Beginning the Conversation

Using the Writing Workshop framework of lesson, writing time, and sharing time, Intervening: Writing and Media seeks to teach students how to critically read media, extract the arguments from the media, and then responding to what media is attempting to do. This way of doing writing is about developing a critical eye to deduce any argument and building the writing and thinking skills to participate and intervene in that argument. 

Lesson: 

Today, we started a section in our Writing Notebooks for Media and Writing. I asked students to write down this definition: "Media is all the ways of communication that provide the public with news and entertainment (e.g., TV, newspapers, magazines, apps, music, video games, movies, and websites).  Next, I asked students to make a chart similar to this and brainstorm all the different media from which they gain information about news or from which they are regaled, or entertained. 

Movies	TV shows	Newspapers Magazines	Books
Video games	Apps	Websites	Music

Writing Time: 10 minutes of NO WALK, NOT TALK

After the lesson brainstorm, as students to write a response to this: Take a look at all the media you consume. Discuss if you notice similar themes or topics in your media or if there is a lot of variety. Then, talk about whether or not you think the media you consume is a good representation of who you are? 

Sharing Time: 

Trade papers with a partner. Write on the paper, one like and one question. Return.