Teaching TV: Television as a Story Teller

The « Teaching TV: Television as a Story Teller » lesson, within Elizabeth Verrall’s comprehensive five-part unit, equips teachers with creative strategies for TV education in elementary classrooms. This lesson guides students in exploring television’s role as a narrative medium. Key learning outcomes encompass understanding how media products convey stories, recognizing elements like characters, mood, setting, and plot in media narratives, skillfully retelling stories through varied media, appreciating diverse storytelling methods, identifying television stories, contrasting TV narratives with other formats, and constructing storyboards. By achieving these objectives, the lesson promotes media literacy, nurtures narrative analysis, and enhances creative skills. Moreover, it supports students in discerning storytelling techniques while fostering a deep appreciation for the versatile ways narratives are communicated through television and other mediums.