Project Look Sharp Releases Two New Free Curriculum Kits for K-5 Social Studies
Introducing Africa, Project Look Sharp
NAMLE member, Project Look Sharp, a media literacy initiative at Ithaca College, released two new curriculum kits: Introducing Africa and Causes of the American Revolution. These kits are available for free to educators at www.projectlooksharp.org. The kits, which contain a diverse array of media forms, were designed for use in elementary school social studies classes.
Introducing Africa begins with a lesson designed for 3rd graders that uncovers their own preconceptions of the continent. As the students recognize the limitations of their information they begin to reflect on sourcing, accuracy and the concept of stereotyping. The lesson concludes with 3rd graders identifying that media documents created from African countries would more likely present a diverse view of the continent than American sources such as The Lion King and Animal Planet. The next lesson has students work in groups to identify information about 40 African nations through analyzing their money.
Causes of the American Revolution, Project Look Sharp
The kit, Causes of the American Revolution, uses diverse 18th century media forms including paintings, songs, poems, cartoons and government documents to teach American history from different points of view. Students compare an etching of the Boston Tea Party with a first person account, analyze the perspective of a pro British song, and identify the causes of the revolution portrayed in a contemporary television cartoon.
As in all Project Look Sharp lessons, students learn to analyze media representations while learning and applying core knowledge. These skills are essential to create a generation able to read, critically analyze, and produce communication in a variety of forms; a requirement for literacy in the 21st century.
Project Look Sharp’s mission is to provide support to educators to prepare students for life in today’s media saturated world. These two new kits mark Project Look Sharp’s 16th and 17th online kits, reflecting its leading role in providing content driven media literacy materials to teachers from kindergarten to college.
For more information visit the website: http://www.ithaca.edu/looksharp
Category: NAMLE Action!
