The Rutgers University psychologist Robert Kubey, coauthor of Television and the Quality of Life, offers the following list of resources available to schools and teachers seeking ways to improve students’ critical-viewing skills and media literacy:
Organizations
(All have newsletters or magazines available by subscription.)
Association for Media Literacy, 40 McArthur St., Weston, Ontario, M9P 3H7, Canada. (416) 394-6990. Barry Duncan.
Center for Media and Values, 1962 Shenandoah St., Los Angeles, Calif. 90024. (213) 559-2944. Elizabeth Thoman.
Strategies for Media Literacy, Room 306, 347 Dolores St., San Francisco, Calif. 94110. (415) 621-2911. Kathleen Tyner.
Books and Pamphlets
Brown, J., Media Literacy (1991); Erlbaum, Hillsdale, N.J. A comprehensive international survey.
Dorr, A., Television and Children: A Special Medium for a Special Audience (1986); Sage, Beverly Hills, Calif. Last chapter on television literacy.
Greenfield, P.M., Mind and Media: The Effects of Television, Video Games, and Computers (1984); Harvard University4Press, Cambridge, Mass. Chapter 2 on film and television literacy.
Hefzallah, Ibrahim, Critical Viewing of Television: A Book for Parents and Teachers (1987); University Press of America, Lanham, Md. Focuses especially on media- and television-literacy studies and skills, and includes reviews of four critical-viewing curricula (see below).
Lee, B. & Rudman, M.K., Mind Over Media (1982); Seaview Books, New York, N.Y. First chapter suggests many excellent projects and ideas for home and classroom use. Others deal with books, comics, newspapers, magazines.
Masterman, L., Teaching About Television (1980); The Macmillan Press, London. Some consider this to be the major work in the field.
Logan, B., Television Awareness Training: The Viewer’s Guide for Family and Community (1979); Media Avon Resource Center, Nashville, Tenn. Large edited volume with worksheets at the end of each chapter.
Singer, D. & Kelly, H.B., Parents, Children and TV (1984); Highlights for Children (and the National pta), Columbus, Ohio. A 64-page pamphlet.
Ploghoft, M.E. & Anderson, J.A., Education for the Television Age (1981); College of Education, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio. Proceedings of a national confer8ence on children and television.
Journal of Communication, Summer 1980. Special section devoted to television literacy, with chapters on: the theoretical lineage of viewing curricula, television literacy for young children, helping elementary-school children learn about TV, developing discriminating consumers, developing a curriculum for teenagers.
Curricula
Getting the Most Out of Television, Singer, D.C., Singer, J., & Zuckerman, D.M.; Goodyear Publishing Company, Santa Monica, Calif., 1981. For Grades 3-6, adaptable for grades 7-8.
Critical Viewing: A Language Skills Work-A-Text, wnet, New York; Globe Book Company, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.1980. For grades 5-9.
Inside Television--A Guide to Critical Viewing, Ned White; Science and Behavior Books, Palo Alto, Calif., 1980. For high-school students.
Television Literacy: Critical Viewing Skills, Dendron Press, P.O. Box 24 Kenmore Station, Boston, Mass., 1980. For high-school students and adults.
Compiled for presentation at “Future Tense,” a conference sponsored by the Getty Center for Education in the Arts, Los Angeles, Jan. 24-26, 1991.
