Webinar | Inquiring Young Minds: Teaching Media Literacy in the Young Learner English Classroom

About the Presenter

Rachael Gibbon is Global Publisher for ELT at National Geographic Learning. She holds an MA in Educational Research with a focus on Education and Social Justice from Lancaster University. After starting out teaching English to children and adults in Italy, she’s worked in educational publishing for 20 years in the UK and Turkey, overseeing the conceptualization and publication of a number of flagship titles. Her favorite part of every project is still getting back into the classroom with teachers and learners to understand their challenges and aspirations so she can better support their achievements with learning materials that motivate and inspire.

Overview

Is it possible to teach English learners to think critically from a young age? Perhaps a better question would be: is it important to equip students with the skills to help them read the world? If the goal is to develop deep thinkers, critical consumers of information and confident communicators, this is the perfect time to start! Young learners already interact with information presented through a variety of media inputs in their everyday lives. By developing the critical thinking skills that help them look below the surface of what they see and to draw on different sources to build their understanding of a topic, you can nurture inquiring young minds in the safe environment of the classroom. In this webinar, Rachael Gibbon will share five things you can do right away to teach media literacy to young learners and use it as an opportunity to develop their critical thinking skills. Examples from Trailblazer, National Geographic Learning's new program for young learners of English, will be used to show how you can bring these ideas to your classroom.