Music, Media, and Meaning

Students analyze a short clip from the movie Lion King with four different musical accompaniments to recognize how music influences our emotions and communicates different messages.

UN Sustainable Development Goals and Graphics

Students analyze icons for messages about graphic design and the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

Animals and Images: What do you See?

Students analyze different types of images for messages about image forms and about reptiles, amphibians and dinosaurs.

Exploring Genres Through Book Covers - Lower Elementary

Students analyze book covers for messages about literary genres.

Exploring Genres Through Book Covers - Upper Elementary

Students analyze book covers for messages about literary genres and compare texts in different genres in terms of their approach to similar topics.

Winter Holidays Around the World

Students analyze book covers for messages about winter holidays around the world and about book covers as media messages.

Physics or Fiction - Will Tango and Cash get electrocuted?

After viewing clips from a feature film and web videos, students will identify messages about electrical currents and shock, analyze sources and credibility, and reflect on strategies for finding accurate information.

Our Changing Planet: Climate, SEL, and Media Literacy for Our Youngest Students

Students analyze excerpts from a picture book for messages about the impact of climate change and the actions people can take for the planet - while also reflecting on their emotional responses and the intent of the author/illustrator.

Migrant Mother: Photos as Fact or Opinion

Students analyze Dorothea Lange’s “Migrant Mother” photograph and reflect on the constructed nature of photographs by evaluating whether photographs are fact, opinion, or something else.

Is This Media? How Can You Tell?

Students analyze an array of images for messages about what is media.

Pocahontas: Can We Really Know Who She Was?

Students analyze clips from videos for messages about Pocahontas and about judging the credibility of contemporary sources about historical events.

Veterans’ Statues: Reading the Messages

Students analyze sculptures of war veterans for messages about purpose, point of view and meaning.

Where's the Media? How Can You Tell?

Students analyze an array of images of potential new and old media forms for messages about what constitutes media and the purposes of media through the ages.

Columbus “Discovers” America: What’s The Story?

Students analyze three illustrations for messages about Columbus and the Tainos, and reflect on changing perspectives on history.

How Do I Choose? Picking the Right Book for Me

Students analyze book covers and pages from various children’s books to determine personal preferences in reading for a variety of purposes.

Baby Shark: Introducing Analysis Skills

Students analyze the viral video “Baby Shark” to practice observation, link evidence to a document, assess what is true and not about sharks, and reflect on the credibility of media messages.

Discovering Ramadan

Students analyze a tweet, calendar, and book covers related to the celebration of Ramadan to discover unique traditions associated with the holy month and to contrast media forms.

Rosie the Riveter: Depiction of Women During WWII

Students will compare three illustrations depicting Rosie the Riveter, from 1943 and 2017 to analyze gender messages and historical context.

Science or Fiction – Does Carrying an Umbrella in a Thunderstorm Make You More Likely to be Hit by Lightning?

Students analyze a cartoon and a weather channel video for messages about whether carrying an umbrella is potentially hazardous and about credibility in Internet videos.

How Much Fruit is in this Drink? How Can You Tell?

This is a media literacy and critical thinking activity in which students decode juice containers for messages about health and nutrition.

Is This Cereal Healthy? How Can You Find Out?

This is a media literacy and critical thinking activity in which students decode cereal box advertisements for messages about health and nutrition.

The Face of Cereal: Using Cartoon Characters to Persuade Children

This is a media literacy and critical thinking activity in which students decode cereal packages for messages about health and advertising.

Dinosaurs: What’s True and What’s Not?

Students analyze messages about dinosaurs in a film, an advertisement, a website, a video game, a TV program and a fiction and non-fiction book - and assess the credibility of each source.

What Can You Tell From a Book Cover?

Students analyze pairs of different covers for the same children’s book for messages about techniques, purpose, impact and target audience.

Raptors in the Media

Students analyze a book cover, a magazine cover, a tweet, a poster, a website and a YouTube screen shot for messages about media forms, osprey, eagles and condors and environmental concerns.

Butterflies in the Media

Students analyze a magazine cover, a T-shirt, a book cover, a webpage, a button and a comic for messages about butterflies, endangered species and media forms.

Can You Judge A Book by its Cover?

Students analyze pairs of different covers for the same children’s book for messages about techniques, purpose and target audience.

Dolphins in the Media

Students analyze a book cover, a magazine cover, a tweet, a poster, a cartoon, a toy and an advertisement for messages about media forms, dolphins and environmental concerns.

All You Need is Love: The Beatles in Music and Film

Students analyze excerpts from a documentary, an animated film and a video of a music performance, all centering on the song “All You Need Is Love,” for messages about artistic expression, historical context and interpretation.

Judy Heumann: Disability Activism in Video

Students analyze short video clips from different video genres for messages about how Judy Heumann pushed for civil rights for people with disabilities.

How Does the World Look? Questioning Maps

Students analyze different world map projections to identify point of view or bias in maps.

Ageism in Advertising: Promoting or Countering Stereotypes?

Students analyze television commercials for messages about stereotypes and counter-stereotypes of elders.

Halloween Costumes: When Does Fun Turn Into Hurt?

Students analyze a commercial and video analysis for messages about cultural appropriation in Halloween costumes and how identity impacts responses to media.

What Does the Dollar Bill Tell You About the United States?

Students analyze the imagery on the dollar bill for symbols and messages about the beliefs of the founders of the United States and about what constitutes media.

Mapping Ancient Civilizations: Who’s Included and Who’s Not?

In this media literacy activity students analyze the bias and techniques used in maps of ancient civilizations.

Incan Religion – What Sources Should I Use?

In this media literacy activity students analyze excerpts from different media documents – a young adult fiction book, a Wikipedia article, a Twinkl education page, a magazine article, a tourism webpage, a documentary film and an animated children’s film – to assess the credibility and usefulness of each source for research on Incan religion.

Ancient Egypt - Ancient Media?

In this media literacy activity students analyze images of things found in ancient Egypt to determine which might be considered media and to explore how the cultural characteristics of places change over time.

Mr. Rogers: What Do We Do When Our Feelings Are Hurt?

In this media literacy activity students analyze clips from a documentary film and a feature film about Mr. Rogers for messages about storytelling in film and about how to deal with difficult feelings.

Internet Messages About Toys: What’s the Purpose?

In this media literacy activity, students analyze a toy commercial, an educational video and a clip from an animated film for messages about the purpose of media messages.

Fighting Back Against Religious Intolerance

In this media literacy activity students analyze videos for messages about how young people challenge religious intolerance.

Cyberbullying: How It Hurts & How to Help

In this media literacy activity students analyze videos made for students for messages about the effects and remedies for cyber-bullying.

How Women Got the Vote: Different Authors, Different Stories

In this media literacy activity students analyze excerpts from two children’s history books for messages about the fight for women’s right to vote.

Why Vote?

In this media literacy activity students analyze videos for messages about why voting is important.

“The Truth About Coronavirus” - Google Searching For COVID-19

In this media literacy activity students analyze results from two Google searches, one for “coronavirus” and one for “the real truth about coronavirus,” to reflect on the impact of search terms on the sources that Google recommends.  

Wash Your Hands – What’s the Right Way?

In this media literacy activity students analyze a comic, a graphic, a music video and a public service announcement for messages about the best way to wash your hands to protect yourself from getting sick.

Harriet Tubman Seizes Freedom – Many Stories

In this media literacy activity students analyze excerpts from children’s books for messages about Harriet Tubman, enslavement and the Underground Railroad.

First Contact: Who’s Telling the Story?

This is a media literacy and critical thinking activity in which students analyze two paintings about first contact between Native Americans and Spanish conquistadors for messages about historical context and point of view. .

What’s in My Lunchbox?

In this media literacy activity students analyze a book cover, a lunchbox, a YouTube screen grab and a webpage for messages about eating fruits and vegetables.

YouTube Recommendations: What Do I Do?

In this media literacy activity students analyze results from a YouTube recommendations list for messages about how to select videos based on the likelihood of their offering credible information.

Squanto and the First Thanksgiving: Whose Story?

In this media literacy activity students analyze excerpts from children’s books for differing perspectives and messages about the history of Squanto’s role in the first thanksgiving feast.

Climate: What Can We Change?

In this media literacy activity students analyze children’s videos for messages about the impacts of climate change and what people can do to help.

Why Go to School?

In this media literacy activity students analyze videos for messages about why education is important.

Who is Family?

In this media literacy activity students analyze children’s book covers for messages about diversity in families.

Happy Mother’s Day: Storytelling in Advertising

In this media literacy activity students analyze two long form TV ads for messages about storytelling structure and mother and child relationships.

Happy Valentine’s Day: What’s the message? What’s the purpose?

This is a media literacy and critical thinking activity in which students analyze two TV commercials and a public service announcement for messages about Valentine's Day, storytelling and target audience.

Sculptures of Dr. King: Reading the Messages

This is a media literacy and critical thinking activity in which students analyze four sculptures for messages about Dr. King's life and legacy.

Liquids in Spiderman vs. Hydroman

This is a media literacy and critical thinking activity in which students analyze two short excerpts from an educational video on the changing states of water and a Spiderman vs. Hydroman cartoon for representations of the liquid state of water.

Volcanoes: Can We Protect Cities from Lava Flows?

This is a media literacy and critical thinking activity in which students analyze a National Public Radio report and a clip from a 1940s era Superman animated cartoon for messages about engineering solutions to protect cities from volcanic lava flows.

Tidal Waves & Tsunamis in Film: Fact & Fiction

This is a media literacy and critical thinking activity in which students analyze two short excerpts from a National Geographic video and a TV miniseries to examine credibility of information on the causes and impacts of tsunamis.

Benefits And Costs Of Using Plastic Shopping Bags

This is a media literacy and critical thinking activity in which students analyze two short excerpts from websites about plastic bags for conflicting perspectives on the costs and benefits of plastic shopping bags.

Throwaway Culture: To Buy or to Reuse?

This is a media literacy and critical thinking activity in which students decode web videos and commercials for messages about buying disposable products vs. reusing and reducing waste.

Removing Plastic from the Ocean: From Trash to Art

This is a media literacy and critical thinking activity in which students analyze two short videos about artistic repurposing of plastic trash for messages about artistic expression of human impacts to the environment.

Artistic Repurposing as Environmental Activism

This is a media literacy and critical thinking activity in which students analyze a web video and film trailer about the impacts of oceanic plastic pollution for messages about artists actions for environmental awareness.

Ban the Bag or Not? What Else Should We Know?

This is a media literacy and critical thinking activity in which students analyze a Scholastic news article and a page of a website called Bag the Ban for different perspectives on the use of plastic bags and their effects on our environment.

What's So Funny about Climate Change? Editorial Cartoon Opinions

This is a media literacy and critical thinking activity in which students analyze six editorial cartoons for conflicting perspectives on the direness of the threat of climate change.

White Towel Activity

A media production activity to reinforce the concept of target audiences, and how messages can be crafted for a specific audience through visuals, language and sound.

Real Bugs TV Commercial Decoding

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson reflecting on stereotyping by analyzing a TV comercial.

Additional Practice Videos for First Grade

A set of 10 video advertisements for children's toys and breakfast cereals with decoding prompts for messages about target audience, advertising tricks and disclaimers.

Additional Practice Videos for Kindergarten

A set of 11 video advertisements for children's toys and breakfast cereals with decoding prompts for messages about target audience, advertising tricks and disclaimers.

Puzzle Wall Map

A map of Africa with a numbered grid covering the continent.

How Do We Identify Good Sustainability Stories? (Upper Elementary)

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson analyzing videos to discern messages about how videos can tell stories to inform and engage the public about sustainability issues and initiatives.

How Do We Decide What to Eat and Drink?

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson analyzing web pages for messages about how food choices impact personal health.

Making Videos about Sustainability Efforts

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson in which students collaboratively design a short video message about a sustainability effort.

What About Bottled Water?

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson analyzing videos and TV commercials to discern messages about decisions to purchase or not purchase bottled water.

How Much Water Did it Take to Grow That?

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson analyzing web pages and bar graphs to discern messages about the impact of agriculture on freshwater availability.

Where Does Water Go?

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson analyzing videos to discern messages about the role of the hydrologic cycle in creating watersheds.

Why Protect Our Water Resources?

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson analyzing book and report covers and tables of contents to discern messages about how people impact water supplies and what individuals and communities can do to protect water resources.

Protecting Our Water Resources Assessment

Media literacy and critical thinking assessment analyzing messages in videos and writing a report on the protection of water resources.

Deciding On Our Food Choices Assessment

Media literacy and critical thinking assessment analyzing messages in posters and writing about food choice messages and persuasion techniques in posters.

Consumer Choices About Natural Resource Use Assessment

Media literacy and critical thinking assessment analyzing messages in a book cover and poster and writing an opinion piece on consumer choices,

Renewable Energy Sources - Who's Running the Numbers?

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson analyzing written text, web pages and bar graphs to discern messages about renewable energy use.

Logging - What About Biodiversity?

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson analyzing videos & childrens books to discern messages about the impacts of logging on biodiversity.

Oil Spills: What's the Problem?

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson analyzing newspaper headlines, web pages and videos to discern messages about how oil spills impact human and natural populations.

Dams and Rivers: To Build Or To Remove?

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson analyzing videos to discern messages about the human benefits and environmental impacts of building and removing hydropower dams

Natural Resources - How Do we Use Them?

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson analyzing book and magazine covers to discern messages about how the use of natural resources for energy affects the environment.

What About Hunger?

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson analyzing videos to discern messages about possible strategies to address the problem of hunger.

Who's Selling Me This Food?

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson analyzing videos to discern messages about the goals and impacts of food advertising.

Where Does My Food Come From?

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson analyzing videos to discern messages about the production and transportation of food.

How Do We Decide How Much To Eat And Drink?

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson analyzing web pages and food diagrams to discern messages about food servings.

Advertiser's Power of Persuasion - Animals

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson analyzing print advertisements and public service messages about dogs and endangered species. Writing scripts for ads or public service announcements promoting actions to protect animals.

Advertiser's Power of Persuasion - Fruits & Vegetables

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson analyzing print advertisements and public service messages about carrot-related food products and writing scripts for ads or public service announcements promoting healthy eating habits.

Advertiser's Power of Persuasion - Water

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson analyzing print advertisements and public service messages about bottled water and vitamin water and writing scripts for ads or public service announcements promoting their water consumption design for a healthy body, budget and earth.

Let Us Tell You About the Animals Where We Live

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson analyzing various media documents focused on messages about human impacts on animals and creating a simple video production based on impacts to animals where you live and action ideas to protect them.

Let Us Tell You About the Plants Where We Live

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson analyzing book covers focused on different messages about human impacts on plants and creating a simple video production based on impacts to plants and action ideas to protect them.

Let Us Tell You About the Bodies of Water Where We Live

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson analyzing book covers for messages about water-centered disasters related to oil spills, drought and hurricanes and creating a simple video production based on impacts to your region's water bodies and action ideas to protect them.

I Want to Protect These Animals

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson analyzing postcards about different classes of animals, reflecting on cyber safety in online research and creating postcards of animals students would like to protect.

I Want to Protect These Plants

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson analyzing postcards about plant needs for water, sunlight and pollinators, reflecting on cyber safety in online research and creating postcards of plants students would like to protect.

I Want to Protect This Body of Water

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson analyzing postcards about bodies of water, reflecting on cyber safety in online research and creating postcards of water bodies students would like to protect.

Heroes for Animal Protection

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson analyzing a book and video about songbird steward Rachel Carson and composing a social message about being an animal steward.

Heroes for Plant Protection

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson analyzing a book and video about tree steward Wangari Maathai and composing a social message about being a plant steward.

Heroes for Water Protection

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson analyzing a book and video about water steward Marion Stoddart and composing a social message about being a water steward.

No More Kings

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson to assess students' understanding of key events in the American Revolution.

Remembering the American Revolution

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson analyzing John Adams' ideas about defining what the revolution was.

A Pair of Portraits

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson comparing portraits of George Washington and King George.

The Rebels

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson about Loyalist perspectives during the American Revolution.

Declaration of Independence

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson analyzing rights and grievances in the Declaration of Independence.

The Intolerable Acts

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson about political cartoons and the Intolerable Acts.

Phillis Wheatley's Poem

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson analyzing a poem about freedom and slavery during the American Revolution.

Boston Tea Party

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson about primary and secondary source representations of the Boston Tea Party.

Tarred and Feathered

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson about the impact of the Stamp Act on the American colonists.

Proclamation of 1763

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson about Native American and colonial perspectives on the Proclamation of 1763.

More Commercials & Their Tricks

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson will teach the purpose of a commercial and wording tricks advertisers use to sell their products

Toy Commercials & Their Tricks

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson will teach the purpose of a commercial and editing tricks advertisers use to sell their products

Understanding TV Commercials

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson will teach the purpose of a commercial and some tricks advertisers use to sell their products

The Food Groups (First Grade)

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson using the food pyramid to introduce the health benefits of eating from all food groups.

Fruit Juice vs Fruit Snacks and Fruit Drinks

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson teaching students to discriminate between real fruit and fruit snacks and between real juice and fruit drinks by decoding TV commercials

Cereal Commercials

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson introducing the concept of a "complete breakfast," identifying packaging clues about sugar in cereal and recognizing tricks in the construction of breakfast cereal commercials.

The Food Groups

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson using the food pyramid to introduce the concept of food groups.

Commercials, Part 2

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson introducing the concept of target audience and tricks in the construction of TV commercials.

Commercials, Part 1

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson introducing the concept of advertiser intent and tricks in the construction of TV commercials.

African Money

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson analyzing messages about African countries by examining images in currency.

Unearthing Stereotypes

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson introducing the concept of stereotypes by asking students to decide whether photos are from Africa

Starter Kit for Elementary Library & Information Literacy K-2

This guide gives users a brief overview of our approach (question-based media decoding) and materials (e.g., lessons) available for free from the Project Look Sharp website for a particular level and subject.

Starter Kit for Elementary Library & Information Literacy 3-5

This guide gives users a brief overview of our approach (question-based media decoding) and materials (e.g., lessons) available for free from the Project Look Sharp website for a particular level and subject.

Starter Kit for Elementary Health 3-5

This guide gives users a brief overview of our approach (question-based media decoding) and materials (e.g., lessons) available for free from the Project Look Sharp website for a particular level and subject.

Starter Kit for Elementary All Subjects 3-5

This guide gives users a brief overview of our approach (question-based media decoding) and materials (e.g., lessons) available for free from the Project Look Sharp website for a particular level and subject.

Starter Kit for Elementary Health K-2

This guide gives users a brief overview of our approach (question-based media decoding) and materials (e.g., lessons) available for free from the Project Look Sharp website for a particular level and subject.

Starter Kit for All Subjects K-2

This guide gives users a brief overview of our approach (question-based media decoding) and materials (e.g., lessons) available for free from the Project Look Sharp website for a particular level and subject.

Demonstration Video: Choosing a Just Right Book

School librarian, Michele Coolbeth from East Syracuse, NY, leads her first graders through analyzing different book covers and text [and drawing their own conclusions about the appropriateness of the book as an independent reading choice] - using our lesson, How Do I Choose? Picking the Right Book for Me.

Demonstration Video: What is Media - Kindergarten

School librarian, Michele Coolbeth, has her students identify media, including in their clothing – and then reflects on the importance of teaching young students to recognize that media is all around them.

Demonstration Video: Who is Family? - Kindergarten

School librarian, Michele Coolbeth, leads kindergarten students through analyzing book covers for messages about the diversity of families - using the Project Look Sharp lesson, “Who is Family?”

Demonstration Video: Wash Your Hands - Kindergarten

School librarian, Michele Coolbeth, has her students reflect on the qualities of different media forms (videos and a poster) while learning how to wash their hands. (Total Time: 2:13) Published 2023

Standards Alignment: National Media Literacy Alliance Joint Statement on Media Literacy Education

This 3-page document briefly summarizes the alignment of media literacy with the core standards for each of the following disciplines: library (AASL + YALSA), technology (ISTE), Journalism (JEA), Early Childhood (NAEYC), Social Studies (NCSS), ELA (NCTE), Math (NCTM), Science (NSTA), and Writing (NWP).

Briefing: Project Look Sharp's Decoding Media Constructions and Sustainability

Antonio Lopez, in his coda to Greening Media Education, summarizes the complex set of skills needed “to bring ecologically oriented cultural practice into the realm of media education (which) promotes systems thinking, collaborative learning, critical thinking, lifelong learning and digital media literacy.” This article offers cases studies of two Look Sharp lessons, one for elementary age students and another for upper level high school, each of which was designed with these skills in mind as a way to bring Lopez’s vision into practice in the classroom.

Sustainability Education and Media Literacy

Related to kit: Media Constructions of Sustainability: Food, Water, and Agriculture

This article looks at how the topic of climate change can often provoke deep emotions in students, and suggests that instead of shying away, teachers should use media literacy activities to foster discussions of what the future holds. The author stresses the importance of connecting to the emotional lives of students when raising the complex issues around sustainability.

Teaching Media Literacy & Sustainability for Younger Learners

Related to kit: Media Constructions of Sustainability: Lower Elementary

This webinar offers pedagogical techniques and curriculum materials to support a deeper understanding of how to use media documents that: support content teaching about water quality, climate change and hunger, introduce media production as a way to deepen media literacy awareness, and encourage core subject integration of ELA, math, science and social studies.

Elementary Level: First Contact Between Europeans and Native Americans

An example of leading a class through a constructivist media decoding using our lesson, First Contact. Students in this video decode two opposing paintings to understand how Europeans impacted Native American life.

Elementary Level: Decoding Money

Related to kit: Introducing Africa: Critical Thinking and Media Literacy

An example of leading a class through a constructivist media decoding using a lesson from our kit, Introducing Africa. Students in this video compare two African currencies to the U.S. Dollar to gain insight about cultural differences.

Critical Thinking and Health: Media Literacy Lessons for Elementary Grades

Related to kit: Critical Thinking & Health: Nutrition and TV Commercials

This webinar offers pedagogical techniques and curriculum materials to help young children understand biases and misleading messages found in food advertising and toy commercials aimed at them, including cereal ads and advertising for foods and beverages that imply they have a lot of fruit in them. Part of the webinar specifically focuses on gender techniques and gender stereotyping in toy commercials.

Elementary Level: Gender In Children's Commercials

Related to kit: Critical Thinking & Health: Nutrition and TV Commercials

An example of leading a class through a constructivist media decoding using a lesson from our kit, Critical Thinking and Health. Students in this video decode the commercial "Magic Kissing Dragons" to analyze media messaging about gender.

Elementary Level: Paintings of George Washington and King George

Related to kit: Causes of the American Revolution

An example of leading a class through a constructivist media decoding using a lesson from our kit, Causes of the American Revolution. Students in this video decode differences in paintings of George Washington and King George.

Media Violence & Conflict Resolution

This 2-hour workshop explores the potential effects of verbal and physical violence shown in movies, TV, and video games on children and teens, and demonstrates ways in which K-8 teachers, community educators, and parents can address these effects through discussion and media literacy activities.

Piaget and the Power Rangers: What Can Theories of Developmental Psychology Tell Us About Children and Media?

Theories of developmental psychology can help to interpret evidence related to how children of different ages are affected differently by media consumption. By Cyndy Scheibe, 20 Questions About Youth and Media, Vol. 48 No. 1, September 2007