• Spotlight on CML
• Featured Teaching Resource: Bill Moyers Lauds Presidential Campaign Kit
• Classroom Connections
• Download This
• Calendar

SPOTLIGHT ON CML

Special Double Issue of Noted Journal Features Comprehensive look at Media Literacy
American Behavioral Scientist Downloads Free until October 31st!

Free downloads of American Behavioral Scientist's Media Literacy double issue available only through the end of October!



For the first time a major academic interdisciplinary publication is devoting a double issue to scholarship and commentary from pioneers and experts in media literacy education in the U.S. The September and October 2004 issues of American Behavioral Scientist examine the multidisciplinary nature of media literacy with a host of articles that add greatly to the field. CML is pleased to announce that the keynote article for this special publication, is co-authored by our own founder Elizabeth Thoman and Tessa Jolls, CEO. It's an excellent summary of how media and technology are converging to challenge traditional education and why media literacy provides a framework for the new literacy needed for living, working and citizenship in the 21st Century. Be sure to download it for continuing reference and sharing with others who want to know what media literacy is all about.

In a special arrangement for the media literacy community with the Sage Publications, you can read and download all articles — free - but only until the end of October. After 10/31 you'll have to buy the journals at $19 each.

Some of the provocative articles include:
• Elizabeth Thoman and Tessa Jolls, Media Literacy-A National Priority for a Changing World
• Faith Rogow, Shifting from Media to Literacy: One Opinion on the Challenges of Media Literacy Education
• Lynda J. Bergsma, Empowerment Education: The Link between Media Literacy and Health Promotion
• Robert Kubey, Media Literacy and the Teaching of Civics and Social Studies at the Dawn of the 21st Century


Student-Produced Animated Short Selected for Film Festival
When Greg Hernandez's kindergarten class at Leo Politi Elementary School in downtown Los Angeles was challenged to create a short 30-second animated PSA as part of the school's media literacy grant, they created Playing with Guns, a clever script warning their peers that "guns are not a toy." Now the video, which also features a sound track the students created with found instruments, has been selected for screening at the H2O International Film Festival, November 1-7 at the Bronx Museum of Arts. The 7-day festival showcases a diversity of youth images, voices and culture from around the world and is attended by thousands of New York City young people. [The federally funded (DOE) demonstration grant awarded to CML along with AnimAction, Inc. and the Education Division of the Music Center of LA County. For more information contact CML's Tessa Jolls]

FEATURED TEACHING RESOURCE

Bill Moyers Lauds Presidential Campaign Kit
"I wish that I'd had these materials when I was in school. They bring politics alive! " wrote journalist Bill Moyers after reviewing a copy of Media Construction of Presidential Campaigns, 1559 the latest product in the CML online catalog from the teachers at Project Look Sharp in Ithaca, NY. This unique kit features 146 campaign documents from 26 elections between 1800-2000 available for use in the classroom on DVD, PowerPoint slides, and audio CD. Includes not just TV spots but songs, buttons, posters, clips from debates, audio broadcasts and more! The 433 page teacher's guide is packed with lesson plans, timelines, DBQs and assessments, making it useful all through the school year.

Order your copy today!

Don't forget to check our latest list of new resources at New For You!

CLASSROOM CONNECTIONS

As individuals we have different experiences and perspectives that we carry with us always. These lessons, written by The New York Times and Bank Street College., explore this reality through writing for media and analyzing perspective.

Writing for Media

• Get Set!: Constructing Movie Sets Through Descriptive Writing
  
• Fish Stories: Exploring the Pacific Rim by Writing Documentary Film Treatments

Through Whose Lens?

• Reading Paintings, Drawing Words: Creating Original Artwork Based on Written Stories
  
• If These Objects Could Talk: Exploring American Indian Art Through Creative Writing
  
• Decisive Moment: Capturing Life Through Photography
  
• Image: A Nation: Creative Writing Inspired by Images from International Photographer Rene Burri

A listing of outstanding supporting resources to help you implement these lesson plans are listed on CML's Production focus page. Be sure to check out:
• I Wanna Take Me A Picture: Teaching Photography and Writing to Children
• Rainbow of Dreams: Memories in Black and White
• Teaching TV Production in a Digital World: Integrating Media Literacy
• Photolanguage: How Photos Reveal the Fascinating Stories of our Lives and Relationships
• The Director in the Classroom: How Filmmaking Inspires Learning
• Making Movies Make Sense: Understanding and Using Film Languages

DOWNLOAD THIS

A Policymaker's Guide to 21st Century Skills
The Partnership for 21st Century Skills, has published "A Policymaker's Guide to 21st Century Skills," a follow up report to their 2003 groundbreaking report, Learning for the 21st Century: A Report and MILE (Milestones for Improving Learning and Education) Guide for 21st Century Skills. This newly released policy paper provides a framework for creating educational policies that support 21st Century learning environments. Explore the interactive guide.

Parents, Media, and Public Policy
A survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation, Parents, Media, and Public Policy, reveals that parents are "deeply" concerned about the amount sex and violence their children are exposed to on TV. The majority of parents participating in the survey were interested in new regulations to limit the amount of sex and violence in TV shows during the early evening hours, when children are most likely to be watching. Survey findings show that 49% of parents say children's food choices and eating habits are influenced "a lot" by food advertising on TV, but most (56%) oppose policies restricting "junk food" ads on children's TV. The report also marks a slight increase in the use of the V-chip and identifies TV as the media parents are most concerned with. Read the survey and its findings.

And by the way, statistics like these come to life in a groundbreaking new book, Media, Home and Family by media researchers Stewart Hoover, Lynn S. Clarke and Diane Alters at the University of Colorado. The team conducted extensive interviews with parents exploring how they make decisions about media use in the home and uncovering myths that parents share across ethnic and class boundaries. A fascinating collection of reports about real families living in today's media cculture.

Children, The Digital Divide, and Federal Policy
The Kaiser Family Foundation's Children, The Digital Divide, and Federal Policy issue brief presents the latest data on children's access to the Internet. Although 96% of 8-18 year old students report ever having gone online, the report shows significant disparities of access to the Internet. Download the report today.

Camera/Iraq
Camera/Iraq is a clearinghouse for writing and opinion regarding the many images of the current war in Iraq. A project of Carleton College's Cinema & Media Studies Department, the site explores the concept of bearing witness. The Public Journalist Network calls it "a site every journalist, academic, and citizen interested in photojournalism should be watching."
Don't miss an excellent resource on this subject, Media Construction of War: A Critical Reading of History

CALENDAR

October 25: An additional application period has been added for proposals for the National Media Education Conference. Grassroots Teaching teams are encouraged to apply to share innovative programs that are going on in their classrooms to share how they are working together. Tell the media literacy and education community what you are doing. Share what you are doing and find out what others are doing. Find out more on the conference web site. [http://amlainfo.org/conference/index.php]

Reminder: November 19-21: National Council for the Social Studies Annual Conference, Democracy and Diversity: Social Studies in Action. If you plan to attend the conference, don't miss the media literacy sessions including the pre-conference workshop on "Integrating Media Literacy and Critical Thinking into K-12 Social Studies" by Cyndy Scheibe and Chris Sperry of Project Look Sharp and sessions on "Presidential Elections through Media Documents in American History" and "Media and the Middle East."

Mark your calendars: June 25-28: 2005 National Media Education Conference, "Giving Voice to a Diverse Nation" in San Francisco. More information is available at http://amlainfo.org/conference/index.php

Please forward this to a colleague or post it to listservs whose subscribers may be interested in these resources or information. Thank you. Subscribe to this E-Letter. Information on how to un-subscribe is sent to the registered e-mail address upon registration and is also included at the bottom of CML E-Letters. We do not share this list with any other organization. The CENTER FOR MEDIA LITERACY is a non-profit organization established to promote critical thinking about the media and to provide leadership, training and resources for media education in schools, religious and community organizations. In the global media culture of the 21st century, we believe in empowerment through education for children, young people and adults. We rely on tax-deductible grants and individual donations to sustain and expand our work. Thank you for your support.