I'm currently the head of English and raising standards leader at a secondary school in Birmingham. I'm passionate about my subject and passionate about ensuring that the young people we serve leave education with a high competency in English.
Prior to teaching I worked in the radio industry as a presenter for 7 years and so when I became a teacher I enjoyed the opportunity to teach Media studies.
You'll find hundreds of English and Media studies resources.
I'm currently the head of English and raising standards leader at a secondary school in Birmingham. I'm passionate about my subject and passionate about ensuring that the young people we serve leave education with a high competency in English.
Prior to teaching I worked in the radio industry as a presenter for 7 years and so when I became a teacher I enjoyed the opportunity to teach Media studies.
You'll find hundreds of English and Media studies resources.
A sample preliminary material to give students ahead of their next mock examination on the theme of TV game shows.
The mock exam itself is also included and has been created to replicate the real exam - 4 questions each worth 15 marks with one task being a creative design task.
A sample preliminary material to give students ahead of their next mock examination on the theme of serial drama.
The mock exam itself is also included and has been created to replicate the real exam - 4 questions each worth 15 marks with one task being a creative design task.
Over 8 fully differentiated lessons (by colour) to support the teaching of TV News. These lessons are ready to go and are differentiated for ease of use.
These resources could be useful as an English or enrichment project. Students investigate TV news and then create their own TV news broadcast following the codes and conventions.
Differentiation:
purple = lower ability
blue = middle ability
yellow = higher ability
Resources provide opportunities to:
- research the variety of TV news programmes and channels & their target audiences
- investigate visual techniques
- investigate verbal techniques
- investigate selection, composition and combination (structuring news broadcasts)
- create own news broadcast
- script news broadcasts
Over 9 fully differentiated lessons (by colour) to support the analysis and creation of science fiction programmes and films. Lessons are ready to go and are numbered for ease of use.
Differentiation:
purple = lower ability
blue = middle ability
yellow = higher ability
Resources provide opportunities to:
- explore Todorov's theory
- explore Propp's theory
- explore Bordwell's theory
- explore the science fiction genre and sub genres
- Analyse science fiction films and programmes
- Create ideas for a new science fiction film
- explore the 'what if' theory
- explore science fiction audiences and pleasures
- compare science fiction films
- analyse media language
- explore uses and gratifications
- explore representation
Resources use the following science fiction as a stimulus:
- The Matrix
- The Hunger Games
- Jurassic World
- The Maze Runner
- Star Trek
Assessment materials also included
Over 10 fully differentiated (by colour) resources to support an introduction to Media studies for students beginning a course whether at GCSE, BTEC or A level.
The lessons are ready to go and are numbered for ease of use and expose students to a wide range of Media from the outset.
Differentiation:
purple = lower ability
blue = middle ability
yellow = higher ability
Resources provide opportunities to:
- explore connotation and denotation
- explore camera angles and make inferences
- analyse movie posters
- analyse magazine covers
- explore radio audiences
- explore mass and niche audiences
- explore demographics, geo-demographics and psychographics
- conduct primary and secondary research
- gather qualitative and quantitative data
- create questionnaires
- investigate media language and signs
- explore representation
- analyse own media consumption
- investigate audience profiles for television
- investigate newspaper audiences
Over 15 fully differentiated lessons (by colour) that support the teaching of magazine covers. These lessons were planned in line with the AQA Media studies assignment 1 coursework but could also easily be used as a project with KS3. All lessons are ready to go and are numbered for ease of use.
Differentiation:
purple = lower ability
blue = middle ability
yellow = higher ability
Resources provide opportunities to:
- explore representation of mag covers
- explore colour theory
- explore Blumler and Katz theory
- explore magazine conventions and cover features (wide range of titles)
- explore audiences if magazines using the NRS website
- explore demographic, geodemographic & psychographic
- explore the language of magazines
- analyse the effectiveness of covers in appealing to audience
- create own magazine cover for a specific audience
- evaluate own production work
Resources to support the teaching of TV Crime drama. Lessons are numbered for ease of use and provide opportunities to:
- explore the genre
- explore characters types
- explore representation of the police force
- analyse opening sequences
- create opening sequences
- explore scheduling strategies
- explore technological developments
- explore film noir
- explore Todorov's theory
- explore Propp's theory
- explore institutions
- explore mise en scene
- create pitches for own crime drama ideas - job roles included as per the industry to relate t the world of work
- explore codes
- explore narratives including multi strand
- explore crime drama audiences - geo-demographics, demographics - psychographics
- explore camera angles
- explore connotation and denotation
Resources to support the analysis of and creating of magazine covers.
Resources provide opportunities to:
- explore connotations and denotations
- explore representation
- explore reader profiles
- explore audiences
- create a magazine cover
- evaluate own production work
- explore core buyers for a variety of titles
- explore colour connotation
- explore mise-en-scene
Resources to support the exploration of audio production. (Week 2)
Resources provide opportunities to explore:
- audio file formats - AIFF, mp3 etc.
- audio platforms - media player, iTunes etc
- mono and stereo
- acoustics in different locations such as full and empty rooms, theatres and open spaces
- recording audio in different environments
- direct sound and reverberation
- interior and exterior recording
Resources to support the exploration of audio production - week 3 - microphones.
Opportunities to:
- identify types of microphones - lavalier, direct connected, boundary, parabolic, noise cancelling etc.
- explore dynamic microphones and how they work
- the proximity effect
- investigate polar pattern of microphones
- investigate polar response
- use microphones to test out the proximity effect and directionality
Week's resources culminates with an assessment of understanding..
Resources to support the teaching of cross media promotion through studying music posters and music videos.
Lessons are differentiated by colour:
purple = lower ability
blue = middle ability
yellow = higher ability
These resources provide opportunities to:
- explore and analyse music posters
- explore and analyse music videos
- explore representation
- explore and analyse the creation of synergy
- explore music genre conventions
- explore intertextuality
- recap institutions
- explore Dyer's star theory
Resources to support the teaching of presentation techniques in Media studies. Resources were created to support the teaching of the BTEC national Media studies unit on presentation techniques. 4 assignments that encourage students to look back at the history of presenting styles and create their own style for a specified purpose.
Resources provide opportunities for students to:
- study skills needed to be a presenter
- explore the image of presenters
- explore a variety of radio presenting styles - personality presenter, format presenter, specialist presenter
- compare the skills needed of radio and TV presenters
- analyse the visual techniques of news presenters
- explore the history of presenting styles on the BBC
- explore the verbal techniques used by news presenters
- explore British Pathe
- receive an industry standard brief to create a 12 minute programme foe children on presentation techniques
- conduct primary and secondary research
- create a proposal for a new pilot as per industry standard
- study example proposals
- present in a specified role for a specified purpose
- reflect on own presentation work
Resources created for teaching unit 21 BTEC First diploma 'Creative Media production project.' These resources are useful for helping support students through any Media production project and cover the 3 stages of production. (pre-production, production and post-production)
Resources include:
- completing pre-production
- completing production
- completing post production
- generating of ideas for a production project on any topic
- analysing existing proposals - examples taken from new TV show proposals
- creating proposals inline with industry standard
- pass, merit, distinction success criteria
- giving a pitch
- exploration of legislation that affects work in Media including libel, defamation and slander - exploration of equality laws, privacy laws, copyright and the data protection act
A work book is also included for students to complete as they study
33 cards of television game shows for students to use in a variety of ways such as:
- sorting my sub genre
- sorting by format
- sorting by scheduling slot
etc.
Simply print - cut and use.
Fully differentiated resources (by colour) to support the teaching of Music videos for GCSE.
Differentiation:
purple = lower ability
blue = middle ability
yellow = higher ability
Resources provide opportunities to:
- explore the history of music videos
- analyse music videos
- explore the audience of music videos
- explore and create audience profiles
- present ideas for a new music video
- explore the mark scheme for assignment 3
- explore music video genre
- explore camera angles
Resources to support the creating of an audio product. (Week 4)
Opportunities to:
- explore the importance of audio editing - audacity software
- create an audio product- example given is a radio broadcast - the task requires students to bring together everything they've learned in weeks 1-3 including microphones, acoustics, purposes etc.
- conduct risk assessments before recoding on location as per industry
- evaluate own production work
Resources to support the teaching of audio production. Lesson were planned to teach BTEC first unit 6 audio production but are equally suitable to help students understand audio for any Media studies course.
Students work towards a brief and will create audio (a radio programme) by following industry practice.
Resources provide opportunities to:
- explore a variety of audio - music, noise, silence, speech, special effects
- explore audio files - mp3, mp4, wav, AIFF, CD, DAB, FM
- explore mono and stereo
- monitor own audio consumption
- explore broadcast audio and non broadcast audio
- explore uses and gratifications - Blumler and Katz
- explore microphones
- edit audio using editing software
- follow a Media brief to create a radio programme (broadcast audio)
- explore and create radio sweepers, promos, idents, music beds etc.
- conduct research - primary and secondary
Differentiation using a points system. Students complete tasks to earn points, Difficult tasks have the most points attached to them.
A work book is included for students to use while studying.
Over 12 resources to support the teaching of advertising production. The resources were created for students studying BTEC First in Advertising production (Unit 18) but can easily be used to help students with their studies of advertising as [art of GCSE.
Resources allow students to work to a brief and end up creating an advertising campaign by following industry practices.
Resources provide opportunities to:
- explore how adverts play on our fears and dreams
- explore persuasive language in advertising
- explore presentational features
- analyse adverts across 3 mediums (TV, radio and web)
- explore synergy
- study advertising across a range of mediums
- plan own advertising campaign
- conduct risk assessments and planning document as would be the case in the industry
- give a pitch for the campaign created
- explore legal and ethical
- investigate the ASA (advertising standards agency)
- consider budgets
- conduct primary and secondary research
- gather qualitative and quantitative data
A work book is also included for students to complete as they study the course.
Resources to help get started with teaching video games and gamers. Lessons are numbered for ease of use.
Resources provide opportunities to:
- explore arcade gaming
- explore institutions
- explore platforms - consoles, tablets etc. and specifications
- explore game types - shoot-em-ups, first person shooter, strategy etc.
- explore video game audiences - demographic, geo-demographic, psychographic
- explore types of gamer - casual, mid-core, hard-core, social niche etc.
- explore audience profiles
- explore the 4Cs (media theory)
- explore the history of games consoles