Get Them Thinking!: Using Media Literacy to Prepare Students for State Assessments

Sue Summers is a media messaging specialist. She owns Media Alert, and blogs regularly. Sue is an avid copy editor after retiring from Jefferson County as a special education librarian.

The author has crafted a very timely and readable tool that will be of great benefit to media specialists. Educating students and teachers about the importance of being media literate is essential because our students are bombarded by media messages now more than ever. Teaching the four steps Summers talks about, "awareness, analyses, reflection, and action" will help to develop students who are critical thinkers and consumers, as well as better test takers. This book has an excellent taxonomy of thinking skills (blending Summers' taxonomy with Bloom's). Each chapter is a step in learning to recognize and critically evaluate media materials. Each chapter also contains lesson ideas geared toward elementary, middle, and high school students. The lessons are designed to be able to stand alone, or better yet, integrate into a content-driven collaborative lesson with a classroom teacher. For the critical media specialist in all of us, I particularly liked the comprehensive glossary of media terms; the extensive appendix with book, article, and online references; and the practical, ready to use handouts. As an overworked librarian trying to include one more lesson in my already packed class time, this book is a practical tool that makes my job a little easier. Recommended.