Week Eight DEJ

"A camera can only ever show part of an event, and it's the person who uses the camera who decides what to show and what to leave out."

The teacher inviting a parent in to film the class and then having the class watch the events was a great lesson in showing students that not everything is shown when there is a video camera present. Younger children have a hard time making that connection that everything that you see is not true. Think of how many believe there are monsters under their bed because they saw it on television. This would be a great tool in introducing media literacy into any grade and being able to branch off many lessons from something as simple as having someone videotape the classroom.





Related Resource:


ABC's of Media Literacy: What Can Pre-Schooolers Learn?





I thought that this website would go along perfectly with what we read for this assignment. It discusses how many media literacy lessons are geared toward middle and high school students and not toward elementary. The author suggests three areas to use to jump start media literacy for young children.





1. Identifying Storytellers


The child needs to know who is telling the story. Younger children will most likely identify with the main character of the story being the story teller, where older students could understand that there is a narrator telling the story.


2.Understanding Stories


Talk about the stories and allow the children to retell what they see and hear.


3. Learning the Language


Students can learn basic media terms such as point of view, close-up, and wide shots. This will help them learn about what kind of story the film maker is trying to tell.








References:


Rogow, F. (2002, to 2011). Abc's of media literacy: what can pre-schooolers learn?. Retrieved from http://www.medialit.org/reading-room/abcs-media-literacy-what-can-pre-schooolers-learn