Day 1 (A)- unit overview

So today I started the unit on media literacy. First I was introduced to the class because many of the students are new (having moving in from other classes this trimester). The first class moves a little slower as many students are special ed. or have fewer English language skills. We spent a good deal of time defining media and media literacy with them, trying to provide them with many examples. I went over the schedule, and then began working through the definitions. This class was shortened today because we had a meeting with all students to start the day. We got through about half of the political definitions today. We did the same material with Step 6, but were able to get through the entire introduction, political and media definitions today so we can move onto the political preference quiz tomorrow. Step 5, which is now a huge class, will be a real challenge both in terms of adapting the lessons and classroom management. The class is not arranged very well, prohibiting me from getting to the back of the class, which is where the most management is needed.

My cooperating teacher offered some very good suggestions after the classes. She suggested visuals to go along with the pictures would be very helpful for the first period, Step 4 kids. They have done that in the past. I am already limiting the vocabulary I will use with that class. She also suggested that I re-integrate the fact vs. opinion lesson in the context of media literacy because it is a god think to keep in mind as they learn to analyze and evaluate media for trustworthiness, bias, etc... Tomorrow I need to begin instituting some of the procedural things like what we write on the board (date, class, agenda) at the beginning of each class, and the ground rules for my 2 week unit so they are more clear. This was the most tedious part of the process, once the definitions are out of the way the rest will be much smoother. Tomorrow- political preference quiz!