Mediacy Articles - Volume 18, No. 2
Media Education in the Primary School
By Carol E. Craggs
Routledge, London, England, 1992, 170 pp
Interest in media education does not seem to be at its peak currently in Canada, and this raises concern among teachers still committed to the subject. One cause for their concern is the availability – or lack – of current and relevant resources for use with students. Given that getting media education into the classroom has been such a struggle, we have not been inundated with useful, practical materials for students and teachers. And when we do find media education materials, it is generally for use at the secondary rather than at the elementary (primary) level. Fortunately, however, one is still able to discover valuable resources, and Media Education ln the primary school is one of these. Written by British teacher Carol E. Craggs, the book is intended for teachers in that country who teach to National Curriculum requirements. However, this does not restrict its use to teachers in England. The author grounds activities in theoretical frameworks familiar to most media education enthusiasts in all countries. As a result, both the activities and the theory are quite universal.
The book is an excellent resource for teachers with varying levels of interest in media education. For those new to the subject, the Introduction and the first chapter provide a framework for the practical activities which follow. The Introduction is brief – only eight pages but it is used to advantage to make some lucid arguments for promoting media education and situating it across the curriculum.
Chapter 1, entitled “Starting Points”, gives a cogent historical overview of media education. Ms. Craggs also identifies and discusses what she considers to be four key issues of media education at the primary level: Selection and construction; A sense of audience; Representations of reality; and Narrative techniques.
In Chapters 2 - 6, the tone shifts and the book becomes a practical handbook of activities which can be used as presented, or adapted by teachers to their own needs. Each chapter deals with a topic, including visual literacy, news, advertising, representations of reality and media institutions – all relevant to the study of the media; the Canadian teacher will have to make only slight alterations in references to networks and programs.
The activities are presented in a clear, practical manner. It is perhaps because the author is herself a teacher that she has a true sense of what works well in the “real” world of the classroom. Craggs often writes in the first person from her own experience describing the activities exactly as she has presented them to her students. The personal approach is the most convincing for teachers looking for tried and true measures. Many activities are accompanied by worksheets, photographs and graphics which complement the task and add to the practical character of the book.
Review by Judy Brandeis of the Centre for Literacy, Montreal.
Reprinted with permission from Media Focus, a supplement of Literacy Across the Curriculum, Winter, 1996, Vol. 5, No. 4.