Body Image and Media Literacy in Education
Lesson Activities
Here you will find activities designed to help develop media literacy
for students in regards to body image.
Please feel free to download and adapt for your own classroom.
The activities have been matched with different content descriptors for the Victorian Curriculum, however may be relevant to other areas.
Social media activity
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This activity asks students to find diverse social media accounts and answer questions provoking reflection on beauty ideals and the impact of such ideals on self-esteem.
This activity can form part of lessons in the following parts of the Victorian Curriculum:
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Media Arts Levels 7-8 or 9-10 Explore and Represent Ideas: VCAMAE041, VCAMAR038
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Personal Social Capability Levels 7-8 Relationships and diversity: VCPSCSO038
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Health and Physical Education levels 7-8: Personal, social and community health VCHPEP132
Among other areas such as Health and Physical Education or Technologies (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 2020).
Media tricks activities
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This document features links to a lesson plan for Year 9 Media, featuring a Dove advertisement “Evolution”. The lesson outlines what happens before, during and after a photo shoot, outlining the manipulations and adjustments that take place (Lamb, 2020).
Critical thinking activity
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This activity focuses on social media advertising and asks students to consider the motives behind messages.
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This activity can form part of lessons in the following parts of the Victorian Curriculum:
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Media Arts Levels 7-8 or 9-10: Respond and interpret Ideas VCAMAR038, VCAMAR045
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Personal Social Capability Levels 7-8 Relationships and diversity: VCPSCSO038
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Critical and Creative Thinking levels 7-8 and 9-10: Meta- Cognition VCCCTM040, VCCCTM051
Among other areas such as Health and Physical Education or Technologies (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 2020).