House Hippo

This activity encourages students to deconstruct a television commercial in the hopes of providing young people with the tools to understand what goes on behind the scenes to create meaning on the screen. Students view an "unlikely commercial" and then examine the ways in which television can misconstrue facts. They create a poster intended to misrepresent facts and then act out their own commercial, which is intended to have the viewer suspend her disbelief.

Question	Response
How to develop attitudes?	Students critically examine a time-consuming activity - watching TV commercials.
What skills does this resource explicitly teach?	Detecting bias Constructing a TV commercial
What important, related ideas/issues are not addressed in this resource?	The resource does not identify offenders of bias or misinformation. It uses a "far-out" example of misinformation as to not incriminate any current TV advertisers.
What important ideas are implied by the resource, but not taught explicitly?	Although it does not formally identify anyone specifically, the resource implies that there are many advertisers who are misleading/misinforming TV viewers. It suggests that with guidance, students will readily recognize bias on TV.
To enhance this resource the following changes would be beneficial:	This resource would be enhanced by including a follow-up activity that encourages students to identify bias and misinformation, and to write letters to media agencies or advertisers asking them about the practice. Sharing the student learning with other classes/groups of children would be valuable. Suggest some assessment strategies, rubrics

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Principle	Rating	Explanation
Bias Minimization	Good	The resource does not so much offer a variety of view points as much as have students critically examine perspectives or messages they encounter on television.
Multiple Dimensions of Problems & Solutions	Good	The resource encourages students to examine all dimensions of environmental/social issues (through questioning the accuracy of the message and/or presentation of "facts"). Issues examined will be a function of the respective topics of each TV segment.
Respects Complexity	Good	The approach taken by this resource is to have students critically examine TV for bias and accuracy by involving them in the production of advertising themselves.
Action Experience	Poor/Not considered	Beyond having a parent night, no discussion is offered regarding change in local communities.
Action Skills	Mediocre	Students are encouraged to share their learning by having a "media night" for parents.
Empathy & Respect for Humans	Poor/Not considered	The discussion is about bias/accuracy but there is no focus on any one subgroup.
Personal Affinity with Earth	Poor/Not considered	This activity would also be effective in an out-of-doors setting.
Locally-Focused	Good	The resource encourages students to examine their own TV viewing experiences and to create a commercial that demonstrates their understanding/perception of bias in media.
Past, Present & Future	Poor/Not considered	The resource does not consider past, present of future aspects of media.

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Principle	Rating	Explanation
Open-Ended Instruction	Good	While activities are structured in terms of what students will create, there is considerable latitude in how students choose to approach the assignments.
Interdisciplinary and Multidisciplinary Learning	Poor/Not considered	There is no discussion of systems thinking although it is not necessary to this activity.
Discovery Learning	Poor/Not considered	Not considered in this resource.
Values Clarification	Good	The challenge of the activity is to examine different perspectives and the accuracy of the presentation of those perspectives in media.
Differentiated Instruction	Mediocre	Students consider bias in media at both cognitive and affective levels.
Experiential Learning	Mediocre	Students will likely discuss the impact of media/advertising bias on their own community and society at large.
Cooperative Learning	Good	While group and cooperative strategies are not explicitly taught, they are encouraged throughout the resource. Effective group work will enhance student projects.
Assessment & Evaluation	Poor/Not considered	No assessment strategies are included.
Peer Teaching	Good	Students create their own posters and plays that demonstrate their understanding of advertising bias. They present their learning to their peers.
Case Studies	Mediocre	A "constructed" advertisement is used to demonstrate concepts learned. The inclusion of case studies of biases in media would be effective.
Locus of Control	Good	Within the structure of the assignment, students are given considerable choice about the topic they want to pursue as well as their approach to it.

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Description

General Assessment

Sustainability Education Principles

Pedagogical Approaches

Relevant Curriculum Units

A project of

with support from

House Hippo

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Description

General Assessment

Sustainability Education Principles

Pedagogical Approaches

Relevant Curriculum Units

A project of

with support from