Journal (30% of Unit Grade)
In the first entry, answer the following questions:
 What are the electronic media you use most frequently (computer, internet, television,
videogames, radio, etc.)?
 Why do you use each medium (relaxation, boredom, schoolwork, for fun, to find
information, entertainment, etc.)?
 With whom do you usually use each medium you’ve listed (parents, friends, siblings,
alone)?
 At what times do you usually use each medium (after school, in the morning, after
school, during school, before bed)?
 For how long do you use each medium (one hour, thirty minutes, ten minutes, etc.)?
 Are there rules for media use at home? Can you watch whenever and whatever you’d
like? Can you connect to the internet without restriction?
 Who has the control of the television remote? What media do you have in your
bedroom?
 Is using media alone different from using it with others? How?
 What feelings do you experience after consuming each medium (eg., guilty, tired,
sad, happy, angry, bored)? Why? Do your feelings differ depending on the medium?
Keep a journal. Document instances when you are being misled, sold, or participating in a media.
Collect at least five examples a week, for a total of 15 entries. Examples can range from
illegitimate sources, to advertisements, to half truths, to a peer’s actual lie, to a lie of your own.
 For each entry tell the
o Medium (conversation, TV, radio, books, billboard, webpage etc.)
o Content (what you are looking at, watching, listening to)
o Duration (in passing, 10 minutes, etc.)
o Circumstances surrounding the interaction (such as “saw a billboard driving”,
“while watching TV with my brother”, or “while talking with my girlfriend”)
 Respond to the interaction
o Is what the sender is sending the same as what the receiver is receiving?
o If not, how does it differ?
o Is the sender aware of this difference?
o What techniques does the sender use to twist meaning?
o How do you feel about it?
Have journals ready for conferencing at the end of each week of the unit.
Adapted from:
Cooper, Pamela and Sherwyn Morreale ed. Creating Competent Communicators. Activites for
Teaching Speaking, Listening, and Media Literacy in Grades 7-12. Scottsdale: Holcomb
Hathaway, 2003: 75-78.