Brands, icons and symbols permeate our visual culture. Too often we assume that everyone interprets the symbols the same way. Yet, as we know from current events, symbols like the American flag can mean different things to different people. In activity 3A we learned that what the audience brings to a message is also part of the process of understanding the message. In this lesson, students analyze the symbols on the common $1 dollar bill (paper money is media too!), explore the variety of meanings in the symbols and then create their own money with symbols that are meaningful to them. Through creating media (money) that represents themselves, they not only express their own ideas of who and what is important and but also wrestle with the concept that different people have different ways of seeing and interpreting the world around them.

Download lesson plan # 3B

NOTE: This lesson plan is one of 25 cornerstone lesson plans for media literacy education available in Five Key Questions that Can Change the World, published by the Center for Media Literacy. To access the full collection, click here