show //Friends//. Again, they will be asked a series of questions to determine their expectations based on what media presents in the clip. ([]) · What does this clip tell us about the characters? · What do we expect from the characters based on what we’ve seen?

Third, students will watch a very short clip from the show //Modern Family//. Since they have had practice identifying stereotypes and expectations, they will be asked to do the following: ([]) · There are three families represented in the opening credits of the clip. Write down as much as you can about what you expect from each family based on the thirteen second clip. You may call on background knowledge and what you know about stereotypes to develop your answer. · Now, write down //why// you wrote down what you did about the families. Can you back up your answer with what you’ve seen from the clip or are your answers based on expectations and knowledge of stereotypes? Students will watch another sample from the show and then return to their predictions about the show. ([]). They will then be asked: How does the show feed into stereotypes?
 * Critical Framing: **

Throughout this lesson, students have examined stereotypes through their predictions based on short clips from various television programs. It is important that students recognize their own predisposition to feed into stereotypes. However, it is the media that creates these predispositions. The media has taught and informed students that what they see on the screen will lead to certain expectations for the duration of that media experience. It takes such a short amount of time for viewers to make predictions about a show. Often television shows have “hooks” within the first thirty seconds of action; these hooks draw the viewer in and give them a kind of preview about what they can expect for the rest of the show. Building expectations is built into media, and when these expectations are frequently based on stereotypes, students should be aware of the ways media can manipulate thinking.

Students are going to extend their thinking throughout the following lessons. They will be analyzing and examining the popular musical //Hairspray//. In this film, multiple stereotypes are presented. They will be examining how the characters are represented in this film as well as applying the ways media informs to what is presented in the film.