Group- Comparing Media

In this lesson, you'll write a claim that compares or contrasts versions of a news story delivered in two different media..

Comparing Media

objectives

Key Words

Students will:

Write a statement that makes a comparative claim.

• comparative
• claim
• media

Skills Needed

Compare and contrast the types of stories delivered by different media.

Warm up:

“After years of hard work and setbacks, Maya finally crossed the finish line, exhausted but proud.”

• How does the image add to or change your understanding of the text?
• Which medium shows emotion more clearly? Explain in one sentence in the chat!

Poll:

Now you will vote in the Mentimeter poll.

Alike or Different?

What kind of statement compares or contrasts two things?

A comparative statement simply states how two things are alike--or how they are different--in some very specific way. Which of these statement compares two cell phones?

I'm glad we both have cell phones.

Not really. This statement compares the two girls, in a way, but not the two cell phones.

My cell phone has this cool feature that lets me record audio instantly.

No, this statement describes only one cell phone.

Your cell phone is smaller than mine, but it has cooler features. Yes! This statement describes a similarity

Yes! This statement describes a similarity (and a difference) between two cell phones.

How could you revise the statement about the first photograph so that it becomes a comparative statement?

You Call It

What about a comparative claim?

As you may remember from lessons on how to write a formal argument, a claim is a statement that says, or claims, that something is true. Claims always appear at the beginning of written arguments since the claim is what the writer needs to prove. Claim statements may appear elsewhere in the argument as well--especially if the argument is long, and the writer wants to remind readers of the claim. A comparative claim states a similarity or difference between two topics, for the purpose of comparing or contrasting them. If you write a paper that begins with a comparative claim, your paper will provide reasons and evidence showing how two things or ideas are alike--or different. What kinds of evidence support a comparative claim? See if you can match each claim on the left with the evidence on the right that supports it best.

Match each claim on the left with the evidence on the right that supports it best.

#1

#2

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#4

compare what?

What kinds of comparisons can you make between media formats?

In this lesson, you will write a comparative claim that points out a similarity or difference (or both) between the print version of a story and a video version of that same story. In other words, your claim will compare or contrast two versions of a news story, each delivered in a different format. Remember the meteorite that hit Russia not long ago? It was a big deal because the meteorite fell in a fairly populated area and injured a thousand people. The story was popular online because many Russians in the town where the meteorite struck actually captured the event on video and then shared it with the world. The fact that so many cameras caught the meteorite "in action" meant that video journalists had plenty of moving images to use in their stories. Print journalists, though, had to rely on the same old tools they've used for centuries. They wrote about it. Look at these two versions again, and see if you can identify some interesting similarities and differences between how they two stories represented the event. *Watch video in textbook

To Russia, with Love and Space Rocks It’s a bird, it’s a plane--no, wait, it’s a...meteor? Recently in the Russian city of Chelyabinsk, locals saw a large object stream across the sky, burst into flames, break apart, and fall to the ground. A black cloud hung above their town, and witnesses said they smelled something like gunpowder. What really happened on the morning of Friday, February 15? A meteor exploded, injuring more than a thousand people and blowing out thousands of windows with its horrific force. The meteorite, which took 32.5 seconds to disintegrate, unmasked a blast more brilliant than the sun, and created a sonic boom that rocked the earth’s surface for miles. Reaction to the Event Within minutes of the event, all kinds of theories began to circulate in and around Chelyabinsk, as its citizens tried to understand what had happened. Some said an object had been shot down by Russian air defense missiles to prevent further destruction. Others believed that a satellite had fallen, or some kind of weapon had been aimed at Russia. Still another theory: The sonic booms and flashes of light were the result of a top-secret U.S. weapons test. Some press officials wrongly reported that there had been a meteor shower predicted for that day. Witnesses said the boom was so loud that it sounded like an earthquake during a thunderstorm. Others reported seeing burning objects falling out of the sky. One witness tweeted, “I thought it was a UFO.” Initially, scientists estimated that the meteor was about 50 feet wide and sparked a blast equal to a 300-kiloton

explosion. Later the estimated force was increased to that of a 470-kiloton explosion. Russia’s space rock also turned out to be more massive than was originally thought. Instead of 10 tons, it weighed about 10,000 tons and was traveling 40,000 mph upon explosion. The new estimates were generated after data had been collected by five additional infrasound stations across the globe. As soon as the source of the impact had been identified, the question on many people’s minds was Is this a first—or has something like this happened before? According to NASA, the event was the largest meteor strike to be reported since 1908, when a meteor hit Tunguska, Siberia, and flattened an estimated 80 million trees. NASA emphasized that the Russian meteorite should not be confused with the asteroid 2012 DA14, which happened to be traveling near the earth but in the opposite direction when the meteor hit. Meteor versus Meteorite These two terms are often used interchangeably, so you may wonder how a meteor differs from a meteorite. Meteors are pieces of space rock, usually fragments of larger comets or asteroids, which enter the Earth’s atmosphere. Many are burned up by friction and heat, but those that survive and strike the Earth are called meteorites. Experts say that meteorites actually strike the ground five to ten times each year. Really huge ones like the one in Russia are much rarer, and they usually fall over uninhabited regions. We don’t hear about those meteorites, though, because they don’t cause any property damage or injuries. For witnesses who were not too traumatized by the meteorite, the event became a way to make some extra money—meteorite fragments could be sold online for a starting price of $15. What are some similarities between the two versions?

Argue This!

What makes a statement a claim?

Just because you write a statement that compares two things, that doesn't mean you've written a claim. A claim has to be arguable--that is, it has to be something that reasonable people might disagree about. A simple statement of fact is not a claim. Neither is a belief statement based on a feeling or opinion. A claim "asks" for proof and suggests that reasons and evidence will be provided. Even if the reader does not accept a writer's argument, the reader must be able to acknowledge that the claim has two sides and should be backed up by supporting details.

Argue This!

Argue This!

Argue This!

You Try It

Compare and contrast media representations of space tourism.

See if you can write a few claim statements about these two stories about the future of human space travel. Watch the video once or twice, and then read the article, looking for similarities and difference that might make a good comparative claim statement.Use the questions beside the article to write several claim statements. Then copy your responses from the last screen, paste them into a word processing document, and submit them to a teacher. Before you submit your list of comparative claim statements, make sure that each one meets these criteria:

• It describes a similarity and/or a difference between the two versions.
• It provides a statement that readers will feel needs to be proven to be believed..

*Watch video in textbook

Your Future in Space What will family vacations look like thirty years from now? The nation’s most popular parks are so full of visitors each year that the rangers have to limit the number of people who can enter each day. Could it be that the hot new destination in 2040 will be nowhere on earth? The world’s most talented aerospace engineers are betting on it! Even now, so early in the 21st century, scientists and other experts at the United States’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are working to make it so. NASA is most frequently associated with the Apollo space program of the 1960s. With careful planning and brilliant engineering, NASA managed to deliver three men to the moon's surface on July 20, 1969, as part of a mission known as Apollo 11. The moon landing was amazing enough, but even more stunning was the fact that NASA brought all three astronauts safely home again. The Apollo 11 mission inspired a sense of national pride in Americans from coast to coast at a time when the country was facing some uncertainty about its status as the world’s most advanced nation. The success of Apollo 11 generated a huge amount of interest in space programs generally and, more specifically, in NASA as an organization. NASA’s role in human space exploration has shifted in recent years, though—from space pioneer to more of a galactic ambassador. Although NASA still plans to continue mapping the depths of space, the agency realized that it could accomplish its goals more quickly if it had a little help. As a result, NASA is partnering with aerospace engineering companies, exchanging its knowledge of space exploration for the superior manufacturing skills of modern industry. NASA’s partnership with the private sector is bringing Americans closer to commercial space travel than ever before.

Can you imagine boarding what looks like an airplane with your family—then stepping out to find yourself not in a different city, but on the moon? Or perhaps inside a space station in orbit around our planet? It could happen, and sooner than you might think. Richard Branson, the chairman of Virgin Airlines and a fan of all things outer space, recently announced plans to start a brand new airline, Virgin Galactic, which will offer passengers short flights into outer space. Don't expect to get a seat into space for a while, though: Tickets on the first plane, SpaceShipTwo, are expected to cost around $250,000 each! But Branson expects flights into outer space to become more affordable eventually. Since we don't yet have colonies on the moon, and most other planets are too far away for modern technology to reach, space stations are the most likely destination for the first galactic tourists. The International Space Station, which celebrated its twelfth year of operation in November 2012, is parked in permanent orbit around Earth and has already received over 200 visitors from around the world. At slightly over fifty meters in length, it's three times as big as the Russian space station, Mir, and can comfortably house several visitors at once. As space travel increases in popularity and decreases in cost, though, additional accommodations will be required. It's possible that one day we’ll be able to see luxury hotel resorts in the sky—with a good telescope, of course. Imagine ordering room service while enjoying a view of the lunar surface! NASA, the organization that first brought space travel into the public consciousness, is looking even further into the future, though. The organization has turned its gaze to Mars, the so-called red planet, and Earth's nearest planetary neighbor after the moon. Bolstered by President Barack Obama's decree that the United States should try to land a man on Mars by the 2030s, NASA Chief Charles Bolden has called a manned mission to Mars the organization's top priority.

And they're well on the way: NASA has already sent probes and motorized rovers to Mars for a better look, including the Mars Science Laboratory, which launched from Earth in November 2011 and arrived at its destination about nine months later. Unlike the other probes and rovers that went before, the Mars Science Laboratory was specifically designed to search for microbes and other building blocks of life. Interest in space exploration is at its highest level since the 1960s, and the future has never been brighter or more exciting for NASA and the private companies with which they have partnered. From the forthcoming commercial space flights of Virgin Galactic, to the welcoming doors of the International Space Station, to a potential manned mission to Mars, America is poised to once again lead the world to the stars, thanks to the partnership between government and private industry. Only time will tell what scientific discoveries this new collaboration might yield.

Assess Yourself

What have you learned about writing comparative claims?

Assess Yourself

Assess Yourself

Assess Yourself

Assess Yourself

Homework

Media Comparison Analysis

Task:Choose one topic or story that is presented in two different media formats. Examples:

• A short story and its film clip adaptation
• A news article and a news video about the same event
• A poem and a spoken-word performance
• A historical article and a documentary clip

Directions:

• Identify your two sources (include links or titles).

Write a 1–2 paragraph response (150–250 words) that answers:

• What is the main idea or message in both versions?
• What are two key similarities between the media?
• What are two key differences (tone, details included, visuals, emotions, point of view, etc.)?
• Which version was more effective and why?

Rubric

Exit Ticket

Remember to take the quiz on Comparing Media