UOIT
Critical Media Literacy
Lesson Plan
Searching for the Real Girl
Marni Hoogeveen, 100390792, Section 4
11/24/2009
EWorkshop Lesson Plan for Media Literacy
Searching for the Real Girl
Marni Hoogeveen
Peeking Behind the Curtain of the Celebrity Beauty Machine
Lesson Focus
The focus of this lesson is to increase student awareness of the degree to which human beauty
is misrepresented in the media. Students will examine the techniques media use to fabricate, or
construct, an artificial, unattainable version of “perfection.” Finally, students will use technology
to create a digital poster for the purpose of increasing awareness about the effects media
images can have on healthy body image.
Rationale
Students at the Grade 5 level tend to buy in to the messages, both overt and implied, that they
encounter in the media. This lesson uses images of celebrities they know and admire, in an
effort to undercut the extreme power these images can hold over the preteen’s mind. In
addition, the digital poster-making activity requires that students develop their skills in accessing
images on the web, and communicating a message to a specific audience.
Assessment
Students will be assessed on the digital poster that they produce as a final activity in the lesson.
 Students will have to use digital media in order to create the poster.
 They will be asked to communicate their understanding of how the media can affect
body image.
 They will be asked to describe a technique used to distort images in the media.
Prior Knowledge
Students will need to be able to use the computer to access images on the Internet, and to
import these into a graphics or MS Word file. Offer assistance to any students who are
uncomfortable with this exercise.
Annotated
Curriculum Expectations
Grade 5, Health and Physical Education, specific expectation:
 describe the influence of the media on body image (e.g., shape and size)
Grade 5 Language Arts, Media Literacy specific expectations
 1.1 identify the purpose and audience for a variety of media texts
 1.2 use overt and implied messages to draw inferences and construct meaning in media
texts
 3.4 produce a variety of media texts for specific purposes and audiences, using
appropriate forms, conventions, and techniques
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Materials/Preparation for Teaching
 The teacher will need to be familiar with the PowerPoint presentation designed for this
lesson. It can be downloaded at ScreenCast.com at this link:
http://www.screencast.com/t/ZWJjYThmMzY
 The teacher will need to be familiar with the processes of downloading images from the
Internet and creating poster files.
 A screen for the PowerPoint presentation must be available in the classroom for the
instructor-led portion of the lesson.
 Copies should be made for every student in the classroom of the Individual Assignment
(the last page of the PowerPoint presentation) and the Assignment Rubric. Both of these
are included at the end of this lesson plan file.
 Students will need access to computers for the individual portion of the lesson.
 Supply copies of teen and other magazines, as possible, for the individual portion of the
lesson.
 Students who find images in magazines will need access to a scanner.
Differentiated Instruction:
When students embark on the digital poster-making project, offer a mini-lesson on the
technical aspects of the activity to the sub-set of students who will feel more comfortable with
a refresher. If possible, walk through the whole process with these students, talking your way
through all the steps.
Encourage English Language Learners to develop ideas and craft messages together, though they
must all produce individual posters. Some may need specific attention to help them find the
words they need to express their messages.
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THE LESSON
The Hook



Begin the PowerPoint presentation. The Hook is the second slide, show media images of
four media personalities the students will know.
To begin, ask students to identify the individuals:
- Zac Efrom
- Vanessa Hutgens
- Robert Patterson
- Selina Gomez
Conduct the thumbs-up, thumbs-down exercise to get the before-picture.
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Agenda


Show the next slide, and review the day’s agenda.
Inform students that there will be printed directions and a rubric for the assignment,
which they will receive later in the lesson.
Instruction
Progress through the PowerPoint lesson:
With above slide, students will identify the extremely thin models. Focus on the question of
who created the images and why. What is the purpose of the advertisements? Who is the
intended audience? What meaning are they constructing? Draw out the students’ responses
when they acknowledge that they will never match the image of beauty in the ads.
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With the above slide, focus on the absence of visible minorities. Whose reality is this anyway?
How does the constructed meaning conflict with the ethnic makeup of North American
society? How is this discriminatory? Note, the bottom left add is for window cleaner. Good
place to ask, what is the implied (underlying) message?
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Now we turn to the media’s ability to construct a convincing illusion of “reality.” The above
trio of slides shows how the media can transform what a person looks like. It also prods
students to think about the meaning of “perfection.” They will likely respond with “yes” to the
first question on the first slide—do these women represent perfection? But no to the same
question on the second slide. But that leaves them with an uncomfortable contradiction when it
is revealed that these people are one and the same.
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For the above slide, it is important to have the students identify what is different about the two
images before viewing the video. They will identify makeup and hairstyling. Probably not
PhotoShoping. That will be revealed in the 1-minute video, which can be accessed by following
the hyperlink on the slide.
Note, ensure sound is up so that students can hear the music. You may wish to play the brief
video more than once.
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Just in case the boys in the class are starting to feel superior, the above slide will show that men
are also subjected to PhotoShopping. Can the boys in the class live up to these images showing
constructed male beauty? This is a perfect place for bringing in the idea of overt and implied
messages. Overt message: This man uses the perfume. He smells wonderful, which women like.
Implied message: If you use this perfume, you will smell wonderful too, and you will attract
women and look handsome, too.
The above slide contains a hyperlink that connects to a five-minute video that shows the actual
PhotoShopping of an image. Beforehand, you may wish to show students the next slide, which
outlines the think-pair-share activity. This will inspire them to make a comprehensive list of the
techniques used to transform the image.
Hold a class discussion, using the above questions as starters. Use this discussion to show
students that what they’ve just gone through – becoming aware – will protect them somewhat
from the impact of media images of perfection.
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Application




Pass out the two handouts: the directions for the investigation (identical to the final slide
of the PowerPoint presentation), and the rubric for the poster they will produce.
Discuss the assignment with students, and give them a chance to ask questions before
you begin.
You may wish to assign the poster creation, or at least the image search, for homework.
Before students begin, ask them to write on the back of their poster one big thing that
they learned through this activity.
Sharing/Reflection
Use the following questions to assess how the lesson went:
 Were my students successful?
 Did my instructional decisions meet the needs of all students?
 What worked well?
 What will I do differently in the future?
 What are my next steps?
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Poster Campaign to Encourage Media Literacy
1. Search through the Internet, teen and fashion magazines, and other
media for advertisements. Find one good example of “perfection”
that you believe would be hard to live up to.
2. Scan your image or save it from a web site to create a .jpg file.
3. Import your image into MS Word or a computer graphics program.
4. Create a mini-poster with your visual. The purpose of your poster is
to help other students in your school understand how distorted
media images can influence body image.
 Think about how you can get across that message effectively.
 Identify the audience and the purpose of the image you chose.
 Identify both the overt (obvious) and the implied (hidden)
message of the image you chose.
 Create a message that will suit your audience—other students.
5. Give your poster a title and a caption of a few sentences.
6. Share your mini-poster with your classmates.
7. Before handing in your poster, write on the back one big thing that
you learned from this activity.
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Rubric for Poster to Encourage Media Literacy
Name: ________________________________________ Date: ________________________
Categories
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Knowledge and
Understanding
Student
demonstrates
limited
understanding of
the influence of
the media on body
image.
Student
demonstrates
some
understanding of
the influence of
the media on body
image.
Student
demonstrates
considerable
understanding of the
influence of the
media on body
image.
Student
demonstrates
thorough
understanding of
the influence of
the media on
body image.
Thinking
Student identifies
the purpose and
audience of the
chosen image to a
limited degree.
Student identifies
the purpose and
audience of the
chosen image to a
moderate degree.
Student identifies the
purpose and
audience of the
chosen image to a
satisfactory degree.
Student identifies
the purpose and
audience of the
chosen image to a
high degree.
Thinking
Student identifies
overt and implied
messages in the
chosen image to a
limited degree.
Student identifies
overt and implied
messages in the
chosen image to a
moderate degree.
Student identifies
overt and implied
messages in the
chosen image to a
satisfactory degree.
Student identifies
overt and implied
messages in the
chosen image to a
high degree.
Communication
Student expresses
and organizes
ideas and
information with
limited
effectiveness.
Student expresses
and organizes
ideas and
information with
some
effectiveness.
Student expresses
and organizes ideas
and information with
considerable
effectiveness.
Student expresses
and organizes
ideas and
information with a
high degree of
effectiveness.
Communication
Student creates a
message tailored
to a specific
audience with
limited
effectiveness.
Student creates a
message tailored
to a specific
audience with
some
effectiveness.
Student creates a
message tailored to
a specific audience
with considerable
effectiveness.
Student creates a
message tailored
to a specific
audience with a
high degree of
effectiveness.
Application
Student transfers
knowledge about
media influence to
the context of a
poster campaign
with limited
effectiveness.
Student transfers
knowledge about
media influence to
the context of a
poster campaign
with some
effectiveness.
Student transfers
knowledge about
media influence to
the context of a
poster campaign
with considerable
effectiveness.
Student transfers
knowledge about
media influence
to the context of
a poster
campaign with a
high degree of
effectiveness.
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