IATEFL Cardiff 2009
Popular Culture in the Classroom
Further Reading & Resources
General websites for Popular Culture
www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cool/
view/
www.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews
www.hkedcity.net/english/
http://bagnewsnotes.typepad.com
www.teachingenglish.org/think/methodology
http://www.mediaawareness.ca/english/teachers/index.cfm
http://www.thecoolhunter.net
Photo captions
www.littlegreenfootballs.com
http://www.captionmachine.com/
http://captionbubble.com/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/presspack/skillsroo
m/tellingastory_photos.shtml
http://desktoppub.about.com/cs/pagelayout/ht/c
aptions.htm
http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.as
p?id=4355
http://web.ku.edu/~edit/captions.html
http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue8_9/gar
ner/index.html#g3
A site focusing on the ways in which trends are identified,
including a TV programme, which could be used to introduce
pop culture.
The children’s section of the BBC site, containing games,
quizzes, interviews and articles on thought-provoking topics.
The main site also contains topic based articles which could
be used for reading and discussion activities, such as the
‘relationships’ section.
Excellent resource for Hong Kong teachers of English which
includes films for use in class.
Interesting blog with discussion about media issues,
including the Dove Real Beauty campaign. Extensive links
section for media / advertising related sites.
A British Council site with many interesting and useful
articles on teaching methodology, lesson ideas and
discussion forums.
A huge variety of activities related to the media aimed at
encouraging critical thinking skills. Categorised by themes
and student age / grade.
A ‘culture blog’ with a good selection of the most creative
and interesting ideas from around the world. At the time of
writing, all seemed suitable for use with students but it is
worth checking as content is likely to be regularly updated.
A blog with lots of examples of manipulated media images,
also media links. Quite specific so maybe more useful for
media studies.
A site where you can upload your own photos and add
captions or add captions to other people’s photos.
* Care needed as some examples may use inappropriate
language.
Another site where you can upload your own photos and add
captions.
A great interactive website with a tutorial which guides
students through the process of making a photo story by
ordering the images and adding captions. There is also a
quiz to test their knowledge of photo stories.
A general reference and list of tips / features regarding
writing photo captions. Not designed for English language
learners so some challenging technical terms used but with
a little selective editing from the teacher, it has some useful
information.
Another informational site with a comprehensive list of tips.
Aimed at journalism students.
Primarily an informational reference about the nature of
photo captions and reader behaviour. Aimed at university
students, so some more challenging vocabulary.
An academic article for teachers’ own background reading
about the purposes and features of photo captions.
The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.
http://www.mediaawareness.ca/english/resources/educational/h
andouts/consumerism/choosing_editing_photo
s.cfm
Comic Strips
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2ruXrTfrN8
http://www.kiddonet.com/
http://www.comics.com/
http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/comic/
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/sleep/sta
rslp/missionz/comic.htm
http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/
http://www.macinstruct.com/node/69
http://www.ugo.com/channels/comics/heromac
hine/classic.asp
http://comicbooks.about.com/od/characters/tp/t
opsuperhero.htm
http://comicbooks.about.com/od/characters/Th
e_Characters_of_Comics_Bios_Fansites_etc.h
tm
http://www.mediaawareness.ca/english/resources/educational/le
ssons/elementary/gender_portrayal/comic_boo
k_characters.cfm
http://www.britishcouncil.org/languageassistant
-teaching-tips-cartoons-comics.htm
Magazine Columns
http://www.ellegirl.com/fashion.html
http://www.teenmag.com/advice/fashion/
Pages related to cropping photos.
‘How an Extra-Life comic is made’ is a short film with a
cartoonist describing and showing the steps he goes through
to create a comic strip. * Check first as you might feel the
finished product may contain unsuitable language in the
punchline for your students (you could choose to just show
an extract without the end wording)
Go to ‘Comics Center’ on the drop-down menu for various
activities including a very clear student-friendly reference
about the Language of Comics and ‘My Comic Strip’ where
they can create their own strip and post it online.
A vast database of all sorts of comic strips. Very good for
providing examples for students.
Allows students to create 1, 2, 3 or 6-panel comics, using a
range of characters, speech and thought balloons, props
and room for titles and captions. Has a helpful ‘?’ button to
navigate the simple screen.
Garfield’s Comic Creator - Creates 3-panel stories with
speech and thought balloons, backgrounds, Garfield
characters (mostly household animals) and props.
This site has 15 characters to choose from, some human,
some a mix of animals and humans. Allows students to
create a 2, 3 or 4-panel comic with captions, speech and
thought balloons and background colours. One of the main
features of this site is its storyline ideas, (see ‘More story
ideas’). Two story ideas for secondary students are A Day
At School and Dealing with Bullies.
If teachers have access to Apple Mac software, they will find
a substantial range of options for comic creation using this
piece of software, which includes templates for creating
Manga comics.
Hero Machine – Create your own Hero
Allows students to design their own superhero with options
for skin design, wings, and clothes: masks, capes, footwear
shields, logos and helmets. Male and female versions
available. The site is an excellent tool to generate characters
for speaking / writing activities for character description.
This is a list of a selected top 10 American superheroes
including Superman, Batman, The Hulk and Wonder
Woman. This could be used as reading material for an
activity that compares characters. The second link shows a
list of American comic book villains.
This site contains a lesson plan and some materials for
teachers. It is not designed for language learning, but raises
awareness about stereotyping in male and female comic
book characters and may be useful background reading for
teachers.
Includes ideas for working with comic strip characters.
Contains further links to Marvel and Calvin and Hobbes
sites.
Has short sections on fashion items for young women. Can
be used as a good resource for showing how to mix image
and words. (American)
This site has one fashion question followed by a suggestion
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http://www.mizz.com/obj/horoscopes.php
www.astrology.com
http://horoscopes.astrology.com/index/dailytee
nindex.html
http://www.atomicteen.com/horoscopes/
http://www.alloy.com/astro/
http://www.blissmag.co.uk/
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/resourcet
ry/magazines.shtml
http://www.yp.scmp.com/
http://www.hilary.com/dilemma/
http://www.teentoday.co.uk/guides/problems/in
dex.shtml
http://www.problempages.co.uk/forum/index.ph
p
http://www.agirlsworld.com/info/advice.html
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/resourcet
ry/magazines.shtml
http://www.alloy.com
www.gurl.com/topics/fashionandstyle
http://www.girlsense.com/premium/template_ac
tivities.pl?activity=slideshow_gallery
http://www.esl-lab.com/vocab/v-fashion.htm
Film
www.apple.com/trailers/
http://www.comingsoon.net/trailers/
http://www.filmeducation.org/secondary/Study
with links to each issue. A good place to start for fashion
advice. (American)
UK teenage girls’ magazine site containing horoscopes as
well as fashion, advice etc.
This site covers all aspects of astrology, including Chinese
horoscopes. The language is quite challenging. It has a
section aimed specifically at teens.
This site has descriptions of each star sign in very colloquial
language so it is quite challenging.
This is a slightly more mature/serious teen horoscope site
which although containing colloquial language and
abbreviations, has fairly short manageable texts of about 40
words.
Another UK magazine aimed at teenage girls containing
horoscopes, fashion, advice and more.
A site with lots of practical ideas based on magazines for
teachers to try out in the classroom.
The Website for the Young Post section of The South China
Morning Post which has a variety of columns and articles,
plus a forum. *Needs registration for access.
An online US women’s magazine with fairly inoffensive
subject matter in the problem letters, but take care because
there are a few references to sexual orientation / ‘sleeping
together’. Generally seems to include problems from people
in their 20’s rather than teens. Vocabulary is informal.
A problem page aimed at UK teenagers. Warning: Subject
matter may concern sensitive subjects, e.g. sex.
These forum pages contain a vast number of posts from
people in the UK concerning all areas of problems such as
friends, relationships, self, family and a ’16 and under’
section. NB. As these are forum postings, some of the texts
are lengthy and dense regarding the language used.
A site aimed at teenage girls who can post their problems
and receive replies from other girls around the world. Topics
include boys, friends and family.
A site with lots of practical ideas based on magazines for
teachers to try out in the classroom.
This site has a short section called, ‘Fashion Seen’ and is a
community page where a person describes their look and
other people rate it. Can be used to show the language of
brief clothes descriptions and combinations. (American)
Aimed at teenage girls, this has guides to such things as
fashion and style, beauty, piercing and even tattooing. Take
a look at it for appropriacy and context for your own
students’ needs. (American)
Another site which has a ‘fashion slideshow’ feature, where
girls design their own looks and superimpose images of their
faces. Will possibly appeal more to younger teens: it’s fairly
pink and pretty. Could possibly be used with older, more
analytical teens as a site for discussion and debate.
(American)
A website which has recordings of the pronunciation of key
basic vocabulary clothing and basic verbs (American
English)
Many movie trailers available for streaming / download, plus
plot summaries, cast information etc.
Movie trailers and clips.
Downloadable guides for teaching many areas related to
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Guides/index.html
www.filmeducation.org/secondary/StudyGuides
/teachingtrailers.pdf
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/reviews/
http://www.kids-in-mind.com
http://www.hkedcity.net/english/watch/film/revie
w/
www.imdb.com
http://uk.rottentomatoes.com/
http://www.metacritic.com/
Advertisements
www.mediaworkshop.org
http://www.adslogans.co.uk/general/students.ht
ml
www.visit4info.com
http://www.thecocacolacompany.com/brands/index.html
http://www.virtualvender.cocacola.com/vm/Vending.jsp
http://www.yourpointofview.com/hsbcads_airpo
rt.aspx
http://mediaknowall.com/gcse/advertising/analy
sis.html
http://pbskids.org/dontbuyit/advertisingtricks/
http://adsoftheworld.com
www.adbusters.org
film, including ‘Storyboards’. Aimed at native speakers so
quite high level.
Ideas for exploiting film trailers in class.
A website containing reviews of movies with themes and
content appropriate for teenagers. By clicking on a film title,
the film is rated and cautions given for the type of action that
appears in the film, language, taboo issues encountered,
and dress. Very useful.
A website describing, but not reviewing movies. This
website doesn’t review or rate movies, but assigns each film
three distinct, category-specific ratings: one for SEX &
NUDITY, one for VIOLENCE & GORE and one for
PROFANITY.
Step-by-step guide on how to write film reviews with good
clear accompanying tasks. Students can add their writing to
the forum and read other people’s work.
A comprehensive site containing trailers, plot summaries,
cast information etc. for current and old films.
A site containing dozens of movie reviews, plus trailers and
photos. *Can be a little confusing to navigate due to the
amount of content.
Contains reviews of films, DVDs, music, games, books and
TV which are searchable by category / release date / name.
The reviews are ordered according to scores awarded.
Lesson plans for analysing advertising – useful but quite indepth so may need some tailoring to suit Ss’ needs.
A free resource giving information about advertising slogans
and tips on slogan writing. *For native speakers so quite
high-level language / concepts involved.
Contains many examples of TV / cinema advertising, some
of which you have to sign-in and pay for, but many are freely
available. *Care needed as some adverts’ subject matter is
adult in nature.
Coca-Cola’s corporate site with lots of examples of brand /
product descriptions which could be used as examples for
students’ own advertising work. The ‘virtual vender’ is a
more fun interactive site that allows them to search for
products by country / type.
Examples of HSBC adverts which use cultural comparisons.
Very clear student-friendly site with information about lines
of appeal, advertising strategies, common advertising words
etc.
Student-friendly website with interactive activities to develop
critical thinking skills and an informed understanding of
marketing, e.g. ‘Create your own ad’, ‘Be the ad detective’
and ‘What’s in an ad?’.
A large database of advertising including Media, Print, TV &
Cinema, Outdoor, Online, Ambient and Direct Marketing.
Some ads are in languages other than English so check the
text first.
“Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Adbusters
is a not-for-profit, reader-supported, 120,000-circulation
magazine concerned about the erosion of our physical and
cultural environments by commercial forces”. Click on ‘spoof
ads’ for some interesting examples or ABTV for videos.
Their ‘Media Empowerment Kit’ contains some good lesson
ideas (you have to purchase the kit to access them all but
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http://www.absolutelyandy.com/tvadverts/index
.htm
www.visit4info.com
http://www.adslogans.co.uk/general/students.ht
ml
http://money.howstuffworks.com/ad-slogan.htm
http://www.adflip.com
http://www.teachit.co.uk/index.asp?CurrMenu=
searchresults&keyword=adverts
http://www.mediafamily.org/network_guides_1.
shtml
Music
www.dartmouth.edu/~writing/materials/student/
humanities/music.shtml
www.toptenreviews.com
http://music.guardian.co.uk/reviews
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/musicreviews/
Video games
http://www.pbs.org/kcts/videogamerevolution/i
mpact/index.html
http://www.pbs.org/kcts/videogamerevolution/in
side/stories.html#top
http://www.mediaawareness.ca/english/resources/educational/le
ssons/elementary/video_games/killer_games.cf
m
http://www.mediaawareness.ca/english/parents/video_games/in
there are a few examples available to view for free).
UK TV adverts to download and watch. Most are suitable for
use with students (as of the time of writing) but there are a
lot of alcohol adverts so check first.
TV and cinema adverts organised into categories such as
funny, cool, classic and weird. Many are available free but
you have to sign up as a member (fee payable) to access
all. Check before using in class as some have adult content /
themes.
Articles, tips and tools for writing slogans, plus a database of
historical slogans.
Useful articles from a marketing point of view (by Foster,
Timothy RV. "How Ad Slogans Work." 01 April
2000. HowStuffWorks.com) explaining the basics of
advertising, e.g. writing a good slogan (‘tagline’) and a list of
the most commonly used words in advertising slogans.
Database of advertising from the 1940’s to current day.
Search by date as you need to sign up as a member for full
search options. Subscriptions are available for 7 days, a
month or a year, plus they offer special subscription rates for
schools. To obtain larger versions of the ads, click on ‘send
as E-card’.
A number of activities including an interesting but
challenging activity involving various adverts ‘crunched’ to
re-organise their content and their words put in alphabetical
order for students to make sense of. Also tools for analysing
TV adverts.
This site is aimed at parents and is geared towards raising
children’s media awareness. Register as a member (free) to
access parents’ guides to advertising (amongst other topics).
Very challenging as it is aimed at university level students,
but contains some useful tips, also some sample papers
which could be modified to provide an example for students.
Reviews organised by scores, or searchable by genre.
Reviews written by proficient English speaking critics so
some very challenging language is used at times.
Some reviews are fairly short but the language is often quite
complex.
This reviews site is aimed at parents therefore it contains
guidance on song content in specific categories including
sexual content, violence, language, message, social
behaviour, commercialism and drug / alcohol / tobacco. The
references are shown in an at-a–glance table so you can
decide on appropriacy.
Tie-in from a PBS TV show about video games. Includes
sections on ‘how a game is made’, quizzes, the history of
gaming and essays on the impact of games (Some quite
long texts in this part).
‘Inside the games: Personal gaming stories’ has short video
clips of teens talking about video games which could be
used in class.
A lesson plan for raising students’ awareness of violence in
games.
Issues for parents to consider- includes good essay
examples and topics for debate.
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dex.cfm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4682801.stm
http://www.mediafamily.org/
http://www.parentpreviews.com/video_games.s
html
http://www.games4girls.com
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/01/22/
1074732535783.html
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/gamereviews/?showthis=VideoGame
http://www.xbox.com/enUS/support/familysettings/isyourfamilyset/langu
ageofvideogames.htm
http://inventorspot.com/video_game_terminolo
gy_basics
http://inventorspot.com/video_game_terminolo
gy_advanced
http://www.jimjagger.com/JPages/JTutorials/Tu
t_Glossary.htm
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1239
30/how_to_review_a_video_game.html
An article about the benefits of gaming.
USA based media site aimed at raising media awareness in
children and parents. Contains comprehensive parental
guides on topics including video game addiction and social
networking. Needs (free) registration to access these
resources.
Fairly in-depth reviews aimed at parents and families.
Focuses on genres other than war games and shooters.
Also includes reviews of games categorised by genre.
An article about the benefits of gaming.
A good selection of reviews categorised by age / platform.
This reviews site is aimed at parents and it contains
guidance on song content in specific categories including
sexual content, violence, language, message, social
behaviour, commercialism and drug / alcohol / tobacco. The
references are shown in an at-a–glance table so you can
decide on appropriacy.
A glossary of common language used when talking about
video games. Aimed at parents.
A glossary of game genres and a slightly more advanced
glossary of gaming terms.
A glossary of gaming terms - quite advanced.
A selection of articles related to video games such as ‘What
makes a good video game?’ ‘How to review a video game’
and ‘Video game addiction’.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_cultur
e
Page 6 of 7
Books
General background reading for teachers:
Popular Culture in the Classroom by
Donna Alvermann, Jennifer Moon &
Margaret Hagood
(ISBN 0-87207-245-2)
Trading Cards to Comic Strips: Popular
Culture Texts and Literacy Learning in
Grades K-8 by Shelley Hong Xu with
Perkins & Zunich
(ISBN 0-87207-570-2)
A fairly theoretical but interesting background reading
book addressing issues involved in teaching critical
media literacy. Case studies of teachers’ lessons are
included along with commentaries.
A research-based book about teachers’ experiences
using Popular Culture in the Literacy Curriculum. It is
written from an American perspective and is based on
teaching younger students but it contains some very
useful background information about what Popular
Culture is and ideas for teaching that can be adapted to
a local context.
Comics:
The Language of Comics
by Mario Saraceni
(ISBN-10: 041521422X)
Not written for language teachers, but full of fascinating
analysis and description of comic strip conventions and
their uses.
Comic-Strip Grammar: 40 Reproducible
Cartoons with Engaging Practice Exercises
That Make Learning Grammar Fun
by Dan Greenberg
(ISBN-10: 0439086817)
Magazines / Newspapers:
The Language of Magazines by Linda
McLoughlin
(ISBN X0415214246)
Designed for English first-language speakers. Has wellstructured and exemplified activities.
Newspapers by Peter Grundy - Oxford
Resource Books for Teachers series (ISBN 019-437192-1)
Film:
Film by Susan Stempleski & Barry Tomalin Oxford Resource Books for Teachers series
(ISBN 0-19-437231-6)
A thorough analytical approach to magazines, this book is
aimed at UK A-Level students, therefore contain some
adult themes and challenging language / concepts, but you
may find it useful as a background resource.
A ‘recipe’ book with generic activities and lesson ideas for
using all parts of newspapers including horoscopes, advice
columns, classifieds and photos, arranged with level, time,
materials, skills and procedures clearly indicated.
A ‘recipe’ book with generic activities and lesson ideas /
projects for using films / clips in class, including reviews,
arranged with level, time, materials, skills and procedures
clearly indicated.
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