Cultural Lit. 41: Native American Images in the Media

Summary

Students will: List varieties of, and reasons for, contemporary and historical misrepresentation of American Indians in the media after receiving direct instruction, reading selected texts and working in group structures, within 1-2 class periods.

Materials

1. Meyer, Carter Jones and Royer, Diana. 2001. Selling the Indian: Commercializing and Appropriating American Indian Cultures. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press.
2. Marzano, Pickering, and Pollock. 2001. Classroom Instruction that Works. Alexandria, Virginia: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, p. 45.
3. Stephens, E. and Brown, J. 2000. A Handbook of Content Literacy Strategies. Norwood, MA: Christopher Gordon.
4. Journal or notebook.

Instructional Procedures

Anticipatory Set:
Post the names and words 'Gender, construction, media, imagery' on the board, on a flipchart or on a projection device and ask the class if they are familiar with these words. Conduct a collective brainstorming session (utilizing group structures) and add the generated vocabulary words to posted ones. Allow students to postulate their understanding of words and concepts.

Activities:
1. Instructor will read aloud, while student's follow along, from Meyer and Royer, pp. 62 to the end of the 2nd paragraph on p. 65, article: Savage Desires: The Gendered Construction of the American Indian in Popular Media.

2. Students will take notes (see Marzano, Pickering and Pollock p. 45, Teacher Prepared Notes) while following along and listening to reader.

3. Utilizing group structures instructor will ask students to identify present-day American Indian stereotypes and in what form of media they are found. Students will record ideas in their journals (see Stephens & Brown--Content Journal, p. 28) and report to class from groups.

Assessment Plan

Students will utilize note-taking frame to list main points of text and record in their journals their ideas and personal opinions regarding American Indian portrayal in the mass media.

Unit Assessment:
Utilizing cooperative group structure, students will choose from attached list: US History II-Topics for Research in Contemporary American Indian Issues, and prepare a report using teacher generated research instructions, for presentation to class.