Language Arts

Grade 3: Media Literacy	Planning: Term # Tracking: Ach. Level
Overall Expectations	1	2	3	4
1.demonstrate an understanding of a variety of media texts;
2. identify some media forms and explain how the conventions and techniques associated with them are used to create meaning;
3. create a variety of media texts for different purposes and audiences, using appropriate forms, conventions, and techniques;
4. reflect on and identify their strengths as media interpreters and creators, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful in understanding and creating media texts.
Specific Expectations
1. Understanding Media Texts
Purpose and Audience: 1.1 identify the purpose and intended audience of some media texts (e.g., this magazine is aimed at children/teens/adults; these boxes for DVDs/videos are aimed at the parents of very young children). Teacher prompt: "Who is this intended for? Who else would like it? Who would not like it? Why, or why not?"
Making Inferences/Interpreting Messages: 1.2 use overt and implied messages to draw inferences and make meaning in simple media texts (e.g., overt message of toys, clothing, or games associated with movies, television shows, or books: This product is closely connected to the characters you admire in your favourite book; implied message: If you own this product, you will be more closely connected to your favourite book and more like the characters you admire). Teacher prompts: "What things do you have that are related to a TV show, a movie, or a book? What do they mean to you?" "Are the roles of girls and boys similar or different in the television shows that you watch?"
Responding to and Evaluating Texts: 1.3 express personal opinions about ideas presented in media texts (e.g., respond to the messages in a public service announcement about recycling; explain why the Internet safety rules outlined in a school pamphlet are important). Teacher prompt: "Do you agree or disagree with the message that we all have a responsibility to reduce, reuse, and recycle? Why?" "Why do parents worry about Internet safety? What online rules should you know?"
Audience Responses: 1.4 describe how different audiences might respond to specific media texts (e.g., select a magazine that appeals to them, predict the responses of different age groups or of children from different countries to the magazine, and explain the reasons for their predictions). Teacher prompt: "Why do you like the magazine? Who else would like it? Why? Who would not like it? Why not?"
Point of View: 1.5 identify whose point of view is presented or reflected in a media text and suggest how the text might change if a different point of view were used (e.g., a poster advertising the zoo aimed at younger children might emphasize baby animals, whereas one aimed at adults or older children might emphasize unusual or dangerous animals). Teacher prompt: "Who is the intended audience for this poster? How do you know? Whose perspective is reflected? Whose perspective is not reflected?"
Production Perspectives: 1.6 identify who produces selected media texts and why those texts are produced (e.g., companies design eye-catching logos so their products will be immediately recognizable to people; designers produce clothes as fashion statements and to make money). Teacher prompt: "Where do we often find logos?"
2. Understanding Media Forms, Conventions, and Techniques
Form: 2.1 identify elements and characteristics of some media forms (e.g., newspapers use print and mostly black-and-white photographs; television news coverage has colour, sound, and "live" action reporting; cartoons use animated drawings of characters, while movies and plays use live actors). Teacher prompt: "What would you look for in a television news show that you wouldn't find in a newspaper? And vice versa?"
Conventions and Techniques: 2.2 identify the conventions and techniques used in some familiar media forms and explain how they help convey meaning (e.g., DVDs/videos use dialogue, music, and sound effects to help explain the visual images; picture books use illustrations, layout, and different kinds of print to help explain and dramatize the printed words). Teacher prompt: "Watch a section of this DVD without the sound. Watch again with sound. How does the soundtrack help convey the message?"
3. Creating Media Texts
Purpose and Audience: 3.1 identify the topic, purpose, and audience for media texts they plan to create (e.g., a collage of images conveying the mood of a poem to help classmates understand the poem). Teacher prompts: "How will understanding the mood help us understand the poem's meaning?" "Which of the images in the collage help us understand the poem better?"
Form: 3.2 identify an appropriate form to suit the specific purpose and audience for a media text they plan to create (e.g., a tape-recorded interview to present a classmate's opinion about a favourite show, toy, or game). Teacher prompt: "Why would a tape-recording be better than a written record of the interview?"
Conventions and Techniques: 3.3 identify conventions and techniques appropriate to the form chosen for a media text they plan to create (e.g., a pamphlet about a unit of study could require titles, headings, subheadings, captions, different font sizes, colour, and illustrations). Teacher prompt: "How can you use these features to help you communicate your ideas effectively?"
Producing Media Texts: 3.4 produce media texts for specific purposes and audiences, using a few simple media forms and appropriate conventions and techniques (e.g., • a series of video stills or photographs about a topic of their choice to display to the class • a simple slide show for a multimedia presentation to a younger class • a tape-recorded interview with a classmate about a favourite show, toy, or game • a comic strip for publication in a class newsletter • a skit, including sound effects, based on a photograph • a compilation of images from magazines, newspapers, or the Internet that convey the mood of a poem or song • an illustrated pamphlet about a unit of study • a storyboard for the climactic scene in a short story • a scrapbook of images from newspapers, magazines, posters, the Internet, and so on, illustrating camera shots from different angles and distances)
4. Reflecting on Media Literacy
Metacognition: 4.1 identify, initially with support and direction, what strategies they found most helpful in making sense of and creating media texts. Teacher prompt: "What skills did you use to understand this book/video/Internet site? Would you use your skills differently or the same way the next time you view a similar work?"
Interconnected Skills: 4.2 explain, initially with support and direction, how their skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing help them to make sense of and produce media texts. Teacher prompt: "What language skills did you need to use to make sense of the video? How does your knowledge of fiction and non-fiction help you understand videos/movies/DVDs?"

Expectations: Copyright The Queen's Printer for Ontario, 2006.  Format: Copyright B.Phillips, 1998.