Media Literacy Lesson Plan Ideas: Body Image

Have students write a compare and contrast paper about advertisements in magazines geared toward young women (e.g. YM, Seventeen, Cosmo Girl) versus advertisements in a magazine geared toward young men (e.g. Rolling Stone, Sports Illustrated, GamePro).


2. Have students compare and contrast a catalog using professional models (e.g. Abercrombie & Fitch, Delia’s, Wet Seal) to a catalog that uses employees as models (e.g. LL Bean, WalMart, Sears). What are the differences in how the products are portrayed? The positions of the models? The bodies of the models?

3. Have students photograph their friends at school using a digital camera, then upload their photos to a digital photo store offering image-altering options such as www.shutterfly.com. Students should play with red-eye removers, change the color tone of the photo, or use cropping options to understand the possibilities for improving the real-life pictures they took. This could also be done using Adobe Photoshop if available at your school. Discuss how models are digitally altered and how those images affect our perceptions of ideal bodies including aspects such as weight, hair, skin, and teeth.

4. Assign students to pay attention to eating in the media. How many times do characters eat on TV?  What do they eat? Is there a pattern of which characters eat and what they are eating? For example, do the overweight police men constantly have doughnuts nearby? Are kids eating candy or healthy food? Are they going out to eat or cooking for themselves? Do women eat different food than men? What do the characters say about food while they’re eating? Students should explore these patterns in a class discussion or reflection paper. Why do the producers incorporate these eating messages? What do these messages say to the public?

5. Give each student two small pieces of paper. Students should be asked the question “Do you believe you are overweight?” (Variations could be “Would you like to lose weight?” “Are you happy with your body shape?”). On the first piece of paper have everyone write either “Yes” or “No.” Collect all responses and total them on the board.
   
   Next, give each student a reproduction of the Body Mass Index (BMI) chart, which can be obtained from your school nurse. Have them locate their BMI by finding the number at the intersection of their height and weight. Students should use the key to determine whether they are overweight or not, then write “Yes” or “No” on the second piece of paper. Collect all responses and total them on the board.
   
   Discuss with students the difference in perception of overweight versus actual overweight, and what role the media might play in that perception.

 

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