Level: Grades K to 3

Overview

This lesson and all associated documents (handouts, overheads, backgrounders) is available in an easy-print, pdf kit version.   To open the lesson kit for printing, click here.   To print only this page, use the "printable version" link at the top of the page.

This lesson develops a beginning awareness by students of how they feel towards, and respond to, different sports, and how the media represents athletics. The lesson begins with a class discussion about the sports that students enjoy playing and watching on TV. Students talk about the differences between watching sports on TV and in person, and explore the marketing of sports by looking at the sports-related clothing and toys they own. Students also broaden their understanding of sports by reflecting on how they feel when they get hurt in sports and by discussing issues such as the role of women and the disabled in sports.

Learning Outcomes

Students demonstrate:

• a beginning awareness that media preferences may depend on age, sex and cultural background
• a beginning ability to identify and explain a few aesthetically pleasing media techniques, e.g., colour, shape, design, texture and pictures (symbols) used in sports logos, uniforms/costumes
• a beginning awareness that media convey value messages to the audience, e.g., women aren't as athletic as men.

Skills 

• Discussing, Representing, Reflecting

Preparation and Materials 

• Read background information sheet Responding to Media Violence.
• Prepare classroom Sports Chart.

The Key Concepts of this lesson are that media are representations of reality, and that media contain value messages. While some activities in the following unit may seem sophisticated for Kindergarten, note that all activities offer ways of engaging children, even those without particular interest, in simply talking about (their favourite) sports and sports media. They offer the teacher opportunities for early diagnostic assessment of students' viewing habits, of their social experience related to sports, their personal confidence in self expression, and their grasp of media vocabulary and concepts.

The Lesson

Discussing and Representing

Ask students what sports, if any, they like, and which ones they watch on television. Make simple paper cut-outs to represent the sports named (e.g., a puck, a baseball). In a simple graphing activity, have children line up behind the cut-out for their personal favourite. Make sure to include a symbol for "I don't like sports."

Ask students to talk about: 

Whether they like to watch their favourite sport in person or on TV (media representation of sport).

• What is different about each experience.
• What sports do their friends like, and why?
• What sports do their family members like, and why? (influence of cultural backgrounds, age, sex)

Have students bring in their sport badges, team shirts, caps, (e.g., T-ball, swimming) to examine conventions of sports. Ask them to talk about what they like, i.e., find attractive, appealing (aesthetics) in these items. For discussion purposes, it isn't necessary for all, or even most, students to bring examples.

Reflecting

Ask students how they feel when they get hurt in sports and what they think could be done to improve this aspect of sports. Help students to broaden their awareness of various sports and of participation by male/female and physically challenged athletes. Some young children may not recognize certain activities as sport if females are involved (e.g., figure skating, gymnastics). Talk about images and examples of women playing sports such as hockey, baseball, basketball. Some students may have only a limited awareness of women's abilities and roles in certain sports, and have concluded from media representations that women cannot perform these activities. It may also be worthwhile to ask children to think about whether certain sports appeal to males and/or females, and if so, why? They do have comments, allow some time for talking about what they think the reasons may be for such preferences.

Assessment/Evaluation

Students' progress is assessed/evaluated through:

• contributions to "talk" about different sports and sports media; graphing activities
• "talk" about pleasing (aesthetic) features of sports logos, uniforms, etc., e.g., colour, texture, design.