While teaching high school in the 1970s, Liz Thoman created Media &Values, a magazine which laid the foundation for the development of media literacy in the U.S. and from which emerged the Center for Media Literacy in 1989.

Now as the founder and Chief Program Officer at the Center for Media Literacy, located in Santa Monica, California, Thoman advises parents to begin educating their children in media literacy at birth.

The goal of media literacy is to give children skills to access, evaluate, and understand media for themselves. In the report, Media Literacy: A National Priority for a Changing World, Thoman and co-author Tessa Jolls point out that, "The challenge for the teacher (or parent) is not to provide answers, but to stimulate more questions."

Thoman suggests that teachers don't need to purchase expensive materials to teach media literacy. "They can integrate the media literacy into their existing curriculum." English classes can analyze editorials from newspapers or discuss political talk shows. Teachers can teach critical thinking using everyday media.

Kids dissect media using the Five Key Questions that Thoman says can change the world. The questions can be used with any subject.

1. Who created this message? This question addresses the core concept that all messages are 'constructed.'

2. What creative techniques are used to attract my attention? Is it color? Music? Camera angle?

3. How might different people understand this message differently from me? Each individual's circumstance and history gives them a unique perspective on how they view the world.

4. What lifestyles, values and points of view are represented in-or omitted from-this message?

5. Why is this message being sent? Who is going to profit from the message shown? What is their purpose?

(For more detailed explanations of these five key questions, download MediaLitK™ from http://www.medialit.org/).

At first, asking these questions for each piece of media will take some time. Then it becomes second nature and students will begin automatically filtering the various media messages they receive.

Today, the biggest challenge is to train teachers to give children the life-long skills of media literacy. Thoman urges teachers to join an association for media literacy such as the Alliance for Media Literate America, a national membership organization for teachers of which CML is a founding member and of which KIDS FIRST! is an organizational member. AMLA's mission is "to stimulate growth in media literacy education in the United States by organizing and providing national leadership, advocacy, networking, and information exchange." Through AMLA, teachers can network, attend local conferences, or even attend national conferences.

Thoman is full of praise for the KIDS FIRST! Junior Film Critics club, a six to ten-session course in critical viewing skills for children, ages eight to thirteen. "The club is a terrific project teaching children to analyze media," Thoman enthuses.

The Online Juror course is another KIDS FIRST! program which provides children with media literacy skills. Parents and teachers who would like to teach media literacy while receiving free DVDs, videos, CD-ROMs and other media for their home or classroom, can train online to become KIDS FIRST! jurors. Information on both of these programs can be found at http://www.kidsfirst.org/kidsfirst/fbecju.htm.

After thirty years in the field of media literacy, Thoman plans to continue with teacher training and consulting and has a vision for research-based curriculum writing. Her far-reaching goals are attainable with the help of committed parents, teachers and professionals.

Freelance writer, Christine Pollock is managing editor of the KIDS FIRST!® eNewsletter. Most recently, Christine's work has been published in Cable in the Classroom's magazine, Access Learning and in United Parenting Publication's many publications. Christine resides in western New York.

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