Fat City video clips on learning disabilities Must See!

My graduate professor showed us this video. Here are a few clips. Eye opening!

Continued from yesterday…

SO, after we have gone over the inferences students make from looking at the advertisements, we begin to discuss the term “biased” and we begin to understand that all advertisements are biased. We also reflect on the story we read about Elaine, who according to her social worker, is influenced by magazine advertisements to be promiscuous and care-free, not realizing the real-life consequences of her actions.

We look through the advertisements to see if we can find any to prove the social worker’s point. Then we examine lyrics from a few of the Billboard top 10 hit singles to further address the point.

For the next activity, we bring back our central theme of poverty and how it affects people in almost every aspect of their lives. Students are then asked to take on a new perspective: that of a single mother working one or two jobs, a single father working one or two jobs, a teenager working a low-wage job and attempting to live on his or her own or with roommates, a destitute person, or a wealthy person who is oblivious to the struggles of the middle and lower class.

Students then create a collage that represents the world through the eyes of the character they have chosen to represent. Here are a few examples:

The next step will be for students to type written reflections on why they chose particular images and what they are meant to represent. Students will also explain whether or not they can relate to their character.

My overall goal when creating lessons is to keep students constantly engaged. When students are off-task, I take that as a signal that I am somehow not providing them the best possible learning opportunity for them. No, my students are definitely not always on-task, but that is the one goal that is constantly on my mind. My other goal is to prepare them for credit-bearing college courses, meaning they need a sense of responsibility and accountability. They also need strategies to comprehend difficult and sometimes uninteresting text.

After their written reflection, I will ask students to anonymously provide feedback on how they feel the class is going so far and whether or not there is anything they would change.