8th Grade Trip - Museum of Tolerance

The eighth graders visited the Museum of Tolerance to further their study of critical media literacy, bias and stereotypes. They viewed exhibits on propaganda, the power of words and world travesties that resulted from prejudice.

8th Grade Perception - Critical Media Literacy

Throughout our eighth grade Perception unit, our students will learn how to critically analyze media. They will study the following big topics, by responding to an online forum with media samples:
-Race
-Religion
-Ethnicity
-Socioeconomic Status
-Gender
-Age
-Ability
On the first day of the unit, they heard from speakers from the Arab American Association during a Take On Hate workshop. They looked at the way Muslims are portrayed in popular media sources and brainstormed ideas for turning around these stereotypes.

They also conducted print media research before selecting a big topic to study in depth for their cause marketing project. Eventually, they will choose a specific problem they see in media that they would like to turn around in a cause marketing campaign.

8th Grade Perception - Brain Dissection

During our eighth grade Perception unit, our students are exploring the question: "How can I use my knowledge of the brain, psychology and critical media literacy to positively change perceptions?" They will look at how media portrays different people. They will also study psychology to understand how emotion and memory are connected to marketing. We launched the unit with a brain dissection, so that they can connect structure and function.