Magazine Cover

For my magazine I first decided on the background color. My color choice comes from fall. The next thing I decided on was the name of the magazine. I chose be first because of when I started college it was always the saying of be first. I feel this title would get someone to read the magazine because they could be the first to read about common core.
They next thing that was chosen for the magazine was the pumpkin. I love pumpkins and wanted it to feel like a fall edition, so I came up with a way to connect the two. This image draws in the reader. I feel that to some educators the common core causes a mess.  As we all know those who have been teaching do not like change often. So it disrupts what they are use to and they have to begin again with new guidelines to go by.
The last image I chose to put on my magazine cover was the animals at the One Size Fits all Store. I chose this image because when I was reading about the common core a lady made the comment that we are going towards a "One size fits all" with the common core. The more I thought about it the more I agreed with it. So I added it to get the viewer thinking about what that really means when related to the common core.

The media language techniques that I used were association, Humor, and Rhetorical questions.
The association was between the pumpkin and the viewer. At this time of year who does not love pumpkins?Most everyone does so what better way to associate with them then a pumpkin.
The humor comes from the picture with the animals at the One size fits all Store. Though we are not talking about size with the common core,we can still get a sense of what the message is. The last thing I used was a question. I questioned the viewer if One size really fits all. This gets the viewer thinking and hopefully wanting to read more about it.

Weekly Reading #9

" But as culture of sexuality keeps reaching down to younger and younger children, parents, teachers, and the general public wonder about media's influence on a young person's sense of personal and social identity." (pg. 105)

" But whether we like it or not, media messages shape peoples beliefs, attitudes and values." (pg. 113)



Media is very powerful for all society. Media sometimes helps us choose what to say, wear, be and follow. Many media messages send off negative vibes while there are very few positive vibes. As every type of media is becoming more available to younger generations, we see more sexuality being based off of media. When I was in high school you seen media have a little impact on the personal and social identity. Now, when I return I see more of it. They see things on the media that they like so they decide that it is now who they are. Media influences all of us in different ways. Some decide that we need to be like certain things, whether it be sexually or not. A lot of things on the media are very sexuality based. I strongly agree that media shapes people in many way. Sometimes we may not see but others we can see where it comes from. We learn from things on media, whether it be online,TV or radio we learn and sometimes we decide that it is a bigger part of us than we wanted it to be in the start. I also think that a lot of people are followers to things in the media. They don't want to be a leader but if they do they first follow something and then try to lead to friends and others around them.

Weekly Reading #8

" Today, every teacher needs to be a media composition teacher." (pg. 85)

" As a result, American elementary and secondary students do not have their full first amendment rights either in school or out of school."( pg. 96)

"A teacher who genuinely wants to support student voice may be at risk of being reprimanded or fired if his or her supervisor finds that students self-expression may harm the schools reputation or have other negative effects." (pg. 96)


I thought about these quotes strongly when I was reading this chapter.  There are a lot of things, as educators, that we have to be careful about saying. Not only do the teachers have to watch about offending the students and the students beliefs and culture but the students have to watch what they say around other students and educators. I strongly feel that teachers who have the same belief and want to support their students bite their tongues just to save feelings of others. Sometimes it is so hard to see a student voice their opinion and not be able to support that student. This makes some students feel alone on certain issues. Not only do educators take risk but students who step up takes risk of hurting others around them. We need to have a time where students can speak their mind without being at risk for humiliation or being attacked because of what they say. Reading through these quotes I thought about how true these statements are. We are very limited to what we say or the students say. We are very limited in the world in and out of school, to what we can support and what is stepping on toes.

Media Deconstruction

Who Produced The Blaze and for what purpose?

The blaze magazine was produced by Glen Beck. Glen produced the blaze within two months. The Blaze was produced to show breaking news, opinions, and engaging videos about stories that really matter. The Blaze is a place where people can give their insight opinions about the news that is going on in the world. The Blaze will find insight where ever it may be.

When was it produced and what was the historical Context?

This particular edition was released May 2014. During this time the common core was still very new. Most teachers and educators that you talked to or knew, was not for the common core. This edition gives a different outlook to those who are reading it. It shows what the common core is about and what is going to take place in the classroom.


Who is the target audience?

The targeted audience for this particular edition is for parents of the children in the classroom. It gives them a chance to read what the important line of the common core is about. This also allows for the parents to state their opinions and see what others think about the issue as well.

What are the Messages Communicated?

The messages on this cover is that common core is a threat to the american classroom. It also says that common core could be bad for our freedom. The message is very clear.

What techniques are used to hold attention ?

The word Collective in orange grabs the attention of the viewer. Also the bubbles on the magazine cover is very attention getting.

Final Digital Story

Digital Story Draft Draft