Authors:

Thomas Angelitti
Ali Barillaro
Vanessa McMahon
Victor Petrella
Title of LES: Media & Social Justice
Intended grade:
Grade 11
By the end of this unit, students will understand (U)
That media is both a blessing and a curse in the realm of social justice.
Students will know.(K)

Link to the QEP & Progressions of Learning

Reading:

The definition of social justice, activism, action,

and intersectionality

The term Social Justice is highly nuanced, it

can mean radically different things to different
people, and represent a number of issues.

The definition of social media

The definition of propaganda, and how it is used

How one event can be covered in drastically

different ways across different media

providers/producers

The definition of bias

Explains the impact of a text on self as reader

by returning to its social functions, as well as the

way meanings and messages are constructed
Adjusts reading strategies and stance to the
context
Identifies dominant discourses and how they
shape the writers/producers intended
meanings/message
Identifies and analyzes how the codes of media
language can be adapted to different purposes,
texts and audiences: Coverage of same action or
event by different media
Draws inferences about the view of the world
presented in the text despite its apparent
objectivity

Production:

A variety of media platforms (i.e. photos, film &

television, newspapers, journals, and/or other
texts, etc.), as well as important sources of social

Identifies and analyzes the codes used in a media

text to convey the producers intentions

media (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, etc.)

The codes and conventions of each medium

How words, imagery, and sound are all

Analyzes how specific codes and conventions

combine to convey concepts, message(s) and
meaning(s): Values, beliefs, ideologies

Uses teacher- peer- and self-evaluation as a

resource to consolidate and reinvest new
knowledge, understanding and information"

Analyzes how specific codes and conventions

combine to convey concepts, message(s) and
meaning(s): Bias or stereotyping
Considers possible reasons for own
responses and the responses of others to clarify
and reshape the relationship between self as
reader and the text
Cites evidence from the text to substantiate own
ideas, statements, questions and opinions

employed by (social) media to elicit a specific

emotional response or reaction from viewers,
and influence their thought processes

How to use Final Cut Pro

Talk:

That constructive criticism constitutes the use of

relevant textual evidence to support suggestions
about strengths and weaknesses of a product in
the hopes of helping the author make
improvements

Students will be able to (D)

Reading:

Reflect meaningfully about the role that social

justice plays in their lives.

Identify strengths and weaknesses in attempting

to convey a message by compare and contrast.

Decode media texts and uncover their biases

through an analysis of their codes and
conventions

Identify the positive and negative aspects of a

given medium, as well as its limitations

Recognize that their exposure to media messages

is endless, and that these messages are constantly
affecting us, in one way or another

Evaluate the strengths and/or weaknesses of their

own work, and that of their peers

Production:

Construct a list of suggestions that would

improve upon a less than clear message.

Construct a storyboard and use it as a blueprint

Uses appropriate organizational devices in light

of text, purposeaudience,
meaning(s)/message(s) and context: storyboard

Uses structures, features, codes and conventions

of a specific text to communicate clearly and
enhance meaning(s)/message(s)

Looks into issues of ownership, property and

privacy common to the media industry

Constructs interpretations that embody both

own world and the world of the text
Determines criteria to judge the quality of the
text in light of the production context, including
purpose and intended/target audience

for the creation of a video product.

Construct an original media message/social

justice purpose and present it in video format.

Search for Creative Commons material online

Talk:

Argue what makes for a positive and/or negative

use of media for a specific cause

Researches as a writer/producer to become

more informed, to create authentic contexts and
to characterize an audience
Examines some of the aesthetic qualities of
spoken language
Develops rhetorical strategies to achieve
specific purposes