Making Sense of Media
Aligned to SL.6.2 — Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.
What this lesson teaches
Information reaches you through many formats — a talk, a video, a chart, a podcast. Interpret what each presents and explain how it adds to a topic or a study you're working on.
Worked examples
Example 1
A video on hurricanes shows spinning cloud footage and a narrator's data. You interpret it: the footage shows the storm's size, the narration gives wind speeds. Together they explain why hurricanes are dangerous — the media clarifies the topic.
Example 2
A documentary's music tells you how to feel about the footage before anyone speaks. That is an argument, not a fact.
Example 3
Ask who made it and why. A video about a product, made by the company selling it, is an advertisement in the shape of a documentary.
Practice questions
- Watch or listen to a short piece on a topic and note its main point.
- Explain one thing the format (video, audio, chart) showed that words alone couldn't.
- Tell how it added to what you already knew about the topic.
Watch the lesson
Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.
▶ Watch this lessonEn español
Interpretar los Medios
La información te llega en muchos formatos — una charla, un video, una gráfica, un podcast. Interpreta lo que cada uno presenta y explica cómo aporta a un tema o a un estudio en el que trabajas.
Ejemplo 1: Un video sobre huracanes muestra imágenes de nubes girando y la narración con datos. Lo interpretas: las imágenes muestran el tamaño de la tormenta, la narración da la velocidad del viento. Juntos explican por qué los huracanes son peligrosos — el medio aclara el tema.
Ejemplo 2: La música de un documental te dice cómo sentirte sobre las imágenes antes de que alguien hable. Eso es un argumento, no un hecho.
Ejemplo 3: Pregunta quién lo hizo y para qué. Un video sobre un producto, hecho por la empresa que lo vende, es un anuncio con forma de documental.
More Speaking & Listening lessons
Teach this lesson today
An AI tutor that guides with questions instead of just giving answers — all K–12 core subjects, every child in the family.
Start free — no card required