4.+Lesson+3

Kelly Sereikas LAE6861

Modern Family, “Family Portrait” (Season One, Episode 24)**
 * Analyzing reinforced expectations about families in


 * Abstract**

In this lesson we will use the television show Modern Family to study the way the media can shape expectations about family roles and the “perfect family.” After working together in class to analyze the expectations for behavior created in the show, students will work in groups to compare the expectations in the television show with the expectations of their community. Each group member will be responsible for interviewing a member of the community. Students will then compare and contrast the expectations reinforced on the show with those from their community profiles.

This lesson is the third part of a mini-unit in which students learn to look at television with a more critical approach. This lesson will focus on the way media can create and reinforce expectations about certain types of people or events. It is important that students be able to understand the kinds of assumptions that the media (news channels, sitcoms, reality TV, etc.) presents as "normal" or "the usual." By learning how to break down these assumptions and expectations, students can have one more way to examine the information they intake instead of simply swallowing it whole, without question. This way, students will become more informed and thoughtful members of the community. By creating community profiles, students will take what they've learned about family expectations in the media and connect it with reality.
 * Purpose**

Students will be able to strengthen their abilities to use a critical eye when absorbing media. Students will be able to analyze expectations for behavior of certain groups of people created and reinforced by the media. Students will be able to connect what they learn from the media with what they learn from their fellow community members.


 * Day One**

The lesson will begin with brief, overt instruction about Cortes’ “Creation and Reinforcement of Expectations.” I will give a presentation with the main points of this section of the article and examples given in the article of these expectations (aging, Italian Americans, the War in Iraq). The presentation will feature images to show as I share each example to help students visualize the way these expectations are formed.

Next, we will do a quick Think, Pair, Share. I will ask students to think of their favorite TV show and write about what possible expectations are being created or reinforced. After sharing it with a partner, we will discuss some of the findings as a class.

After the Think, Pair, Share, we will show Modern Family to continue situated practice. I will ask students to take notes about possible expectations created or reinforced by the show. I will emphasize that they should consider expectations about specific family roles, family events (i.e. taking a family photo), and the “perfect family.”

Watch “Family Portrait.”

After watching the episode, I will lead the students in a discussion of the expectations of teenagers by looking at the character Haley Dunphy, the teenage daughter. Because she has one of the smaller roles of the show, analyzing her character as a class will serve as a quick way to scaffold students before they analyze the rest of the show on their own. We will eventually discuss: the expectations that teenage girls might be narcissistic (she was more focused on her growing pimple than the family photo), sarcastic (she made sarcastic comments as her mother attempted to fix the step), and obsessed with her social life (she was rarely seen not texting on her phone).

Next, the students will gather into groups of four to look at the expectations of a modern family that are reinforced throughout the rest of the episode. They will be required to look at each character and the expectations created of their role in the family, as well as the family interactions as a whole. The analysis that they do now will be used to compare and contrast with their community profile. While they work, I will walk around the classroom from group to group to observe and assess their understanding. If necessary, I will pause the class and ask students to share their different ideas.


 * Day Two**

Because yesterday was a pretty jam-packed class period, students will most likely need more time to analyze the expectations represented in “Family Portrait.” We will begin the period by showing the episode again, so that students can have another chance to become familiar with the episode. Then they will have some time to finish.

Next, I will give them the next part of their assignment. Each group is to create a community profile of opinions about a “modern family.” Each member of the group must interview a different member of the community. The students are allowed to choose whom they wish to interview, but it is a requirement that there be a variety of ages and genders represented (students will know that they cannot all interview their best friends). After they complete their interviews, each group will use their data from interviews and relate it to what they gathered about expectations from the episode of Modern Family. They will have to present their findings to the class with a visual of their choosing (PowerPoint, poster, video, song, etc.).

After explaining the assignment, we will brainstorm a list of interview questions to ask the community members.

With the rest of the time, students will begin planning their projects.


 * Day Three—Presentations (two weeks later)**

Students will be required to actively listen to their fellow students and take some notes on their presentations. They will use their notes from the other groups’ presentations to write a final reflection to synthesize their thoughts about the way the media creates and reinforces expectations.


 * Assessment**

Students will be assessed through their group presentation and through their individual reflections. Group presentations must include information from each student interview about what it means to be a “modern family” in comparison with what they found from the television show. Individual reflections must be thorough and clear—students can share whatever their true opinion is, but they must be thoughtful and each statement must be backed up with information from their notes, presentations, or personal experiences.


 * Sunshine State Standards**

LA.910.1.7.7- compare and contrast elements in multiple texts; LA.910.2.1.8- explain how ideas, values, and themes of a literary work often reflect the historical period in which it was written; LA.910.5.2.1- select and use appropriate listening strategies according to the intended purpose (e.g., solving problems, interpreting and evaluating the techniques and intent of a presentation); LA.910.6.3.3- demonstrate the ability to select print and nonprint media appropriate for the purpose, occasion, and audience to develop into a formal presentation.