This "Theme Page" has links to two types of information related to the study of Violence in the Media. Students and teachers will find curricular resources (information, content...) to help them learn about this topic. In addition, there are also links to instructional materials (lesson plans) which will help teachers provide instruction in this theme. Please read our disclaimer.

Building Peace Through Play

"Building Peace Through Play (BPTP) is a non-profit organization of parents and educators, concerned about the violence promoted by some television shows and their spin-off toys. Through public education initiatives, the group encourages peaceful alternatives to violent and aggressive play"

Children and Television Violence

This reprint of an article written by John P. Murray for Kansas Journal of Law & Public Policy, reviews the history of concern about violence in tv, summarizes research into the issue, and considers the ways in which our society deals with the issue of television violence.

Children & TV Violence

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry outlines the impact of violence on TV on children's behaviour.

Chipping Away At Violence

An article in "Michigan Today" presenting Professor of Psychology Leonard Eron's perspective on the inability of the V-Chip to make much of a difference in the issue of children being exposed to violence on T.V.

CRTC Hearing on Violence in Television Programming

An index of issues raised at the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) public hearing on violence in television. Links to sites concerning the issues include: Background to the Hearing; What was the Hearing About; What People Said; Submissions and Presentations; and Policy on Violence in Television Programming.

Insidious 'Fun': Youth Need Help to Process Messages of Sex and Violence

A teacher of media studies in Waterloo, Ontario, emphasizes the importance to study and deconstruct violent and sexually explicit materials as a way to reduce their potential impact on individuals. Students will quickly learn to recognize how scenes of "reality" are created through the effects of specially designed camera shots and special effects.

Media Awareness Network

This Canadian site is a support network for media education. You'll find links to information on media news, media literacy ideas for parents, resources and lesson plans for teachers, children's media, media issues, media industries, and government. The two buttons below link to pages which provide teaching lessons and units, ideas for classroom activities, supporting resources, and additional teaching resources from the site.

• Teaching Media - Elementary: Violence
• Teaching Media - Secondary: Violence

Mediascope-Media Policy Clearinghouse

Mediascope contains a number of articles identifying issues of concern in the media. The following articles summarize issues of violence in T.V.

• American Public Opinion On Media Violence
  
• Special Considerations for Creators of Children's Media
  
• Social Effects of Electronic Interactive Games
  
• Television Ratings Controversies

Media Violence Chronology

"This chronology provides a brief history of Canadian federal government initiatives relating to media violence and responses from the Canadian television industry. Many of the documents mentioned can be found in the Media Violence section of the Media Awareness Network web site."

Media Violence in Children's Lives

This article by the National Association for the Education of Young Children advocates a public policy to set standards regarding violence content in media programming.

Television and Violence

Lesson activities, designed for grades 7-12, in which students record, analyze, and interpret data on television violence.

Violence on Television

The American Psychological Association summarizes what research shows about children's aggressive behaviour and its relationship with violence programs on television. It also has information on what children learn and what parents can do.

Voluntary Code Regarding Violence in Television

The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) have adopted this code as a set of guidelines for T.V. and radio programming that have violent scenes. The code has 35 guidelines which specify banning scenes that glamorize violence, controlling scenes that require sensitivity about violence to woman and minorities, posting required viewer advisories for scenes intended for adults only, and identifying children's programming that must follow specific rules if it has any violence.

Note: The sites listed above will serve as a source of curricular content in Violence in the Media. For other resources in Media Literacy (e.g., curricular content, lesson plans, and theme pages), click the "previous screen" button below. Or, click here if you wish to return directly to the CLN menu which will give you access to educational resources in all of our subjects.