Media Literacy in the K-12 Classroom

If your goal is to dip your toes into the media literacy pool, MEDIA LITERACY IN THE K-12 CLASSROOM will be a satisfying read, but it lacks the deep waters you'd require to really learn how to swim. That's disappointing because author Frank Baker is such an inspiring advocate for media literacy education, and ISTE is such an important leader on ed tech issues.Baker is skilled at aggregating resources from a range of organizations and publications, and if you are focused on countering consumer messages, or on analyzing film the way a film or literary critic might, you'll find valuable information here. Unfortunately, the book lists lots of resources without exploring their [sometimes conflicting] underlying assumptions. As a result we get things like the Ontario Ministry of Education's Eight Key Concepts for Media Literacy followed by a version from the Center for Media Literacy (CML) that narrows the list to five and an alternative approach from NAMLE that expands the categories to ten. But there is no discussion at all about what was dropped in the CML version and added in the NAMLE alternative, or why, or what difference it might make to teachers.In all, the book offers at least six different frameworks for media literacy education. Judging by page space, Baker favors the CML approach, but with no direct discussion, he seems to suggest that teachers should just pick whatever appeals. On the surface, that makes sense given the diversity of circumstances in which media literacy education happens. But without some guidance about the philosophical differences between the approaches or their advantages and disadvantages in specific teaching circumstances, the beginner will be left scratching their heads. And given that this is a beginner's level text, that's a problem.Generally, I'm not fond of reviews that chide authors for leaving things out because there are only so many pages and no author can include everything. So I won't quibble with Baker's examples and references even though I would have chosen to feature different resources. Still, there are some compellingly significant gaps in this book. For example, though the inclusion of K-12 in the title would indicate that the book covers the full range grade levels and subjects, there is very little that is developmentally appropriate for the primary grades, and science, math, and art are reduced to one-paragraph overviews.Those who take a critical literacy approach to media analysis or who are immersed in the pedagogies of multicultural education will also be disappointed. Except as it relates to selling intent, analysis focuses on the "what" (i.e., identifying production techniques & target audience) and only occasionally gets to the "so what" (i.e., why identifying those techniques matters). So, for example, we are given compare-and-contrast examples of magazine covers featuring basketball star LeBron James, but there are no suggested questions that would lead one to examine race or racism. The short chapter on representation advises that students should learn to spot and reject stereotypes, but there is no acknowledgement that such lessons would play out very differently for students who belong to the stereotyped group than for students who do not. Nor are there strategies that teachers might use to help students negotiate what could be very sensitive territory.There are some good suggestions here, especially around Baker's specialties, like analyzing ads, films, and photography. But ultimately, this book sells the field short. Readers who are unfamiliar will walk away with a narrow view of media literacy education - a view that is dominated by attempts to prevent students from being "fooled" or "manipulated" by media (p14). And that's a shame, because the field is so much richer than that and has so much more to offer teachers who are preparing students for life in a digital world. If this is the only media literacy book you read, you're missing a lot.

Media Literacy in K-12 Classroom, by Frank Baker is an eye-opening book for new teachers that would like to start implementing media literacy in their lesson plans. Also, there are an abundance of activities and ideas that can be used by seasoned teachers. As a writer/producer and program director of Kids Video Connection, an educational media arts organization that specialize in teaching youth video production and media literacy, I can identify with Baker’s unique way of teaching children media literacy. I will incorporate some of the activities in our lesson plans. Baker gives many references and activities to help teach youth media literacy; however, this book does not provide detailed lesson plans. He provides great resources and information on topics such as advertising, moving pictures, bias and stereotypes in media. Good book! I recommend you have this book in your library.

In his book, Media Literacy in the K-12 Classroom, Frank Baker is excellent at providing great explanations and samples of how you can include media literacy, visual literacy and media education in the classroom from K-12. Media Literacy in the K-12 Classroom is very helpful for teachers, new and seasoned to get started and develop media awareness and critical thinking in their students. Be sure to check out Frank Baker's other books.

We did a book study with this one. It isn't the most engaging read, but has a lot of great information.

A waste of money. Total waste, worth no stars. You can get better material online for free!

This is the BEST book for teachers to use while planning lessons on Media Literacy!!!What a great resource. I have both the print and kindle version!

This is an average textbook - considering it is a media literacy text I expected a dynamic looking presentation. It is mostly type, poorly formatted, boring and uninteresting to look at. The activities are okay - but nothing I don't already do.

Frank Baker's Media Literacy in the K-12 Classroom is written for teachers who are considering blending media literacy into their K-12 classroom, and those who are underway but will still appreciate ideas and resources from an international consultant who has spent many hours in schools working with teachers and students, up and down the K-12 spectrum. Baker writes frequently on topics of media and film literacy at MiddleWeb.com, where I am co-editor. So I'm very familiar with his work. If, after reading the book, readers want to delve deeper into topics like political campaigning and the language and literacy of movies, visit the site for Frank's latest writings.