Authentic Writing Projects
Involving students in writing projects that encourage them as writers and researchers can sometimes be difficult. Creating writing assignments that are authentic are a way to get students to complete meaningful writing. Usually this involves moving beyond traditional writing assignments and creating ones where students are choosing their own topics based on their interests and experiences. Authentic writing assignments enable students to find their voice and think of purpose and audience beyond the classroom. This workshop will focus on a number of different writing assignments that could be used in various disciplines.
Resources for Teaching the Civil Rights Movement
The focus of this workshop is to use some of the topics and themes I address in my Civil Rights and Athletes as Activists workshops as a way to provide teachers with documents and resources on teaching the Civil Rights Movement (CRM). Depending on the interests of participants, this workshop can focus on athletes, youth, or women’s roles in the CRM. We will look at modern connections and popular culture resources such as film, television shows, and novels that can be used to engage students in the history of the CRM and its impact on present-day movements such as #BlackLivesMatter.
Teaching Critical Media Literacy
Teaching media literacy—the ability of individuals to critically understand techniques and impacts of media messages—can often be a daunting task. This workshop will examine different ways to use social media and web-based texts to encourage students to question and evaluate their media culture. We will discuss techniques such as keeping media journals, and having students examine their media choices in order to be more familiar with their media consumption. We will focus on how media literacy helps with students’ growth and social development and ways to make connections to popular culture and contemporary issues.
Using Presidential Election Ad Campaigns to Teach Propaganda
In teaching in media-rich classrooms, it is important to make students aware of how media and information is manipulated in order to convince them to make specific choices. Teaching youth how to make informed media choices and examine media critically is the focus of this workshop. We will focus on different propaganda techniques and rhetoric used by medias a way to “sell” presidential campaigns. This workshop will examine propaganda techniques in print ads and commercials from various presidential campaigns that can be used to teach persuasion and analyze media in more informed and critical ways.