Author: Canadian Newspaper Association 
Level: Secondary Cycle Two
Subject Area: English Language Arts

Description: This is the first of five lessons designed to teach students to think critically about the way aboriginal peoples and visible minorities are portrayed in the press. "That's Me You're Talking About" is a mock letter to the editor. In this letter, racial, prejudicial and stereotypical statements publicly made about ethnocultural minority groups in Canada have been modified into parallel statements about youth. The idea is that by experiencing a personal reaction to these derogatory, all encompassing statements about youth, students will recognize their unfairness and be in a position to refute the writer's position.

Cross-curricular Competencies	Broad Areas of Learning
To use information To solve problems To exercise critical judgment To adopt effective work methods To work with others To communicate appropriately	Media Literacy Citizenship and Community Life

This lesson satisfies the following English Language Arts Competencies from the Quebec Education Program:

COMPETENCY 2 Reads and listens to written, spoken and media texts

Constructing a Reading of a Text

• Focuses on the relationship between self as reader and the text to construct an interpretive reading
• Activates relevant prior textual knowledge before, during and after reading text(s) to monitor the meaning(s) s/he is making, (e.g. uses what is known about a writer/producer and her/his style to make predictions, draws on knowledge of structures and features of a specific genre, applies knowledge of codes and conventions particular to specific texts)
• Activates relevant prior personal knowledge and experience to make sense of a text which is frequently expressed in text-to-self connections, text-to-world connections, text-to-text connections
• Asks questions of self, writers(s) and text(s) as s/he reads to clarify and focus reading
• Determines the most important ideas/messages/themes in a text
• Draws inferences from a text
• Retells or synthesizes what s/he has read, e.g. attends to the most important information and the quality of the synthesis itself to better understand the text

Reader, Text, Context

Draws inferences about the view of the world presented in a text

• Identifies the characteristics of the writer/producer and evaluates how these influence meaning, i.e. how stance, socio-cultural context, values and/or beliefs shape the world of the text
• Explores how power relationships are constructed in the text
• Examines how language (word, sound and image) is shaped to present ideas and information
• Makes connections between the depiction of different groups in texts and the context or setting of a text

Justifies her/his interpretation(s) of texts on the basis of own fluency as a reader

• Evaluates the way specific codes and conventions of a spoken/written/media text are employed to have an impact upon the assumptions, actions, values and beliefs of readers:
• codes and conventions of a specific genre that are employed to have an impact on readers in general or on a target audience in particular
• mode(s) of representation (sound, word and image) that influence the message(s)/meaning(s) of a text and how these reveal the intention(s) of the writer/producer(s)
• linguistic and textual features that situate or position the reader, e.g. connotations and denotations, stereotypes and bias, aspects of characterization and setting that evoke a specific emotion or response, appeals to mainstream values and beliefs
• issues and topics that present alternative values, beliefs, lifestyles in order to evaluate meanings for self as part of a process of interpreting a text
• Interrelates characteristics of the writer/producer(s) of a text and self as a reader:
• evaluates a perspective or point of view and its impact on self as reader
• recognizes how authors and producers of written persuasion and argument, whose views are accorded great respect in our society and culture, influence her/his interpretation(s), i.e. in particular, of what can be considered factual, objective
• analyzes the representation of different groups, including interest groups, in the press in relation to controlling ideas, opinions, main ideas

COMPETENCY 3 Produces texts for personal and social purposes

Researching as a Writer/Producer

• Develops topics that are personally and socially relevant:
• looks at multiple perspectives on the topic, e.g. pros and cons of an argument, how different people perceive the issue
• considers open-ended question(s) to facilitate topic development
• broadens and/or narrows the scope of the topic

Assuming Roles as a Writer/Producer

• Adopts a stance to a topic and audience appropriate to the genre• Explores different dimensions of a character, issue

Public and Private Space

Conducts a genre analysis:

• compares and contrasts texts within a social function, i.e. Why do people produce them? Who has access to these texts? Do they serve the same purpose? How do they communicate the values of a community?
• evaluates the structures, features, codes and conventions used
• examines how language (sound, word and image) is shaped:o to represent and/or exclude people, events, ideas and informationo to organize and develop ideaso for special effect

Applying Codes and Conventions

• Explores the representation of gender, race, appearance, culture, social class

Planning and Drafting

• Brainstorms ideas, clarifies and extends thinking by talking with peers and teacher