Starter Kit for Elementary Library & Information Literacy K-2

This guide gives users a brief overview of our approach (question-based media decoding) and materials (e.g., lessons) available for free from the Project Look Sharp website for a particular level and subject.

Starter Kit for Elementary Library & Information Literacy 3-5

This guide gives users a brief overview of our approach (question-based media decoding) and materials (e.g., lessons) available for free from the Project Look Sharp website for a particular level and subject.

Starter Kit for Library & Information Literacy 6-8

This guide gives users a brief overview of our approach (question-based media decoding) and materials (e.g., lessons) available for free from the Project Look Sharp website for a particular level and subject.

Starter Kit for Library & Information Literacy 9-12

This guide gives users a brief overview of our approach (question-based media decoding) and materials (e.g., lessons) available for free from the Project Look Sharp website for a particular level and subject.

Starter Kit for College

This guide gives users a brief overview of our approach (question-based media decoding) and materials (e.g., lessons) available for free from the Project Look Sharp website for a particular level and subject.

Starter Kit for US History & Government 9-12

This guide gives users a brief overview of our approach (question-based media decoding) and materials (e.g., lessons) available for free from the Project Look Sharp website for a particular level and subject.

Starter Kit for Global Studies 9-12

This guide gives users a brief overview of our approach (question-based media decoding) and materials (e.g., lessons) available for free from the Project Look Sharp website for a particular level and subject.

Starter Kit for Economics 9-12

This guide gives users a brief overview of our approach (question-based media decoding) and materials (e.g., lessons) available for free from the Project Look Sharp website for a particular level and subject.

Starter Kit for Social Studies 6-8

This guide gives users a brief overview of our approach (question-based media decoding) and materials (e.g., lessons) available for free from the Project Look Sharp website for a particular level and subject.

Starter Kit for Science 6-12

This guide gives users a brief overview of our approach (question-based media decoding) and materials (e.g., lessons) available for free from the Project Look Sharp website for a particular level and subject.

Starter Kit for Music 6-12

This guide gives users a brief overview of our approach (question-based media decoding) and materials (e.g., lessons) available for free from the Project Look Sharp website for a particular level and subject.

Starter Kit for Math 6-12

This guide gives users a brief overview of our approach (question-based media decoding) and materials (e.g., lessons) available for free from the Project Look Sharp website for a particular level and subject.

Starter Kit for Health & Consumer Education 6-12

This guide gives users a brief overview of our approach (question-based media decoding) and materials (e.g., lessons) available for free from the Project Look Sharp website for a particular level and subject.

Starter Kit for ELA 6-12

This guide gives users a brief overview of our approach (question-based media decoding) and materials (e.g., lessons) available for free from the Project Look Sharp website for a particular level and subject.

Starter Kit for Civics & Government 6-12

This guide gives users a brief overview of our approach (question-based media decoding) and materials (e.g., lessons) available for free from the Project Look Sharp website for a particular level and subject.

Starter Kit for Art & Media Studies 6-12

This guide gives users a brief overview of our approach (question-based media decoding) and materials (e.g., lessons) available for free from the Project Look Sharp website for a particular level and subject.

Starter Kit for Elementary Health 3-5

This guide gives users a brief overview of our approach (question-based media decoding) and materials (e.g., lessons) available for free from the Project Look Sharp website for a particular level and subject.

Starter Kit for Elementary All Subjects 3-5

This guide gives users a brief overview of our approach (question-based media decoding) and materials (e.g., lessons) available for free from the Project Look Sharp website for a particular level and subject.

Starter Kit for Elementary Health K-2

This guide gives users a brief overview of our approach (question-based media decoding) and materials (e.g., lessons) available for free from the Project Look Sharp website for a particular level and subject.

Starter Kit for All Subjects K-2

This guide gives users a brief overview of our approach (question-based media decoding) and materials (e.g., lessons) available for free from the Project Look Sharp website for a particular level and subject.

Demonstration Video: January 6, 2021: Newspaper Front Pages

Middle School teacher, Mary Kate Longeran, leads her students through a decoding of domestic and international newspapers - using the Project Look Sharp lesson: “Storming the Capital” - to analyze media construction and bias in news coverage. (Total Time: 8:57) Published 2023

Demonstration Video: Gender Stereotypes and Google Algorithms

Middle School teacher, Mary Kate Longeran, uses the Project Look Sharp lesson “Google Image Searches: Do they Promote or Counter Stereotypes?” to lead her students through an analysis of stereotypes and algorithmic bias. (Total Time: 6:10) Published 2023

Demonstration Video: Interpreting Charts of Media Use: Gen Z vs. Boomers

Middle School teacher, Mary Kate Longeran, leads her students through a decoding of charts using the Project Look Sharp lesson “Changing Our Media Habits: The Impact of the Pandemic” – to teach students to analyze and question charts and explore differences in generational media use. (Total Time: 5:15) Published 2023

Demonstration Video: Choosing a Just Right Book

School librarian, Michele Coolbeth from East Syracuse, NY, leads her first graders through analyzing different book covers and text [and drawing their own conclusions about the appropriateness of the book as an independent reading choice] - using our lesson, How Do I Choose? Picking the Right Book for Me.

Demonstration Video: What is Media - Kindergarten

School librarian, Michele Coolbeth, has her students identify media, including in their clothing – and then reflects on the importance of teaching young students to recognize that media is all around them.

Demonstration Video: Who is Family? - Kindergarten

School librarian, Michele Coolbeth, leads kindergarten students through analyzing book covers for messages about the diversity of families - using the Project Look Sharp lesson, “Who is Family?”

Demonstration Video: Wash Your Hands - Kindergarten

School librarian, Michele Coolbeth, has her students reflect on the qualities of different media forms (videos and a poster) while learning how to wash their hands. (Total Time: 2:13) Published 2023

Standards Alignment: National Media Literacy Alliance Joint Statement on Media Literacy Education

This 3-page document briefly summarizes the alignment of media literacy with the core standards for each of the following disciplines: library (AASL + YALSA), technology (ISTE), Journalism (JEA), Early Childhood (NAEYC), Social Studies (NCSS), ELA (NCTE), Math (NCTM), Science (NSTA), and Writing (NWP).

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.

College Level: Hydrofracking, Media and Credibility

Related to kit: Media Constructions of Sustainability: Fingerlakes

This 9 minute annotated video demonstrates constructivist media decoding using the lesson "Exploring the Impact of Hydrofracking on Aquifers," where college students analyze pro and anti-fracking diagrams.

College Level: Farming, Community and Sustainability

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

An example of leading a class through a constructivist media decoding using a lesson from our kit, Media Construction of Sustainability. Students in this video examine clips from a film and a commercial to decode farming in the US.

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.

Credibility, Information and Science

Designed for secondary science and environmental studies teachers, this 2 hour to full day workshop will explore the role of the internet and other media on our students understanding of information.

Media & Health Issues

Media literacy education is a powerful way to approach the impact of media use and media messages on a wide range of health issues for today’s youth by emphasizing media analysis, critical thinking, and self-expression. This 2-hour to full day workshop can address multiple health issues or focus specifically on one of them, including: nutrition, body image, advertising, alcohol and substance use, smoking, bullying and put-downs, safety, and teen sexuality.

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.

Media Constructions of Energy Choices: Empowering Students to See Through the Smoke

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

This webinar offers pedagogical techniques and curriculum materials to support a deeper understanding of how to address issues of bias in media documents about energy choices. Learn to to seek out and use media sources to deepen critical thinking practice about authorship, purpose, credibility and economics.

Where Media Literacy Meets Sustainability Education

Related to kit: Media Constructions of Sustainability: Fingerlakes

The webinar offers educators and teachers-in-training pedagogical techniques and curriculum materials to support constructivist media decoding to help students engage in critical thinking about the complex environmental, economic and social systems that underly sustainability.

Elementary Level: First Contact Between Europeans and Native Americans

An example of leading a class through a constructivist media decoding using our lesson, First Contact. Students in this video decode two opposing paintings to understand how Europeans impacted Native American life.

Elementary Level: Decoding Money

Related to kit: Introducing Africa: Critical Thinking and Media Literacy

An example of leading a class through a constructivist media decoding using a lesson from our kit, Introducing Africa. Students in this video compare two African currencies to the U.S. Dollar to gain insight about cultural differences.

The Impact of Using News as a Primary Source in Classrooms

This article, by a high school senior who was working with Project Look Sharp’s Chris Sperry, explores the use of news as a primary text in a Humanities class to teach students to think critically about the news, world events, and their own perspectives.

RX For an Infodemic: Media Decoding, COVID-19, and Online Teaching

After describing the historical, political and social causes of our viral age of “fake news,” this article explore how constructivist media decoding provides a methodology for addressing the polarization of truth, with examples of how this work can be done in the classroom through face-to-face and virtual learning.

Checking the Facts: Media Literacy and Democracy

By integrating the process of critical questioning of media messages into the everyday classroom curriculum, we can help produce a citizenry with the skills needed to negotiate future threats to truth.

An Assessment of Student Critical Thinking Skills

This describes a high school level assessment of media literacy and metacognitive skills in which students examine a YouTube video, excerpts from an opinion article, and a webpage screenshot about GMOs and answer questions about media messages, authorship, purpose, bias, credibility and how the students’ own biases impact their analysis.

A Deeper Sense of Literacy

Related to kit: Media Constructions of War: A Critical Reading of History

Basic principles and best practices for using a curriculum-driven approach are described, with specific examples from social studies, English/Language arts, math, science, health, and art, along with methods of assessment used to address effectiveness in the classroom. By Cyndy Scheibe, American Behavioral Scientist, Vol. 48 No. 1, September 2004.

(Not So) Unprecedented Media Analysis of the 2016 Presidential Race and Its Historical Precedents

This article helps teachers to understand how to use media documents from the 2016 presidential race (as well as past campaigns) to critically analyze media messages to teach objectives from the new NCSS C3 Framework for the Social Studies and the Common Core ELA standards for secondary social studies. When students examine election posters, cartoons, and ads they will comprehend that many themes--including xenophobia, income inequality, and women's political power--have been historical mainstays on the campaign trail.

High School Social Studies: Soviet History-Posters

Related to kit: Soviet History Through Posters: A Visual Literacy Kit

An example of leading a class through a constructivist media decoding using a lesson from our kit, Soviet History Through Posters. Students are led through a decoding of five Soviet government posters from 1918 to 1988, where they apply historical knowledge while practicing media literacy skills.

College Level: 2008 Election Magazine Covers

Related to kit: Media Constructions of Presidential Campaigns

An example of leading a class through a constructivist media decoding using a lesson from our kit, Media Construction of Presidential Campaigns. Students in this video decode various magazine covers portraying Barack Obama during the 2008 election.

College Level: Decoding "Last Words" by Nas

Related to kit: Media Constructions of Social Justice

An example of leading a class through a constructivist media decoding using a lesson from our kit, Media Construction of Social Justice. Students in this video decode the rap song "Last Words" by Nas to gain insight about prison life and the greater justice system.

Critical Thinking and Health: Media Literacy Lessons for Elementary Grades

Related to kit: Critical Thinking & Health: Nutrition and TV Commercials

This webinar offers pedagogical techniques and curriculum materials to help young children understand biases and misleading messages found in food advertising and toy commercials aimed at them, including cereal ads and advertising for foods and beverages that imply they have a lot of fruit in them. Part of the webinar specifically focuses on gender techniques and gender stereotyping in toy commercials.

Elementary Level: Gender In Children's Commercials

Related to kit: Critical Thinking & Health: Nutrition and TV Commercials

An example of leading a class through a constructivist media decoding using a lesson from our kit, Critical Thinking and Health. Students in this video decode the commercial "Magic Kissing Dragons" to analyze media messaging about gender.

Elementary Level: Paintings of George Washington and King George

Related to kit: Causes of the American Revolution

An example of leading a class through a constructivist media decoding using a lesson from our kit, Causes of the American Revolution. Students in this video decode differences in paintings of George Washington and King George.

High School English: Examining Credibility and Bias in Web Sites

Related to kit: Media Constructions of Martin Luther King, Jr.

An example of leading a class through a constructivist media decoding using a lesson from our kit, Media Constructions of Martin Luther King Jr. Students analyze the white supremacist website martinlutherking.org and reflect on critical thinking and the internet.

High School Global Studies: The Politics of Maps: Israel/Palestine

Related to kit: Media Constructions of the Middle East

An example of leading a class through a constructivist media decoding using a lesson from our kit, Media Construction of the Middle East. Students in this video learn to understand the level of bias in maps.

High School Students Speak about Media Decoding in Social Studies

Ninth through eleventh graders at the Lehman Alternative Community School in Ithaca, New York, speak about the importance of integrating media analysis into social studies.

High School US History: 1800 Anti-Jefferson Political Cartoon

Related to kit: Media Constructions of Presidential Campaigns

An example of leading a class through a constructivist media decoding using a lesson from our kit, Media Construction of Presidential Campaigns. Students in this video decode political cartoons against Thomas Jefferson.

Media Violence & Conflict Resolution

This 2-hour workshop explores the potential effects of verbal and physical violence shown in movies, TV, and video games on children and teens, and demonstrates ways in which K-8 teachers, community educators, and parents can address these effects through discussion and media literacy activities.

Piaget and the Power Rangers: What Can Theories of Developmental Psychology Tell Us About Children and Media?

Theories of developmental psychology can help to interpret evidence related to how children of different ages are affected differently by media consumption. By Cyndy Scheibe, 20 Questions About Youth and Media, Vol. 48 No. 1, September 2007

Secondary School Social Studies: WWI Propaganda Posters

Related to kit: Economics in U.S. History: A Media Literacy Kit

An example of leading a class through a constructivist media decoding using a lesson from our kit, Economics in US History. Students in the video decode propaganda posters used in WWI.

Seeking Truth in the Social Studies Classroom: Media Literacy, Critical Thinking and Teaching about the Middle East

Students are bombarded daily with a torrent of media messages, many of them with historical content. By selecting the right media documents for decoding, teachers can teach core content while guiding students to think critcally about these messages. By Chris Sperry, Social Education, January/February 2006

The Epistemological Equation: Integrating Media Analysis into the Core Curriculum

Related to kit: Media Constructions of the Middle East

In his Keynote to National Association for Media Literacy Education biannual conference in 2009, Chris Sperry draws lessons from 30 years integrating media decoding into high school social studies and English classes. Beginning with a 6-minute video from a high school academic performance about the Middle East, Sperry connects media literacy methodologies and materials to the development of core knowledge, skills, attitudes and motivation in adolescents. By Chris Sperry, The National Association for Media Literacy Education's Journal of Media Literacy Education, Vol. 48 No. 1, September 2010.

Teaching Critical Thinking Through Media Literacy

Constructivist media decoding in the science classroom trains students to carefully examine information and messages in different types of media; to interpret meaning while applying knowledge and identifying document-based evidence; to ask a consistent set of questions about all media messages that address sourcing, meaning, and credibility; to draw well-reasoned conclusions after weighing the evidence, evaluating different interpretations, and reflecting on their own biases; and to share their observations and conclusions and defend their analysis. The teachers saw this technique as a way of teaching inquiry related to everyday messages in the media. By Chris Sperry, Science Scope, Summer 2012.

Media Constructions of Peace and Social Justice: Reflecting Diversity

Related to kit: Media Constructions of Martin Luther King, Jr.

The webinar offers educators and teachers-in-training pedagogical techniques and curriculum materials related to peace and social justice topics to support diversity in the media documents we choose for classroom decoding. We explore how to seek out and use diverse media sources to deepen critical thinking practice with our students.

Media Constructions of Food Justice: Shining a Light on Equity, Economy and Sustainability

Related to kit: Media Constructions of Sustainability: Fingerlakes

The webinar offers pre-service and high school teachers along with college and community food justice educators pedagogical techniques and curriculum materials to support a deeper understanding of how to tie goals to content in lesson design.

Media Constructions of Presidential Campaigns

Related to kit: Media Constructions of Presidential Campaigns

The webinar offers high school educators and teachers-in-training pedagogical techniques and free curriculum materials to support a deeper understanding of how to use a wide variety of media forms across the historical spectrum - media from 19th century portraits, songs and handbills, to 21st century websites, twitter and email - to study historical context and to question their credibility.

Media Constructions of Martin Luther King Jr.

Related to kit: Media Constructions of Martin Luther King, Jr.

This webinar offers pedagogical techniques and curriculum materials to support a deeper understanding of how to use a wide variety of media documents that: support content teaching about social justice movements, examine media representations of ongoing struggles against racism and the practice of nonviolence, and encourage analysis of meanings and messages constructed about Dr. King's life.

Lesson Elements

The Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Online Guide consists of a series of pull-down menus and embedded links to specific examples from existing Project Look Sharp curriculum kits and lessons, particularly those designed for community groups and broad audiences, such as the sustainability curriculum kits. These suggestions on the topic of Lesson Elements include sections on: providing background information, adding additional information, extending the activity, and evaluating student learning.

Question Design

The Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Online Guide consists of a series of pull-down menus and embedded links to specific examples from existing Project Look Sharp curriculum kits and lessons, particularly those designed for community groups and broad audiences, such as the sustainability curriculum kits. These suggestions on the topic of Question Design include sections on: understanding the nature of effective key questions, address content knowledge, literacy and critical thinking, designing effective probe questions, and develop culminating and further questions.

Selection of Media Documents

The Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Online Guide consists of a series of pull-down menus and embedded links to specific examples from existing Project Look Sharp curriculum kits and lessons, particularly those designed for community groups and broad audiences, such as the sustainability curriculum kits. These suggestions on the topic of Selection of Media Documents include sections on: selecting media formats, searching for media documents, addressing copyright issues, seeking diverse representations, tracing media sources, teaching rigorous independent and reflective thought, and do no harm.

Lesson Conception

The Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Online Guide consists of a series of pull-down menus and embedded links to specific examples from existing Project Look Sharp curriculum kits and lessons, particularly those designed for community groups and broad audiences, such as the sustainability curriculum kits. These suggestions on the topic of Lesson Conception include sections on: tying to your goals, choosing strategic learning and teaching options, and adapting Project Look Sharp (PLS) lessons.

High School Students Speak about Media Literacy

Documents students' reactions to media literacy integration at their school and how it has impacted their lives and learning experiences.

High School Social Studies: National Geographic's Africa

Related to kit: Introducing Africa: Critical Thinking and Media Literacy

An example of leading a class through a constructivist media decoding using a lesson from our kit, Seeing Africa. Students reflect on stereotyping while analyzing the representation of Africa in the lead pages from the 20 National Geographic articles on Africa in the 1990's.

High School Social Studies: Newsweek Covers on US Wars in Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan

Related to kit: Media Constructions of War: A Critical Reading of History

An example of leading a class through a constructivist media decoding using a lesson from our kit, Media Construction of War. Students in this video are lead to decode Newsweek covers from various US Wars.

Does Fair Use of Copyright Apply in Education?

Explains Project Look Sharp's approach to creating curriculum that contains copyrighted media materials. Media materials can be reproduced and used where critiquing of the media is the central objective.

How Does a Teacher Lead a Media Decoding?

Related to kit: Media Constructions of Presidential Campaigns

Demonstrates best practices used for leading a media decoding in the classroom. Be sure to read the subtitles while viewing the video as they refer to the pedagogical implications.

What is Constructivist Media Decoding?

Explains Project Look Sharp's "constructivist" media decoding pedagogical approach to media analysis.

What is Project Look Sharp's Approach to Media Literacy?

Explains Project Look Sharp's 3-pronged approach to Media Literacy Education.

What is Media Literacy?

Explains how media literacy is an extension of traditional "literacy" in that media literacy applies to all different forms of media through which we get our information, impressions, and understandings of the world.

What is Project Look Sharp?

Overview of Project Look Sharp's goals and mission.

Constructivist Media Decoding in the Social Studies: Leveraging the New Standards for Educational Change

Related to kit: Media Constructions of Presidential Campaigns

This article explores the role that media analysis can play on educational reform tied to the new NCSS C3 Framework for the Social Studies and the Common Core ELA standards for secondary social studies. It uses examples from media decoding activities on the Project Look Sharp website tied to specific standards. It also explores professional development tools that support methodological shifts towards inquiry and assessments of critical thinking skills. By Chris Sperry, The Journal of Media Literacy, Vol. 62, pg. 46-54, 2015.

Looking at World War I Propaganda

Related to kit: Economics in U.S. History: A Media Literacy Kit

The article explores teaching about WWI through interactive decoding (analyzing) of propaganda posters from different countries. It lays out the theory and practice of media analysis for teaching critical thinking, questioning strategies, media literacy and core social studies content.

Voices from the Field: Sounds Great, But I Don't Have Time! Helping Teachers Meet Their Goals and Needs With Media Literacy Education

If we can find ways to demonstrate how media literacy can meet the existing needs of teachers, administrators, support staff, and students themselves, then our educational system will embrace media literacy education and its potential to create a new generation of critical thinkers, effective communicators, and active citizens for today’s world. By Cyndy Scheibe, The National Association for Media Literacy Education's Journal of Media Literacy Education, Vol. 48 No. 1, September 2009.

Media Construction of Presidential Campaigns

Related to kit: Media Constructions of Presidential Campaigns

A study of select campaign posters, cartoons, and ads teaches students to critically analyze messages from media source and to understand the role media have played throughout the history of American elections. By Chris Sperry and Sox Sperry, Social Education, November/December 2007.

The Search for Truth Teaching media literacy, core content, and essential skills for a healthy democracy

Strategies and perspectives of using media literacy in core subject matters such as social studies and language arts by Chris Sperry, Threshold Magazine, Vol. 48 No. 1,Winter 2006.

U.S. Media Timeline

Timeline of media in U.S. 1789-2010 including transportation, communications, digital technology and graphic print, audio and visual media.

Tips for Decoding

Tips for finding rich media documents and for leading a decoding.

6 Key Concepts in Media Analysis

Key concepts to be aware of to practice critical thinking when evaluating media messages.

Key Questions To Ask When Producing Media Messages

Graphic display of media production questions related to audience & authorship, messages & meanings, and representations & reality.

Key Questions to Ask When Analyzing Media Messages

Graphic display of questions related to audience & authorship, messages & meanings and representations & reality.

12 Basic Ways to Integrate Media Literacy and Critical Thinking into Any Curriculum

This booklet is designed for teachers and support staff at all grade levels who are interested in using media literacy in their classroom curriculum. The approaches are based on the concept of weaving media literacy training into the curriculum whenever and wherever possible throughout the school year. Routine integration is much more effective than simply treating media literacy as a special, isolated topic and may better meet the needs of teachers who are already at capacity with the demands of a full curriculum.

NAMLE Core Principles of Media Literacy Education in the U.S.

NAMLE is excited to offer to educators, advocates and allies these Core Principles of Media Literacy Education in the United States. We believe that these Core Principles articulate a common ground around which media literacy educators and advocates can coalesce. NAMLE is committed to using the Core Principles as a springboard for vibrant and ongoing dialogue, and as a first step in the development of clear, measurable outcomes and benchmarks for U.S. schools.

Consulting

Project Looksharp personnel are available for coaching and consulting about media literacy in K-12 and teacher education, including ways to integrate media literacy into an existing curriculum, use media literacy with particular student populations (e.g., English as a second langauge or at-risk students), or build media literacy offerings into staff development within a school district.

Critical Thinking & the News

Democracy requires an educated and literate citizenship. This 2-hour workshop provides guidelines and strategies for training our students to consistently assess the credibility, accuracy, and bias of various news sources.

Youth Culture and New Technologies

Wikis, Facebook, Twitter, Texting, Gaming. How and why are students using new communication media, what are our concerns, and what are the implications for our classrooms? This 2-hour (exposure) to full-day (hands on) workshop will explore literacy for the 21st century.

Secondary Social Studies Integration with Curriculum Kits

This training will provide content and materials that enable teachers to reach both high achieving and traditionally disengaged students through use of Project Look Sharp curriculum materials that teach core social studies content and skills. The workshop will cover classroom decoding methods using key concepts and questions for media analysis, teaching 21st century critical thinking skills (e.g. identifying sourcing, credibility, and bias), and issues of copyright, accessing media documents, and assessment.

Integrating Media Literacy and Critical Thinking into the Curriculum

This popular interactive workshop introduces the theory and practice of media literacy integration throughout the curriculum, emphasizing the development of critical thinking and analysis skills. It can be adapted to address the needs of a mixed group of K-12 educators, or focus on a specific target audience (e.g., middle school ELA and social studies, librarians, elementary health). Participants will receive materials and learn approaches that can be immediately used in the classroom or other educational context.

Integrating Common Core Standards across the Curriculum with Critical Thinking and 21st Century Literacies

This dynamic full-day workshop will expand participants’ understanding of literacy and deepen their ability to engage all students in active learning through the inquiry-based analysis of diverse fiction and nonfiction media documents. Participants will walk away with materials, strategies and a plan for developing Common Core literacy skills while teaching content-area knowledge. This workshop can be designed for a specific audience (e.g., secondary social studies, ELA and/or science teachers, elementary school teachers, librarians, PD specialists) or a mixed group of K-12 educators.

Teaching about the Middle East through Media Literacy

Related to kit: Media Constructions of the Middle East

This webinar explores the role that Media Literacy, Project-Based Learning and Lesson Design can play in motivating and engaging all students in deep scholarship, critical thinking and personal growth. Viewers are introduced to lesson models from the Project Look Sharp curriculum kit, Media Construction of the Middle East, a video demonstration of the classroom media decoding process, a sample of a student simulated Middle East peace conference, and how teachers can teach key content while addressing common core standards in social studies and speaking and listening.