What is Act?

Act(ion) is the culmination of accessing, analyzing, and evaluating media messages.

  • We act by engaging civically as the result of thoughtful access, analysis, and evaluation of media messages we receive.
  • We act as a way to do something that challenges the status quo (often in opposition to mainstream media).
  • We act in response to breaking down thoughts, feelings, and ideas related to media.

How can you Act?

  • Empower others by advocating for media literacy education in schools and classroom instruction with teachers, school administrators, school boards, or local politicians,
  • Share reliable content online
  • Promote positive change by supporting social justice issues
  • Engage civically through demonstrations, voting, canvassing, etc.
  • Create counter-narratives with media that add your unique voice to the media landscape
  • Report or fight misinformation online
  • Educate others about media literacy by modeling good media literacy practices online
  • Ask your family, friends and peers critical questions to start conversations while engaging with media
  • Promote media literacy resources and efforts of those doing work in the media literacy community

Key Questions to ask when Acting on media messages:

  • What actions might I take in response to this message?
  • How might I participate productively?
  • What do I do with this information? 
  • How do I get other people to act based on what I created?
JOIN US!

Additional Reading

Study Finds Sizable Impact of Civic Media Literacy Education on Democratic Engagement
Connected Learning Alliance

Digital Literacy and Youth Civic Engagement
Teaching Tolerance

Lessons/Activities

Can Students Use Social Media to Make Positive Change?
PBS NewsHour
Grades 7-12

Political Participation | We the Voters
PBS Learning Media

Is This Story Share-Worthy?
NewseumEd
Grades 6-12

Faces of COVID-19 – Artists as Activists
Project Look Sharp
Grades 6-12

Social Media for Social Action
Teaching Tolerance
Grades 6-12

Questions?

Contact us: medialiteracyweek@namle.net

A special thanks to Christopher Sperry and Cyndy Scheibe of Project Look Sharp, Jimmeka Anderson of I Am Not the Media, and Natasha Casey, PhD for their contributions in developing this content.