Virtual Session0-5 | Hook: “Decode the Scroll”
Rapid read: one TikTok/YouTube/short game clip + a paragraph excerpt.
Prompt: What’s the structure? What style/visual grammar shows up?
Outcome tie: primes evaluation across media.
5-20 min | Story Structure & Conflict (Cross-Media)
Freytag/3-act, goal–obstacle–stakes.
Conflict types mapped to game mechanics & scene beats.
Quick reference card (provided).
Discuss across grade levels
20-35 min | Visual Grammar
Shot types (wide/medium/CU/POV/OTS), composition, pacing, montage (time compression, rhythm).
In-game “shots” (camera, framing, UI overlays) and novel “shots” (description beats).
Discuss across grade levels
35-45 min | Evaluating for Meaning
Triad activity: one game moment, one paragraph, one 30-sec clip.
Use the Media Evaluation Snapshot to tag structure, style, credibility, bias, audience fit.
Share one surprising transfer (“this mechanic = rising action”).
What is the argument?
Discuss across grade levels
45-50 min | Conclusion
How do we take fluency into the classroom?
Attendees will develop a background for evaluating games, written stories, and film/video for their structure, style, and grammar.
Attendees will apply lessons of media fluency to the classroom to build skills in digital storytelling.
Attendees will explore novel ideas for planning and executing documentaries ethically, avoiding plagiarism or copyright issues.
Lacković, N. (2020) Thinking with digital images in the post-truth era: A method in critical media Literacy. Postdigit Sci Educ 2, 442–462 . https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-019-00099-y
Gaines, E. (2008). Media literacy and semiotics: Toward a future taxonomy of meaning. Semiotica, 2008(171), 239-249. https://doi.org/10.1515/SEMI.2008.076
Eisenlauer, V., & Karatza, S. (2020). Multimodal literacies: Media affordances, semiotic resources and discourse communities. Journal of Visual Literacy, 39(3–4), 125–131. https://doi.org/10.1080/1051144X.2020.1826224
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