Backwards Design Lesson Plan Template (Page 3 of 3) in pdf

Close (8 MINS):

Ask students to consider how media, not just television, may reflect how people feel as well as impact how they feel.

Ask if our country, or other countries, represent certain groups poorly in media and treat them poorly. Personal

experiences may come up. Or, this may be too much to ask. Provide example – coverage of Aboriginal barricades in

newspapers, treatment of Aboriginal people in Canada, especially by the government.

Extension Activities

Students can write additional paragraphs comparing and contrasting two characters from television shows,

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stating how and why their impacts are similar/different.

Additionally, very motivated students can find examples in newspapers or other media of the same types of

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representations.

Assessment

Informal Observation during small group work /presentations and during large group discussions to determine

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how well students understand the concept of “viewpoint”, and how well they can recognize messages in

television programming.

Rubric for written assignment to gauge how well students are able to critically examine popular media for its

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messages (either explicit or implicit) regarding minority groups and how ably students can understand the

impact popular media's representations of minority groups have on different people. Criteria will include depth

and breadth of the impacts considered as well as the level of thought/insight regarding understanding of the

messages – does the student restate what was said in class, come up with additional meanings, or fail to realize

any meanings related to representations of minority groups? Students paragraphs should demonstrate an

understanding of the term “viewpoint”.

Rationale

The lesson does not completely fulfill the overall expectation, but it will be one of many lessons in a unit

that focus on various forms of media. In this lesson, students become familiar with their favourite television

shows and news programs, learning how to challenge the words, images, and sounds presented through

television. The lesson completely addresses the specific expectation 1.5; students are introduced to two very

different points of view via the YouTube clips pertaining to Chavez and Fox News. They are then asked to

determine how their perspectives change depending on which clip they have just viewed and what messages

both clips convey. After discussing that television cameras determine what viewers see and do not see, the

students are asked to apply their new understanding of different viewpoints to their favourite television shows

as related to their depictions of minority characters. They further their understanding by hearing other small

groups' points and discussing them as a whole group. Through their paragraph writing students critically reflect

on the class, connecting the messages delivered through tv shows to the impacts those message have on

people in various contexts. Specific expectation 1.2 is fulfilled via the same means; upon determining the

viewpoints in the two clips, students work to unearth the messages that are explicit and implicit. They do the

same in their small groups, figuring out what messages are delivered to audiences through representations (or

lack thereof) of minority characters, and how those viewpoints of minority characters impact upon viewers. In

their individual writing, students consider how far that impact extends and to whom.

Backwards Design Lesson Plan Template Page 3