Why Comics? GCSE Media Studies Lesson Plan

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Why Comics? GCSE Media Studies Lesson Plan

Why Comics? GCSE (age 14-16) Media Studies Lesson Plan: Media Representation of Refugees

IntroductionLooking to engage your students in contemporary human rights and social issues? Based at SOAS University of London, Why Comics? Education Charity brings contemporary humanitarian and social issues into the classroom (such as racism, conflict, migration, trafficking and climate change) through interactive literary comic books based on real-life testimony.

Our free easy-to-use Key Stage 2-5 resources build empathy and enhance learning for 7-18-year-old students and teachers alike, alongside UK national-curriculum relevant lesson plans to support multiple subjects.

Each sample UK National Curriculum based Lesson Plan is provided as a Word.doc – so you can use it as a building block. Please feel free to adjust the content to suit your teaching style and students’ needs, all the content is only suggested.

Our innovative resources help enhance learning to support multiple subjects (such as English, ESOL, Personal, Social, Health and Economic [PSHE] education, Citizenship Studies, Art, Media Studies and Geography). Our support materials are intended to inspire teachers and enhance teaching practices and different ideas.

Why Comics? resources are embedded with a wealth of age-appropriate contextual multimedia (such as news articles, maps, videos, infographics and reports) to educate and inspire pupils across a wide demographic.

Our materials encourage learners to make connections between their own lives and the lives of others throughout the world, promoting critical and reflective thinking on vital global themes. In this way, Why Comics? can help combat racism and intolerance in schools.

Already, over 600 schools in 27 countries have provided detailed feedback on our free interactive educational resources to overwhelmingly positive feedback. From September 2017, our materials will be disseminated to over 25,000 schools worldwide.

Please help us by filling out a short anonymous SurveyMonkey questionnaire after you have used our materials for our funders. This helps ensure that our great resources remain free.

Please email info@whycomics.org for more information. Thank you.

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Why Comics? GCSE Media Studies Lesson Plan

Why Comics? Charity number - 1172791

Table of Contents

Introduction.............................................................................................................................................2

UK National GCSE Curriculum Media Studies requirements.......................................................................3Aims.....................................................................................................................................................4Learning Objectives...............................................................................................................................4

Lesson plan 1............................................................................................................................................5

Follow-up Lesson Plan..............................................................................................................................6Aims.....................................................................................................................................................6Learning objectives...............................................................................................................................6

Lesson Plan 2............................................................................................................................................7

Feedback..................................................................................................................................................7

UK National GCSE Curriculum Media Studies requirements:[Source UK Gov GCSE Media Studies Subject content and assessment objectives].

GCSE specifications in media studies should enable students to:

demonstrate skills of enquiry, critical thinking, decision-making and analysis acquire knowledge and understanding of a range of important media issues develop appreciation and critical understanding of the media and their role both historically and

currently in society, culture and politics understand and apply specialist subject-specific terminology to analyse and compare media

products and the contexts in which they are produced and consumed in order to make informed arguments, reach substantiated judgements and draw conclusions about media issues

appreciate how theoretical understanding supports practice and practice supports theoretical understanding

develop practical skills by providing opportunities for creative media production

Media representations:

the ways in which the media re-present (rather than simply present) the world, and construct versions of reality

the choices media producers make about how to represent particular events, social groups and ideas

the ways aspects of reality may be represented differently depending on the purposes of the producers

the different functions and uses of stereotypes, including an understanding of how stereotypes become established, how they may vary over time, and how stereotypes enable audiences to interpret media quickly

how and why particular social groups may be under-represented or misrepresented

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Why Comics? GCSE Media Studies Lesson Plan

how representations (including self-representations) convey particular viewpoints, messages, values and beliefs, which may be reinforced across a wide range of media products

the social, cultural and political significance of particular representations in terms of the themes or issues that they address

how representations reflect the social, historical and cultural contexts in which they were produced the factors affecting audience interpretations of representations, including their own experiences

and beliefs

Please note Teacher’s Notes are in purple.

Media Studies GCSE Lesson PlanHere is a suggested introductory lesson plan about issues of media representation told through Abike, Almaz, Antoni, Hasko, Khalid, Merha, Mohammed, Nadia, Sagal , or Zein’s eyes. (NB we release a new comic every month, so check our Teaching Resources page for the most up to date list). It is 45 mins long consisting of a reading in class, followed by group discussion and an assigned homework. We have also included ideas for a follow up lesson. The class can either read the comic collectively via projector, or at home via the web (http://www.whycomics.org/comics).

This lesson will provide students with an understanding of the media representation of refugees. It will use one individual’s story to contrast some of the misrepresentation of refugees currently present in the media. Students will explore how and why specific media representations are created and some the effects of misrepresentation on public attitudes towards refugees.

Media representation of refugees and minority groups

Aims:

This lesson will explore the misrepresentation of refugees currently present in the media.

Students will examine what media representation is Students will examine the key terms of media representation and how a representation is

formed Students will examine newspaper, magazine and online articles about refugees, studying

both factual reporting and media representation Students will explore some of outcomes of misrepresentation

Learning Objectives:

By the end of the session students will be able to:

Define stereotyping and media representation Understand the key terms of media representation and understand how a media

representation is formed Identify misrepresentation of refugees in the media

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Why Comics? GCSE Media Studies Lesson Plan

Understand some of the outcomes of the misrepresentation of refugees (e.g. lack of acceptance or public anger)

Lesson plan 1:Read through your chosen comic as a group - Project the story in class and go through the comic panel by panel. Ask different pupils to read out each page. If there is time, you could explore several of the additional resources in the interactive boxes dispersed throughout the comic. (20 mins)

Teacher note: As a bridge to the lesson’s main activity, highlight the way that negative or positive media representation of refugees may influence whether the public want to help

refugees like Khalid, Hasko, Mohammed (A Perilous Journey), Abike. Dana, Merha, Nadia, or Antoni (The Vanni).

You could compare a right wing newspaper such as:

The Sun, Topic: Migrants

And more empathetic articles such as:

Dramatic photos show refugees fleeing Libya being rescued at sea [The Guardian ] Majority of refugees arriving in Europe never wanted to come to continent [The

Independent ]

You could also look at articles which details statistics:

More than 340 refugees drown in three days of disasters in Mediterranean Sea – The Independent

More than 10,000 refugees rescued in two days in Mediterranean – The Guardian

Can pupils relate to this in the same way? Why/not?

Class Discussion – What is media representation? Show a short video describing media representation: http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/guides/z9fx39q/video . Then go through each of the key terms below to explain how a representation in the media is created. (20 mins)

Teacher’s note: Key terms in Representation [Source - BBC Education Guide ]

Construction: This is the way a media text is put together. In a film or television programme this includes the editing and choice of camera angles, in a magazine or newspaper it includes the layout and writing as well as the choice of images.Mediation: This is the process everything goes through before it reaches an audience. This can be how a film script is written and re-written before it makes it to production, how newspaper or magazine photographs are cropped and captioned, or how real life events - like a protest or a speech by a politician - are portrayed in a news report.Selection: This refers to what has been selected to include in a media text.This can be particularly important in newspaper articles, where selecting certain facts over others can change the angle of a story; what is omitted is sometimes as important as what is included.Anchorage: These are the words that go along with images to give those pictures a certain meaning in a specific context. This includes captions and headlines in newspapers and taglines in

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Why Comics? GCSE Media Studies Lesson Plan

adverts or on film posters.Stereotypes: These are a simplified representation of a person, groups of people or a place, through basic or obvious characteristics - which are often exaggerated.For example, Vicky Pollard from Little Britain is a stereotypical example of a working class teenage girl.They can be used to describe characters quickly, relying on existing audience recognition. Stereotypes are dangerous as they can lead audiences to generalise about people or places.Ideology: These are ideas and beliefs, held by media producers, which are often represented in their media texts.In a newspaper, the ideology of the owner or senior editors could influence the way certain stories are represented, such as lending support to a particular political party.In a documentary about asylum seekers, the representation of their story could be influenced by the ideology of the filmmaker or producer.

Homework: Ask the students to look for one article, which negatively reflects refugees. Ask the students to write a critical and descriptive evaluation of the representation of refugees in the article using each of the ‘key terms’ above. (5 mins)

Please help us by filling out a short anonymous SurveyMonkey questionnaire after you have used our materials for our funders. This helps ensure that our great resources remain free.

Please email info@whycomics.org for more information. Thank you.

Follow-up Lesson PlanAims: This session will explore stereotyping in more depth, including both the functions and the dangers of stereotyping.

Students will examine what stereotyping is and its role in media representation Students will examine the functions and the dangers of stereotyping Students will explore why refugees are often negatively stereotyped (including the

political, cultural and social context as well as the purposes of media producers) Students will compare and contrast the stereotypes of refugees found in the media with

your chosen comic

Learning objectives: By the end of the session, students will be able to:

Define the term stereotype and understand its role in the media Identify some of the functions and dangers of stereotyping Understand how the purposes of media producers and the context of a story can affect the

way refugees are presented Identify media stereotypes of refugees and recognise the ways in which they may differ

from individual stories such as your chosen comic

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Why Comics? GCSE Media Studies Lesson Plan

Lesson Plan 2: Summarise the previous lesson: recap on the comic and what the class discussed (5 mins)

Explain the role of stereotyping in the media: What is a stereotype and where does it come from? Explain both the functions of stereotyping and the dangers of stereotyping. (15 mins)

Group Discussion: Ask the class to split into groups to discuss some of the reasons that refugees may be stereotyped in a negative way. (This may include the political, social and cultural context as well as the purposes of the producers). (20mins)

Homework: Ask the class to write an analytical piece comparing and contrasting the negative representation of refugees found in last week’s homework with your chosen comic. (5 mins)

Additional resource: Media studies GCSE PowerPoint presentation [Source: SlideShare]

FeedbackPlease help us by filling out a short anonymous SurveyMonkey questionnaire for our funders. This will help keep our great resources free. We will be happy to hear about how it works in the classroom, and are keen to receive any comments or feedback.

We are particularly interested if you would like to receive more resources like this. If so please include on the SurveyMonkey questionnaire which topics you would like us to cover (e.g. Divorce, Migration, Racism/Prejudice, Cyber/Bullying, Identity, Memory, Racism, Conflict, Natural Disasters, Human Trafficking/Slavery, Asylum/Refugees, Homelessness, Climate Change, Remittances & Migrant Workers, and Drug Trafficking & Addiction).

We are also interested to have feedback from pupils so if it is possible, please pass on the SurveyMonkey questionnaire link to them as well. Many thanks again, your help is most appreciated.

Future Plans

Over the coming year, we’re intending to expand our bank of database for KS2 (age 7-11) and KS3 (age 11-14) and KS4-5 (age 14-18) and their teachers, and produce national curriculum based accompanying lesson plans for multiple subjects. You can view all our resources on our Teachers Resources page.

We will continue to design and test our resources to ensure that they are made by teachers for teachers.

If you would like any more information or would like to be involved further, please contact info@whycomics.org. Thank you.

With very best wishes,

Dr Benjamin Dix

Director: Why Comics? Education CharitySenior Fellow: SOAS University of London

Web: http://www.whycomics.org/Email: info@whycomics.org Twitter and Instagram: @WhyComicsOrg

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Why Comics? GCSE Media Studies Lesson Plan

Facebook: Why Comics? Education Charity

Why Comics? Education Charity is based at the Faber Building, SOAS University of London.Why Comics? Charity number - 1172791

Who backs Why Comics? - About PositiveNegatives

The award-winning non-profit PositiveNegatives produce literary comics, animations and podcasts about contemporary social and human rights issues. We combine ethnographic research with illustration and photography, adapting personal testimonies into art, education and advocacy materials. Since 2012, PositiveNegatives has worked extensively for over four years for an array of international organisations such as United Nations (UN), Overseas Development Institute (ODI), Open Society Foundations (OSF), The Nobel Peace Centre, The Guardian, BBC, and with leading academic institutions such as; Harvard South Asia Centre, SOAS University of London and University of Sussex.

Our work endeavours to combine literature, journalism and education. Visual story-telling engages audiences of all ages, backgrounds and levels of literacy. Approaching subjects like conflict and forced migration through the prism of personal narratives emotionally engages general readers and students alike. We have developed comics from research, policy papers and first hand testimonies for organisations such as these and many more. Each comic has reached millions of viewers, and many have been translated into multiple languages reaching diverse international stakeholders

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