Teachers

Bob McCannon's project

Media Awareness Network (Canada)

http://www.edutopia.org/media-literacy-collaboration

Using the Language of Film to Develop Visual Critical Thinking Skills

This Edutopia video clip, produced by The George Lucas Educational Foundation, introduces The Story of Movies, a visual literacy curriculum for middle school students that is endorsed by Martin Scorsese. The curriculum is used to help students develop critical thinking skills by learning to view film as a language, an historical document, and an art form. The program, says Scorsese, should help kids manage and decode the barrage of visual information they absorb in daily life, train their minds to look critically at these images and what they mean, and understand how to interpret them. In the video clip, students at Peabody Charter School in Santa Barbara, Calif., use the curriculum to analyze film technique as they learn about the filmmaking process and view films with a critical eye.

Additional Resources

Media Literacy

Analyze Media

    • Understand both how and why media messages are constructed, and for what purposes
    • Examine how individuals interpret messages differently, how values and points of view are included or excluded, and how media can influence beliefs and behaviors
    • Apply a fundamental understanding of the ethical/legal issues surrounding the access and use of media

Create Media Products

    • Understand and utilize the most appropriate media creation tools, characteristics and conventions
    • Understand and effectively utilize the most appropriate expressions and interpretations in diverse, multi-cultural environments