Author: Barry Duncan
Level: Secondary Cycle Two
Subject Area: English Language Arts

Description: In this lesson, students debate the controversy surrounding file-sharing music files on the Internet. Through class discussion and debate, students explore the ethics surrounding the use of file-sharing software such as Napster from the perspective of various stakeholders, such as recording executives, artists and consumers.

Cross-curricular Competencies	Broad Areas of Learning
To use information To solve problems To exercise critical judgment To be creative To adopt effective work methods To work with others To communicate appropriately	Media Literacy Environmental Awareness and Consumer Rights

This lesson satisfies the following English Language Arts Competencies from the Quebec Education Program:

COMPETENCY 1 uses language/talk to communicate and to learn

• Constructs criteria for choosing the mode of spoken language in a specific context, by considering audience needs and demands of the context

COMPETENCY 2 Reads and listens to written, spoken and media texts

Constructing a Reading of a Text

• Focuses on a topic and/or issue that is of interest to her/him to construct an efferent reading, (e.g. makes sense of the text by coming to terms with the ways in which a topic has been developed by a writer/producer)
• Focuses on the relationship between self as reader and the text to construct an interpretive reading
• Activates relevant prior textual knowledge before, during and after reading text(s) to monitor the meaning(s) s/he is making, (e.g. uses what is known about a writer/producer and her/his style to make predictions, draws on knowledge of structures and features of a specific genre, applies knowledge of codes and conventions particular to specific texts)
• Activates relevant prior personal knowledge and experience to make sense of a text which is frequently expressed in text-to-self connections, text-to-world connections, text-to-text connections
• Asks questions of self, writers(s) and text(s) as s/he reads to clarify and focus reading
• Determines the most important ideas/messages/themes in a text
• Draws inferences from a text
• Retells or synthesizes what s/he has read, e.g. attends to the most important information and the quality of the synthesis itself to better understand the text

Reader, Text, Context

Draws inferences about the view of the world presented in a text

• Identifies dominant elements and interprets their use, e.g. point of view, specific literary conventions, structure and sequence of argument, patterns of cause and effect
• Explores how power relationships are constructed in the text

Distinguishes between “open” and “closed” texts:

• analyzes the degree to which the text may be considered “open” to multiple perspectives/ interpretations (i.e. is complex enough to allow different perspectives to emerge) and interprets how these influence the view of the world presented.
• analyzes the degree to which the text may be considered “closed” to multiple perspectives (i.e. runs along formulaic lines that indicate its lack of complexity and make only a limited number of perspectives possible) and interprets how this influences the view of the world, e.g. in a pulp romance novel or a comic book, recognizes some elements of plot structure that are formulaic and repetitive

COMPETENCY 3 Produces texts for personal and social purposes

Researching as a Writer/Producer

• Researches aspects of the media and publishing industries to best produce, market and distribute their products:
• investigates how texts are produced and under what conditions
• examines how a text is vetted, marketed and distributed by a producer to its target audience, e.g. how a book gets published, how a trend is created
• analyzes the impact of media ownership and convergence
• examines how fans are cultivated and how they organize and communicate among themselves
• Respects rules related to copyright and intellectual property

Production Process

Media Practices

• Examines issues of media ownership and control
• Respects legal constraints, e.g. language laws, copyright

Planning and Drafting

• Brainstorms ideas, clarifies and extends thinking by talking with peers and teacher
• Uses strategies to work out ideas, plan and draft, e.g. concept map, free writing, storyboard
• Makes preparations prior to production

Going Public

• Makes final adjustments before presentation
• Presents text to intended audience