UPenn - English for Media Literacy 

Course Overview: Introduction to Media Literacy

Course Overview: Topics, Assessments, Games & Activities

Media is Everywhere

Listening: Interview with William Cowen...

Language Focus: Previewing Texts

Unlockable Achievement 1

What is Media Literacy?

Part 1: How Can we Analyze Media Messages?

Unlockable Achievement 2

Part 2: How Can we Analyze Media Messages?

Language Focus: Skimming and Scanning

Online Learning Opportunities to Extend Your Skills

Overview of the Unit

BASIC: Can you Separate Fact from Fiction?

ADVANCED: Can you Separate Fact from Fiction?

BASIC: Debate over Free Press in Ukraine Suffers from Old Stereotypes

ADVANCED: Debate over Free Press in Ukraine Suffers from Old Stereotypes

Game: Unit 1 Vocabulary Flashcards

Supplemental Reading: More to it! Media Literacy

Supplemental Reading: Make up your Own Mind. These Mobile News Apps Can Help.

Check Your Understanding: William Cowen Interview

Game 1: Preview the Text

Unit 1 Assessment 1: Self-Assessment of Media Literacy Skills

Check Your Understanding: "Can you Separate Fact from Fiction?"

Check Your Understanding: "Debate over Free Press in Ukraine Suffers from Old Stereotypes"

Game 2: Skimming and Scanning

Game 3: Vocabulary Practice

Check Your Understanding: "More to it! Media Literacy"

Game: Review Previewing a Text

Check Your Understanding: "Make up your Own Mind. These Mobile News Apps Can Help."

Game: Review Skimming and Scanning

Unit 2: Types of Media: Traditional vs. Social

What is Traditional Media?

What is Social Media?

Unlockable Achievement 3

Language Focus - Comparative Adjectives

Overcoming Bias: The Power of Social Media

Using Social Media to Support Causes

Language Focus - Reductions

Part 1: The Reliability of Social Media (Editing/Doctoring Content)

Unlockable Achievement 4

Part 2: The Reliability of Social Media (Credibility)

The Language of New Media

Overview of the Unit

Study Finds Most Americans Get News from Social Media

BASIC: 5 Ways Social Media Helps Syrian Refugees

ADVANCED: 5 Ways Social Media Helps Syrian Refugees

Real or Not? Snowboarder's Video in Question

Game: Unit 2 Vocabulary Flashcards

EU Piles Pressure on Social Media Over Fake News

Supplemental Reading: The Town that Runs on Twitter

Supplemental Reading: It's about How you Communicate your Message

Game 1: Categorize each Media Example with Its Type (Traditional or Social)

Check Your Understanding: "Study Finds Most Americans Get News from Social Media"

Game 2: Replace the Adjective with a Comparative Form

Check Your Understanding: "5 Ways Social Media Helps Syrian Refugees"

Game 3: Choose the Correct Reduced Form

Check Your Understanding: "Real or Not? Snowboarder's Video in Question"

Game 4: Vocabulary Review: Fill in the Blank

Checking Your Understanding: "EU Piles Pressure on Social Media Over Fake News"

Check Your Understanding: "The Town that Runs on Twitter"

Game: Grammar Practice - Reductions

Check Your Understanding: "It's about How you Communicate your Message"

Game: Identify the Positive Aspects of Social Media from the Sentence Bank

Unit 3: Advertising

What is Advertising?

Thinking Critically about Advertisements

How do Advertisers Target Audiences?

Listening: Interview with Nancy Bollinger

Unlockable Achievement 5

Language Focus - Order of Adjectives

Features of a Print Advertisement

Features of Radio and Television Advertisements

Language Focus - Intensifiers (Normal vs. Strong Adjectives)

Using the Internet to Advertise

Analyzing Advertisements

Sample Analysis of an Advertisement

Unlockable Achievement 6

Unlockable Achievement 7

Overview of the Unit

AI Cameras Aim to Guess Shopper?s Age, Sex and Mood

BASIC: Internet Ads Outpace Print for First Time

ADVANCED: Internet Ads Outpace Print for First Time

Nielsen's, Sina Weibo Team Up for Closer Look at Chinese Social Media

Written Assessment Instructions & Model Answer

Game: Unit 3 Vocabulary Flashcards

Digital Ads, Social Media Hide Political Campaign Messaging

New TV Advertisements Shock Viewers

Check Your Understanding: Interview with Nancy Bollinger

Check Your Understanding: "AI Cameras Aim to Guess Shopper?s Age, Sex and Mood"

Game 1: Match the Target Audience with the Product

Game 2: Put the Adjectives in the Correct Order

Unit 3 Assessment 1: Advertising, thinking critically about ads, and targeting audiences

Game 3: Choose the Correct Intensifier

Check Your Understanding: "Internet Ads Outpace Print for First Time"

Check Your Understanding: "Nielsen's, Sina Weibo Team Up for Closer Look at Chinese Social Media"

Check Your Understanding: "Digital Ads, Social Media Hide Political Campaign Messaging"

Bonus Game: Intensifier Use

Check Your Understanding: "New TV Advertisements Shock Viewers"

Bias in the Media

How Are Media Messages Created and Shared?

What is Media Bias?

Unlockable Achievement 8

PART 1: Language Focus- Expressing Opinions using Modals (should, must, could, might)

PART 2: Language Focus- Expressing Opinions using Modals (should, must, could, might)

Bias by Omission

Unlockable Achievement 9

Bias by Placement

Language Focus - Connotation vs. Denotation

Bias by Spin

Overcoming Bias

Overview for Unit 4 Assessment 2 & Sample Bias Analysis

Unlockable Achievement 10

Overview of the Unit

BASIC: For the Press, Elections are a Test of Accountability

ADVANCED: For the Press, Elections are a Test of Accountability

Are Facebook?s Trending Topics Unfair?

Instructions for Peer-reviewed Unit 4 Written Assessment 2

Game: Unit 4 Vocabulary Flashcards

Supplemental Reading: Are Biased Sources Replacing Standard News Networks in America?

Facebook Checks Its Bias

Check Your Understanding: "For the Press, Elections are a Test of Accountability"

Game 1: Choose the Correct Modal

Check Your Understanding: "Are Facebook?s Trending Topics Unfair?"

Game 2: Denotations and Connotations

Game 3: Identifying Negative Connotations

Check Your Understanding: "Are Biased Sources Replacing News Networks?"

Game: Bias by Omission, Placement, or Spin?

Game: Positive/Neutral and Negative Connotations

Check Your Understanding: "Facebook Checks Its Bias"

Diversity and the Media

What is Diversity?

Why is it Important for the Media to be Diverse?

Unlockable Achievement 11

Language Focus: Using Negatives (not, no, never, hardly ever)

Race and Ethnicity in the Media

Culture in the Media

Women in the Media

Unlockable Achievement 12

Language Focus: Transitions

Diversity and Identity

Course Conclusion

Overview of the Unit

BASIC: Minorities See Improvement, Demand More Diversity on US Television

ADVANCED: Minorities See Improvement, Demand more Diversity on US Television

Study Examines Racial Bias in US Sports Reporting

Report: Americans Know Little about Native Americans

UN to Advertisers: Go Beyond the Female Stereotypes

BASIC: Social Media Highlights Sexism in Olympics Coverage

ADVANCED: Social Media Highlights Sexism in Olympics Coverage

Rising Number of Chinese, Asian Faces in Hollywood

Game: Unit 5 Vocabulary Flashcards

Supplemental Reading: Women Journalists Keep the News Coming

Supplemental Reading: Giving Voice to Sesame Street's First Afghan Muppet

Check Your Understanding: "Minorities See Improvement, Demand more Diversity on US Television"

Game 1: Choose the Correct Negative for the Sentence

Unit 5 Assessment 1: True or False: Media Diversity

Check Your Understanding: "Study Examines Racial Bias in US Sports Reporting"

Check Your Understanding: "Report: Americans Know Little about Native Americans"

Checking Your Understanding: "UN to Advertisers: Go Beyond the Female Stereotypes"

Check Your Understanding: "Social Media Highlights Sexism in Olympics Coverage"

Game 2: Choose the Correct Transition

Checking Your Understanding: "Rising Number of Chinese, Asian Faces in Hollywood"

Game 3: Vocabulary Review

Check Your Understanding: "Women Journalists Keep the News Coming"

Check Your Understanding: "Giving Voice to Sesame Street's First Afghan Muppet"

Game: Review: Transitions in a Text