| LEARNING CONNECTIONS
Students could go to a website like
Snopes, which synthesizes and evaluates reports on alligators in the sewers
and other urban myths. However, not
all of the false information they get is
available on Snopes, and the Snopes site
needs to be analyzed critically as well.
Using a media literacy framework
helps students understand that no
one source has all the answers. For
example, many ELL students believe
that newspapers in the United States
always tell the truth. Similarly, Wiki-pedia is commonly used as a starting point for student research, but
students need to understand that it
would be foolish not to check out the
veracity of its statements.
• Perform think-alouds as you search
for resources and decide how truthful they might be.
• Allow students to participate in
classroom processes but also provide scaffolding when needed. For
ELLs, this might include mini-lessons on conditionals and question formation and the U.S. notion
of fact versus opinion.
• Ask essential questions. To address
clarity, you might ask, “Can you give
me an example of…?” or “What
do you mean by…?” To focus on
precision or specificity you might
ask, “Exactly how much…?” or “On
what day and at what time did…?”
And to address breadth, you might
ask, “How might ___ answer this
question?” or “What do you think
____ would say about this issue?”
you can help all students understand
what media literacy is and how 21st-
century skills play an important role
not only in school but also in life outside of school.
Resources
Center for Media Literacy: www.medialit.org
Google Docs: docs.google.com
“Literacy for the 21st-Century: An Overview
and Orientation Guide to Media Literacy
Education” by E. Thoman and T. Jolls of the
Center for Media Literacy: www.medialit.org
Net Trekker d.i.: http://school.nettrekker.com/
frontdoor
Rationale: http://rationale.austhink.com
Snopes: www.snopes.com
The Teacher’s Role
It is important for teachers to help
students see the need for and excitement of being able to think critically.
In modeling critical thinking, you
need to:
Joy Egbert is an associate
professor of ESL and education technology at Washington
State University in Pullman.
She is the author of
Supporting Learning with Technology: Essentials of Classroom
By modeling self-questioning and
A other strategies and by focusing on
both language and content needs,
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Member sin ce 2007 tip
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