10 Responses to “Link to Wiki for Media Literacy Assignment”
Hey Jenna and Julie
I liked that you chose an advertisement from a different country and language and asked the students to put their own interpretation and inspiration into a corresponding assignment. It really take away all previous points of reference for the viewer/student. I would like to know how you would judge if a group used their creativity and imagination since it’s a reasonably subjective quality. Do you have an example?
Thanks
Kathleen
p.s. The Governator was hilarious. Where did you find this?!
You ask a great question — how to judge creativity and imagination? I can’t say I’ve come up with an answer, but I’ve put a lot of thought into it. Jenna and I approached this project much like Dr. Levy is approaching our Feather Circle work. I can’t speak for Jenna, but I see this project as an opportunity for students to understand they’re not always working for the grade and to find the reward in the opportunity to be creative and think independently. I’d be reluctant to “grade” these assignments on an A-F scale and would assess them based on the stated criteria. An alternative assessment scale (eg, grading pass, fail, excellent) is something I’d consider. Whatever it turns out to be, I wouldn’t assign this text until I fully decided on the assessment particulars and communicated them.
I couldn’t add a comment on the wiki because I’m not a member. So, I’m leaving a comment here.
I really like your idea. This commercial, like most Japanese commercials (through an American lens), is pretty abstract. It allows your students to take a lot of creative license with how they complete the project from the story they tell to the way they sell the ad as a group.
The only suggestion I would make is to somehow link this assignment to the class as a whole. It seems disconnected to me outside of simply being a fun, creative writing assignment. But, then again, there’s nothing wrong with a fun assignment.
Great comments, Courtney! I agree with your suggestion. One thing I’d like to tweak is to make a better connection between the individual assignment and the group assignment. From a Monday morning quarterbacking perspective, they feel a little more disjointed than they did when we were in the heat of the moment!
I really liked this clip. My favorite part of your assignment is having the students re-create the ad for a different audience. The different approaches and visions of the students will not only demonstrate understanding, but also creativity.
The only thing I might change is discussing the clip in class together. That way different ideas might emerge as students think about the clip together.
I think the two-part assignment is really long. Sometimes students don’t want to focus on a topic for more than one week. Their interest level might decrease. If you had to choose between the two, I’d keep the group assignment (even though I really liked both).
Thanks Lauren! You make some excellent points. If I had to do a self-assessment of this assignment and was being honest with myself, I’d agree the two-part assignment is too long. I hadn’t thought about that in terms of the time frame though, so I appreciate your pointing that out. I was thinking in terms of maybe it asks the kids to cover too many bases. I think your suggestions regarding a thorough class discussion could go a long way toward the goal of condensing the group assignment.
I really enjoyed this clip and I think the students would get a kick out of it! Especially since you are using someone who is a celebrity in our own country and it probably has never occurred to anyone that Governor Schwarzenegger might have done things outside of the US since he is from Europe.
I also like how you split the project into two different assignments. I would be a little worried about the group portion of the project, though, if it does need time outside of class. What grade level did you gear this towards?
We deliberately didn’t specify a grade level — it was created as a mutable piece that could be adapted and refined for any grade level. I think this assignment as posted here is probably more suitable for a 12th grader than a 7th grade. So the answer to your question, I guess, is that it’s for XGraders!
I’d be interested in any input you can provide about what grade level you think it should be taught to, and how to adapt it for other grades. Because I know you have a ton of free time on your hands, just like the rest of us — cough cough. But if you get a chance, I’d love your imput. Thank you!
What a well thought out lesson plan! I’m impressed at the depth of thought & analysis evident on the wiki.
My only thought is that adapting the ad for an American one may be very difficult for students if they have trouble understanding the Japanese one. For example, I really can’t tell from the Jap. Ad. who their product is marketed to. But maybe that could be covered in a class discussion before beginning the assignments? I’m just not familiar enough with Japanese culture to fully understand the ad.
But I REALLY like that you thought outside the box (or our country) with this assignment. I think some great discussions could be had in the classroom! Great work!
Great points, Ashley! Jenna and I agreed that it wasn’t really necessary for the kids to understand the Japanese market — they just had to understand the ad is for an energy drink in the USA, and we’d help them reach that conclusion through classroom discussion or the group work. We discuss that idea in the background page, but your comments make me recognize that we need to make that clearer in the assignment! Thanks for the insight from your great critical eye!
jpeel1
Hey Jenna and Julie
I liked that you chose an advertisement from a different country and language and asked the students to put their own interpretation and inspiration into a corresponding assignment. It really take away all previous points of reference for the viewer/student. I would like to know how you would judge if a group used their creativity and imagination since it’s a reasonably subjective quality. Do you have an example?
Thanks
Kathleen
p.s. The Governator was hilarious. Where did you find this?!
Hi Kathleen! Thanks for your kind words!
You ask a great question — how to judge creativity and imagination? I can’t say I’ve come up with an answer, but I’ve put a lot of thought into it. Jenna and I approached this project much like Dr. Levy is approaching our Feather Circle work. I can’t speak for Jenna, but I see this project as an opportunity for students to understand they’re not always working for the grade and to find the reward in the opportunity to be creative and think independently. I’d be reluctant to “grade” these assignments on an A-F scale and would assess them based on the stated criteria. An alternative assessment scale (eg, grading pass, fail, excellent) is something I’d consider. Whatever it turns out to be, I wouldn’t assign this text until I fully decided on the assessment particulars and communicated them.
Julie and Jenna,
I couldn’t add a comment on the wiki because I’m not a member. So, I’m leaving a comment here.
I really like your idea. This commercial, like most Japanese commercials (through an American lens), is pretty abstract. It allows your students to take a lot of creative license with how they complete the project from the story they tell to the way they sell the ad as a group.
The only suggestion I would make is to somehow link this assignment to the class as a whole. It seems disconnected to me outside of simply being a fun, creative writing assignment. But, then again, there’s nothing wrong with a fun assignment.
Great comments, Courtney! I agree with your suggestion. One thing I’d like to tweak is to make a better connection between the individual assignment and the group assignment. From a Monday morning quarterbacking perspective, they feel a little more disjointed than they did when we were in the heat of the moment!
I really liked this clip. My favorite part of your assignment is having the students re-create the ad for a different audience. The different approaches and visions of the students will not only demonstrate understanding, but also creativity.
The only thing I might change is discussing the clip in class together. That way different ideas might emerge as students think about the clip together.
I think the two-part assignment is really long. Sometimes students don’t want to focus on a topic for more than one week. Their interest level might decrease. If you had to choose between the two, I’d keep the group assignment (even though I really liked both).
Thanks Lauren! You make some excellent points. If I had to do a self-assessment of this assignment and was being honest with myself, I’d agree the two-part assignment is too long. I hadn’t thought about that in terms of the time frame though, so I appreciate your pointing that out. I was thinking in terms of maybe it asks the kids to cover too many bases. I think your suggestions regarding a thorough class discussion could go a long way toward the goal of condensing the group assignment.
Thanks for your great suggestions!
– Julie
Jenna & Julie,
I really enjoyed this clip and I think the students would get a kick out of it! Especially since you are using someone who is a celebrity in our own country and it probably has never occurred to anyone that Governor Schwarzenegger might have done things outside of the US since he is from Europe.
I also like how you split the project into two different assignments. I would be a little worried about the group portion of the project, though, if it does need time outside of class. What grade level did you gear this towards?
Hi Amanda.
GREAT FEEDBACK! Thank you for that!
We deliberately didn’t specify a grade level — it was created as a mutable piece that could be adapted and refined for any grade level. I think this assignment as posted here is probably more suitable for a 12th grader than a 7th grade. So the answer to your question, I guess, is that it’s for XGraders!
I’d be interested in any input you can provide about what grade level you think it should be taught to, and how to adapt it for other grades. Because I know you have a ton of free time on your hands, just like the rest of us — cough cough. But if you get a chance, I’d love your imput. Thank you!
– Julie
Jenna & Julie –
What a well thought out lesson plan! I’m impressed at the depth of thought & analysis evident on the wiki.
My only thought is that adapting the ad for an American one may be very difficult for students if they have trouble understanding the Japanese one. For example, I really can’t tell from the Jap. Ad. who their product is marketed to. But maybe that could be covered in a class discussion before beginning the assignments? I’m just not familiar enough with Japanese culture to fully understand the ad.
But I REALLY like that you thought outside the box (or our country) with this assignment. I think some great discussions could be had in the classroom!
Great work!
Great points, Ashley! Jenna and I agreed that it wasn’t really necessary for the kids to understand the Japanese market — they just had to understand the ad is for an energy drink in the USA, and we’d help them reach that conclusion through classroom discussion or the group work. We discuss that idea in the background page, but your comments make me recognize that we need to make that clearer in the assignment! Thanks for the insight from your great critical eye!
– Julie