Close Reading the Media

Reviews / Votes

"Students will learn to think critically about photos, advertisements, and other media and consider the intended purposes and messages. ... The 'Close Reading the Media' featured lesson plans contain connections to key standards and step-by-step activities classroom teachers can use immediately...With this practical instructional guide, teachers will have all the tools and ideas they need to help today's students successfully navigate their media-filled world."--Midwest Book Review, September 2018

"What student would not want to explore and deconstruct media messages from the latest TV season, Super Bowl ads, popular film, toy commercials, award shows, popular songs, news photographs, and MAD magazine cover parodies? Frank Baker makes essential media literacy concepts accessible, presents ideas to inspire creativity and offers practical strategies to hook young learners in critical thought. Interdisciplinary and jam-packed with resources, important question checklists and engaging, relevant, standards-aligned ideas for active learning, Close Reading the Media is a timely go-to volume for classroom teachers as well as teacher librarians." --Joyce Valenza, PhD, Assistant Teaching Professor, Rutgers University, SC&I

"Fans of the amazing Frank Baker will be thrilled with this collection of Frank's "greatest hits"! The lessons that Frank provides are so valuable and so needed by today's teachers who are trying to help their students navigate our current roller-coaster media world. This book is arriving just in time-thank you, Frank!" --William Kist, PhD, Professor, Kent State University

"A longtime proponent of media literacy, Baker combines timely lessons and pop culture resources. The material is divided by month, drawing students' attention to relevant topics. ... Verdict: An outstanding resource for librarians and teachers intending to teach media literacy."--from School Library Journal Review, May 2019

"Close Reading the Media by Frank W. Baker is an incredible resource for any middle or high school humanities teacher looking to teach students how to think critically about the media content they regularly consume. ... I am excited and empowered to teach many of these lessons throughout the next school year, thanks to the informative, fun, and thought-provoking ideas that Frank Baker provides in this book. As an English teacher, I am always looking for balance and variety in what and how students are reading, and this book is so helpful in incorporating media literacy into that balance. ... I highly recommend this resource to anyone who is intrigued by or already teaching media literacy skills!"--MiddleWeb Review by Stephanie Leary