Week 16 — Building Your Message
Intentional Production — Phase 2
This is the building week. The student has a Spec Sheet and gathered materials. Now they create their first draft. The sessions are structured to provide guidance and checkpoints, but the student drives the creative work. The adult's role is to ask good questions ("How does this choice connect to your goal?") rather than direct the project.
Key Vocabulary
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| First draft | The initial version of a creative project — complete enough to review, but not yet polished |
| Self-audit | Reviewing your own work using the same critical questions you'd apply to someone else's media |
| Revision | Improving a draft by adding, removing, or changing elements based on reflection or feedback |
"This is building week! You take your plan and start making your project — a video, a poster, a podcast, or whatever you chose. And the coolest part? You'll check your OWN work using the same skills you've been using to check everyone else's media."
Connection
Last week students planned their project with a Spec Sheet. This week they build the first draft and then audit it using every media literacy principle from the course. The self-audit is the payoff of 14 weeks of analysis: now they apply those same lenses to their own creation. Next week they'll share their draft with a reviewer and refine it further.
Self-audit tools from earlier weeks: The self-audit in Session 2 explicitly reuses course tools:
- Purpose (Week 2): Is my purpose clear?
- Construction choices (Weeks 3-4): Are my choices intentional?
- Attention hooks (Weeks 5-6): Am I using honest or manipulative hooks?
- Emotional techniques (Week 8): Is my emotion proportional?
- Accuracy (Weeks 9-11): Have I verified every claim?
- Context (Week 11): Am I giving the full picture?
- Perspective (Week 13): Am I only showing one side?
This is the payoff of the entire course — students apply their analytical skills to their own creation.
Teacher Preparation
Ensure the student has everything they need for their chosen format:
- Video: Camera/phone charged, filming location accessible, script or outline ready
- Poster/Infographic: Paper or cardstock, markers/art supplies, reference images
- Blog post: Computer or notebook, outline from last week, any reference sources
- Podcast: Recording device or app, quiet space, talking points
- Slides: Computer with presentation software, images gathered
Have the student's Spec Sheet visible and accessible throughout the sessions. It's their blueprint.
Make sure the student has their Spec Sheet visible and the materials for their chosen format ready. That's it — they're driving the creative work this week. Your job is to ask good questions, not direct.
Focus on experimentation and progress.
The first draft doesn't have to be perfect. Avoid correcting too much. Instead, ask questions that help the student think: "How does this part connect to your key message?" or "What would your audience take away from this?" Let the student discover improvements through reflection, not instruction.
Guided Session 1
Creating the First Draft
Learning Goal
Students can create a complete (though rough) first draft of their media project, making deliberate construction choices tied to their Spec Sheet.
Activities
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Review the Spec — Start by re-reading the Spec Sheet together. Remind the student: "Every choice you make should connect back to this plan. Your audience is [X]. Your goal is [Y]. Your key message is [Z]. As you build, keep asking yourself: does this serve my goal?"
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Build Time — The student works on their draft for 20-25 minutes. Provide guidance as needed, but position yourself as a consultant, not a director. Good prompts:
- "What are you working on right now?"
- "How does this part support your key message?"
- "What will your audience see/hear/read first? Does that opening pull them in?"
- "Are you happy with this section? What would make it stronger?"
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First Draft Checkpoint — When time is up (or the draft is done), do a quick check:
- Does it have a clear beginning, middle, and end?
- Is the key message present?
- Are the construction choices intentional? (Can the student explain why they made each choice?)
- Is there anything that contradicts the Spec Sheet?
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Note Improvements — Have the student write 2–3 things they want to improve before the final version. These become the roadmap for Session 2.
Reflection Questions
- What's the strongest part of your draft so far?
- Is there any part where you made a choice you couldn't explain? (If so, rethink it.)
- How does it feel to create something intentionally, with a clear plan?
Guided Session 2
Applying What You've Learned
Learning Goal
Students can audit their own work using the media literacy principles from the course and improve their project based on self-assessment.
Activities
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The Self-Audit — Walk the student through a media literacy self-check on their own project. Start with The Media Checkpoint — pretend you're a stranger encountering this media for the first time and answer all 7 questions. Then go deeper with the course-specific lenses:
- Construction (Week 1–4): What choices did I make? Are they intentional?
- Purpose (Week 2): Is my purpose clear? Would the audience know what I'm trying to do?
- Attention hooks (Week 5–6): Did I use any clickbait or engagement tricks? If so, are they honest or manipulative?
- Emotional techniques (Week 8): Am I using emotion? Is it proportional and honest?
- Accuracy (Week 9–11): Are my facts correct? Can I source every claim?
- Context (Week 11): Am I giving the full picture, or leaving out important information?
- Perspective (Week 13): Am I only showing one side? Should I acknowledge other viewpoints?
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Revision Time — Based on the self-audit, the student makes improvements. This might mean:
- Fixing a factual claim they weren't sure about
- Toning down an emotional appeal that felt manipulative
- Adding context they left out
- Changing a clickbaity title to something more honest
- Making a construction choice more intentional
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The Honesty Standard — Ask: "If someone in this class analyzed your project the way you've analyzed media all semester — would they find anything they'd flag? Would you be proud of what they'd find?"
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Progress Check — The student should now have a solid draft that applies the course principles. Note any remaining work for the independent session.
Reflection Questions
- Which part of the self-audit was hardest? What did you discover about your own project?
- Did you find anything you want to change? Why?
- How is your project different from media that's designed just to get clicks?
Independent Session
Creator Lab
Instruction
Continue building and refining your project. Focus on the areas you identified for improvement in the guided sessions.
Use this time to:
- Complete any unfinished sections
- Practice your presentation or read-through if applicable
- Add finishing touches (color, layout, transitions, sound)
- Do a final check against your Spec Sheet: does the finished product match the plan?
When you're done working, write a quick "Creator's Note" (3–4 sentences) explaining:
- What you made and why
- Who it's for
- What you want them to take away
- What you're most proud of
This Creator's Note will be useful next week when you present.
Skills Reinforced
- Independent creative production with intentional choices
- Self-directed revision and quality improvement
- Reflection on the creative process
Setup
Provide all necessary materials for the student's format. Have the Spec Sheet visible. Set a timer for 25–30 minutes. The adult should be available for questions but let the student work independently as much as possible.
Quick Check
After this week's sessions, the student should be able to:
- Show the draft: Present a complete (if rough) first draft of their project.
- Explain every choice: Point to any element and explain why it's there, connected to the Spec Sheet.
- Self-audit: Identify at least one thing they improved after running the media literacy self-check.
Caregiver Look-Fors
- The student refers back to the Spec Sheet while building (not ignoring it)
- Construction choices are intentional, not random
- The self-audit produces genuine reflection, not "everything is fine"
- The student identifies at least one area for improvement voluntarily
- They can distinguish between "I like it" and "it serves my goal"
🎯 Takeaway
Big idea: Creating media intentionally means making every choice on purpose and being able to explain why.
Remember: Apply the same critical questions to your own work that you've been asking about everyone else's.
Younger Learner Adaptation (Ages 6–8)
- Shorten build time: 15 minutes is plenty for a poster or short recording.
- Simplify the self-audit: Ask just three questions: "Is it honest?" "Does it say what you want?" "Would your audience understand it?"
- Adult as collaborator: Work side by side, especially for technical tasks (recording, cutting, gluing).
- Celebrate the draft: At this age, finishing a first draft is a major accomplishment. Mark it.
Older Learner Extension (Ages 11–13)
- Full self-audit worksheet: Write responses to each self-audit question, creating a paper trail of their critical thinking.
- Revision log: Track every change made during revision and the reason for it.
- Style and tone check: Does the project's voice match its audience? Is the tone consistent throughout?
Accessibility Options
- Verbal self-audit: The adult reads each self-audit question aloud; the student responds verbally.
- Dictation for writing projects: The student speaks their draft while someone types.
- Chunked building: Break production into 5-minute focused bursts with short breaks.
- Visual checklist: A printed checklist with checkboxes for each self-audit question.
- Alternative formats: If the chosen format is too difficult, it's OK to pivot — a poster is just as valid as a video.