Requires

These classroom activities correspond to the Don't Buy It game, Teen Heroes at
http://pbskids.org/dontbuyit/whatyoucando/teenheroes_shimotakahara.html.

What are the possible consequences of viewing television violence? What impact on those consequences does the type of violence seem to make?

Note: This activity includes the viewing of children's cartoons that depict violence. Please check with parents before showing potentially objectionable content.

Objective

• Develop an awareness of violent television content.
• Understand reactions to various types of television violence.

Materials

• Taped clips (five minutes in length or less) of popular TV cartoons that target young people. (Check with students for a list of the shows they're watching.)

Procedure

Danielle Shimotakahara from http://pbskids.org/dontbuyit/whatyoucando/teenheroes_shimotakahara.html has campaigned against violent video games in her community. Do you think violent video games or television programs affect kids?

Have students answer the following questions.

• What is violence? Is violence about guns? Fights? Threats?
• What do they think is appropriate for kids their age to watch?
• What about a younger brother or sister? And why? How might the reason be different for a two-year-old child than a nine-year-old kid?
• Why might they be concerned about violence?

View several short clips (five-minutes in length or less) of popular children's TV shows and cartoons. Have students record the number of violent acts that occur in a segment. Watch again and have students point out the violent acts in class.

• What acts did they consider violent?
• How is the violence in a cartoon different from violence in shows with human actors?
• And how is violence in a cartoon different from real-life events in the news?
• How do students think they would react to seeing a single violent act replayed over and over on television?

Using a five-minute clip as a reference, have students determine how many violent acts would take place in similar half-hour and hour-long programs.

After viewing a violent cartoon segment or story, have students consider what would happen if the violence happened in the real world. Discuss alternative endings to the program clip viewed. Engage students in a discussion about non-violent ways to resolve conflict.

Alignments

• McREL Media Standards
  Standard 10: Understands the characteristics and components of the media. Level 2 (Grades 3-5)
  BENCHMARK: understands that media messages and products are composed of a series of separate elements (e.g., shots in movies, sections of a newspaper).
  BENCHMARK VOCABULARY: media message, product, separate elements, camera shot, movie, newspaper section.
• McREL Media Standards
  Viewing Standard 9: Uses viewing skills and strategies to understand and interpret visual media. Level 2 (Grade 3-5)
  BENCHMARK: understands different messages conveyed through visual media (e.g., main ideas are supporting details; facts and opinions; main characters, setting and sequence of visual narrative).