Ithaca College

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 8 to 18 year olds in the US spend nearly 8 hours a day engaged with media. Because of this reality, it is important that our classrooms address contemporary forms of communication if they are to be relevant and engaging platforms for teaching 21st century literacy. On Saturday March 14, Director of Curriculum and Staff Development for Project Look Sharp Chris Sperry will present two workshops on Media Literacy in the 21st Century, with one focusing on ELA and Social Studies, and the other on STEM.

Currently, the Common Core ELA standards, the National Council for the Social Studies new C3 Framework and the Next Generation Science Standards all call for a shift to inquiry-based teaching and learning that emphasizes critical thinking skills, student questioning, and evidence based analysis of sources. At the South Central Regional Conference, Chris Sperry will hold two workshops focusing on these areas. Session A will take place from 10:15 – 11:15 a.m., entitled: Media, Literacy, Critical Thinking and 21st Century Literacy: ELA and Social Studies Focus. This workshop will engage attendees in a fast paced environment, and model inquiry-based media decoding, tie this methodology to Common Core Standards for ELA, and share integration models for Social Studies and English. Session B will be held from 1:30-2:30 p.m., entitled Media Literacy, Critical Thinking and 21st Century Literacy: STEM Focus, where integration models will be tied to Common Core literacy standards into science. Both workshops will provide participants with access to Project Look Sharp’s free online lessons, kits and professional development videos for integrating media literacy and critical thinking into the New York State curriculum from early elementary through college.

Media Literacy materials and methodologies can integrate these 21st century skills and approaches into all subject areas and grade levels.  Ithaca College’s Project Look Sharp (www.projectlooksharp.org) is a national leader in developing lessons and approaches for the integration of media literacy and critical thinking throughout the K-12 curriculum, tied to new standards and assessments. 

Chris Sperry is a 30+ year New York State social studies, ELA and media teacher and Director of Curriculum and Staff Development for Project Look Sharp at Ithaca College.  He is an award winning teacher, teacher trainer and the author of many curriculum kits integrating media literacy into the K-12 curriculum.

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For more information, please contact Tyra Mazzer, Media Outreach Intern at looksharp-mktg@ithaca.edu.