What Is Causing Global Warming?

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson analyzing conflicting perspectives on the causes for global warming by decoding short excerpts from two films, The Great Global Warming Swindle and An Inconvenient Truth.

What is the Role of the Federal Government in Protecting the Environment?

This is a media literacy and critical thinking activity in which students analyze three short news reports for conflicting messages about the appointment of Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency.

What’s in My Lunchbox?

In this media literacy activity students analyze a book cover, a lunchbox, a YouTube screen grab and a webpage for messages about eating fruits and vegetables.

Where Does My Food Come From?

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson analyzing videos to discern messages about the production and transportation of food.

Wind Farm Site Selection: A Community Debates the Issues

This is a media literacy and critical thinking activity in which students analyze two op-eds for perspectives on siting local wind farms.

Young People Taking Action to Protect our Warming Planet

This is a media literacy and critical thinking activity in which students analyze four short excerpts from online articles for messages about youth activism for environmental protection and social justice.

Youth, Hip Hop & Climate Change

This is a media literacy and critical thinking activity in which students analyze two short hip hop music video to compare different approaches to encourage youth activism to deal with climate change.

Briefing: Project Look Sharp's Decoding Media Constructions and Sustainability

Antonio Lopez, in his coda to Greening Media Education, summarizes the complex set of skills needed “to bring ecologically oriented cultural practice into the realm of media education (which) promotes systems thinking, collaborative learning, critical thinking, lifelong learning and digital media literacy.” This article offers cases studies of two Look Sharp lessons, one for elementary age students and another for upper level high school, each of which was designed with these skills in mind as a way to bring Lopez’s vision into practice in the classroom.

High School Science: The Great Global Warming Swindle

An example of leading a class through a constructivist media decoding using a lesson from our kit, Media Constructions of Global Warming. Students analyze a short video clip from the film The Great Global Warming Swindle, compare the information in the clip with a chart, and reflect on issues of credibility and bias in media representations and our own biases when evaluating information.

Sustainability Education and Media Literacy

Related to kit: Media Constructions of Sustainability: Food, Water, and Agriculture

This article looks at how the topic of climate change can often provoke deep emotions in students, and suggests that instead of shying away, teachers should use media literacy activities to foster discussions of what the future holds. The author stresses the importance of connecting to the emotional lives of students when raising the complex issues around sustainability.

Teaching Media Literacy & Sustainability for Younger Learners

Related to kit: Media Constructions of Sustainability: Lower Elementary

This webinar offers pedagogical techniques and curriculum materials to support a deeper understanding of how to use media documents that: support content teaching about water quality, climate change and hunger, introduce media production as a way to deepen media literacy awareness, and encourage core subject integration of ELA, math, science and social studies.

Teaching about Climate Change Using the Tools of Media Literacy

This webinar offers pedagogical techniques and curriculum materials to support a deeper understanding for how to use a wide variety of media documents that: - Support content teaching about climate change - Examine media representations of global warming related to media literacy concepts of credibility, bias and impact - Encourage strong sense critical thinking by asking questions about all media messages, not just those with which we may disagree.

Climate Change, Biodiversity and Magazine Cover Priorities

Students analyze a webpage for messages about climate change, biodiversity and about editorial choices for magazine covers. This simple decoding activity has been taken from a larger lesson with many slides titled “History of Endangered Species." To access this lesson, type the title with quotes into the PLS keyword search bar.

"It Takes Roots to Weather the Storm", Climate Justice Poster

Students analyze a poster for messages about climate justice activism and about implicit values in media messages. This simple decoding activity has been taken from a larger lesson with many slides titled “Merging Social Justice with Environmentalism." To access this lesson, type the title with quotes into the PLS keyword search bar.

"Puerto Rico Devastated From Hurricane Maria" Webpage

Students analyze a webpage for messages about the impacts of hurricane Maria on Puerto Rico and about image choices for audience impact. This simple decoding activity has been taken from a larger lesson with many slides titled “Merging Social Justice with Environmentalism." To access this lesson, type the title with quotes into the PLS keyword search bar.

Community Organizing for Environmental Justice

Students analyze a webpage for messages about community building for social justice and about website design choices. This simple decoding activity has been taken from a larger lesson with many slides titled “Merging Social Justice with Environmentalism." To access this lesson, type the title with quotes into the PLS keyword search bar.

"Uneven Katrina Recovery" News Article

Students analyze a news article for messages about race and the recovery from Hurricane Katrina and about website design choices. This simple decoding activity has been taken from a larger lesson with many slides titled “Merging Social Justice with Environmentalism." To access this lesson, type the title with quotes into the PLS keyword search bar.

Race, Place & Environmental Justice After Hurricane Katrina

Students analyze a book cover for messages about race and the impacts of Hurricane Katrina and about title and imagery in book cover choices. This simple decoding activity has been taken from a larger lesson with many slides titled “Merging Social Justice with Environmentalism." To access this lesson, type the title with quotes into the PLS keyword search bar.

1968 Humphrey "Some Talk Change" Poster

Media literacy and critical thinking activity analyzing a poster for the Humphrey campaign for messages about target audience.

1932 "Don't Change Now" Poster

Media literacy and critical thinking activity analyzing a poster from the 1932 campaign for Herbert Hoover for messages about candidate imagery.