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Current Event Lesson




Yesterday I posted about BP buying an ad to put at the top of any Google search about the oil spill. Since I really felt this fit in with my current media literacy unit, I opened class by asking students what they knew about the oil spill and then showing them the BP ad at the top of an oil spill search. As one would expect some students knew a lot of information while others knew nothing. All were able to write their feelings about the ad at the top of the search. Perhaps I went a bit over the top, but I opened the BP link to show the students the pictures. Then I showed them the images found towards the middle of the Google search page. I compared the beach pictures in the image gallery of Google to the beach pictures showed on the BP site. Then I pulled up a couple pictures of the animals covered in oil and asked if the students thought BP would put those on their website. Did I push it too far?

BTW- This media literacy unit is a great way to end the school year. Most students are involved and thinking critically. Unfortunately three boys in my last class have my last nerve. The good news is one of them called me ugly today which was enough ammo to get him out of my class for the last three days. Damn, I wish he would have said it earlier.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I think it is incredibly important for people to understand that everything they hear, see, read is fed through the filter of the person who created it. No matter how "objective" they are trying to be they bring a viewpoint and experience to everything. Of course some are not even trying for "objective" and are flat out influencing you to their viewpoint. Knowing this allows you to make more informed decisions. Great idea for young people to understand as ready as they can. Well done my friend!
10:35 AM
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