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2nd grade · English Language Arts · Unit 12 of 12

Media Detectives

Purposes, parts and who made it

What your child practices

Children compare ads, signs, posters, books and videos, tell what each one is for, notice the choices their makers made, and pick good sources for a research question.

Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards benchmark: 2.1.9.2; 2.1.9.1 · telling facts from opinions and judging whether a source fits the topic

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Every message has a purpose: to sell, to teach, to tell news or to entertain.
  2. Videos use pictures, words and music to show feelings.
  3. People can feel differently about the same message, and that's okay.

Example: How are a toy ad and a book about bears different? The ad wants you to buy the toy. The book teaches you about bears. Answer: the ad wants to sell; the book teaches

Media Detectives in Minnesota

In the Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards, this is unit 12 of 12 in 2nd grade English Language Arts, after Asking Questions and Finding Facts.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Minnesota Department of Education (MDE)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    A cooking show and a recipe card both…

    • teach how to make food
    • sell cars
    • warn about storms
    • tell jokes

  2. Question 2

    Which part of a video can show feelings with sound?

    • the page number
    • the music
    • the title
    • the date

  3. Question 3

    Where can you find answers about your town's history?

    • a cartoon
    • a cereal box
    • the town library
    • a toy store ad

  4. Question 4

    Who chooses the music in a cartoon?

    • the TV
    • the viewers
    • the people who make the cartoon
    • the characters

  5. Question 5

    A comic uses BIG letters for “CRASH!” Why?

    • to show the date
    • to sell paper
    • to whisper
    • to show a loud sound

  6. Question 6

    Which question helps you research?

    • Do I like pandas?
    • Is my shirt blue?
    • What do pandas eat in the wild?
    • Pandas are cute.

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