Key Questions to Guide Young Children

Center for Media Literacy: Empowerment Through Education




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Key Questions to Guide Young Children
Breaking down the Five Key Questions for kids

Key Questions to Guide Young Children

The Five Core Concepts are the foundation of the MediaLit Kit™ and the Five Key Questions are the inquiry tools for exploring these theoretical concepts. But in actuality they are only starting points. The questions must be simplified for younger children as well as for those with limited vocabulary or language ability. In these Questions to Guide Young Children, each Key Question is broken into two simpler questions to help teachers and parents "scale down" critical inquiry to a child's level.

KQ #1	What is this? How is this put together
KQ #2	What do I see or hear? Smell? Touch or taste? What do I like or dislike about this?
KQ #3	What do I think and feel about this? What might other peopel think and feel about this?
KQ #4	What does this tell me about how other people live and what they believe? Is anything or anyone left out?
KQ #5	Is this trying to tell me something? Is this trying to sell me something? Third grader Jesus brings in all his Harry Potter merchandising to explore KQ#5 - Are they trying to sell me something? (photo by J. Share)

The following chart correlates each of the Questions to Guide Young Children
to its Core Concept and origianl Key Question:

	Core Concepts	Key Questions	Questions to Guide Children
1	All media messages are "constructed."	Who created this message?	What is this? How is this put together?
2	Media messages are constructed using a creative language with its own rules.	What techniques are used to attract my attention?	What do I see or hear? Smell? Touch or taste? What do I like or dislike about this?
3	Different people experience the same media message differently.	How might different people understand this message differently from me?	What do I think and feel about this? What might other peopel think and feel about this?
4	Media have embedded values and points of view.	What lifestyles, values and points of view are represented or omitted in this message?	What does this tell me about how other people live and what they believe? Is anything or anyone left out?
5	Media are organized to gain profit and/or power.	Why was this message sent?	Is this trying to tell me something? Is this trying to sell me something?