Hobbs Chapter 3

I was very glad that chapter 3 was the chapter that I was assigned to discuss, as this is the main chapter I have been focusing on in regards to my media literacy project. In this chapter, Hobbs dicusses ways in which certain high schools are becoming more media literate and incorportaing that into the classroom. Some high schools were very excited and interested in adapting media tools in the classroom, however not all were receptive to this new idea. The school that Hobbs most focused on was that of Concord High School. Concord's teachers were receptive to this new material and Hobbs was thrilled.

There were several activities in this chapter that I found extremely creative in relation to integrating new media literacy into the classroom. Teacher Joanne McGlynn, who began teaching in 1998, showed a video of President Clinton and his denials of having an affair with Monica Lewinsky. After viewing the video, the class was given a sheet of the Five Core Concepts of Media Literacy. They are as follows:

-All media messages are constructed.
-Media use symbol systems with codes and conventions to shape messages.
-Media messages have embedded values and points of view.
-Different people interpret the same media message differently.
-Most media messages are constructed to gain profit and/or power (41).

The next class, McGlynn showed another film, this time of Clinton testifying about his sexular relationship with Lewinsky and also images of the Unites States' decision to use cruise missiles in Sudan. Then, using the critial questions and core concepts above, the students discussed how media messages have their own uniqe languages. Finally, the students pointed out how the language of the pieces, "emphasized the sense of responsibility and focus of the president in taking meaningful action to limit the spread of global terrorism" (42).

The activity that I found most interesting was that of the docudrama project for Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying." In this project, students were asked to create a television program, 30 minutes in length, that will relate to Faulkner's book. In that half hour, students were asked to tell the story of the Bundren family and the trip they took when dropping their dead mother off in Jefferson. The project consisted of five components. The first, (1) "An overview of the program that will describe your approach to the story, outline the sequence of scenes you will dramatize, and dealieniate the characters and narrators if any) who will be the program's focus, (2) A brief rationale for your particular approach, (3) A storyboard depicting the sequence of scenes in the program, (4) A transcript of an interview with at least one of the participants in the docudrams, (5) A screenplay (or otherwise detailed description) of one 3-5 minute scene: (54).

I can foresee myself assigning a project like this to my students someday in my own classroom. Not only do they first have to read As I Lay Dying, but after the story is read, they are required to talk about it. Most teachers, after reading a novel with their class, simply assign a paper in response to the material in the book, and then the knowledge is forgotten. With this new media literacy approach, students are allowed to dicusss the book with other students, take on roles of several of the characters, and act out on scenes in the book. In addition, other students will have the ability to watch their classmates' films, which can only give new and fascinating ideas about the book. This was by far my favorite project that Hobbs discussed in Chapter 3, as it incorporates active learning, listening, reading, writing, creating, etc. The possibilities with projects like this are endless, and the rewards will far exceed teacher's expectations.


In the final pages of Chapter 3, Hobbs gives a brief summary of what was discussed. She states, "English 11 teachers at Concord used reading, viewing, discussion, and writing in a sequence of activities designed to promote inquiry, critical thinking, and communication skills" (58). This most certainly is my goal when I become a teacher, as it is vital for our children to go beyond what is written in textbooks and novels. This is not to say that I will not have my students reading and writing, as I most certainly will. However, there is so much more to teaching english than what meets the eye. We should all be taking advantage of the new media tools and technologies that are available to us. There are there for a reason, and it is about time we start using them. It is time to add more to the "traditional" way of teaching, as times are changing right before our eyes.