The U.S. Library of Congress awarded a grant to Project Look Sharp, a media literacy program based at Ithaca College, to help educators integrate media literacy into their classrooms. The grant will allow Project Look Sharp staff to deliver workshops training teachers to incorporate 21st century skills into history lessons using engaging media documents. It will also add Library of Congress resources and links to Project Look Sharp's existing collection of over 180 online lesson plans. The grant coordinator, Chris Sperry, has over 30 years experience teaching and has authored numerous curriculum kits on global studies and U.S. history.

1. Ithaca College Media
Literacy Program Awarded
Library of Congress Grant
ITHACA, NY — The U.S. Library of Congress has awarded Project Look
Sharp — a media literacy program based at Ithaca College — a grant that
will aid its work in helping educators effectively integrate media literacy
into their classroom curricula.
The grant was awarded under the Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS)
Program, which provides assistance to educational organizations who wish
to incorporate TPS materials and methods into their existing education and
professional development programs for teachers, librarians, media specialists
and other K–12 educators.
With the grant, Project Look Sharp (PLS) staff, in coordination with
BOCES, will deliver full-day workshops for school districts across Central
New York. The workshops will train teachers to integrate 21st-century skills
into the U.S. history curriculum through inquiry-based readings of engaging
media documents. The grant will also allow Library of Congress resources
and links to be incorporated into the PLS collection of over 180 free online
lesson plans.
The grant will be administered by Chris Sperry, coordinator of curriculum
and staff development for PLS. Sperry has taught middle and high school
English, social studies and media studies for over 30 years and is the author
of numerous curriculum kits related to global studies and U.S. history. He is
the recipient of the 2008 National Council for the Social Studies Award for
Global Understanding and the 2005 National PTA and Cable’s Leaders in
Learning Award.
For more information, contact Jen Segal, Project Look Sharp Media Intern,
at looksharp- mktg@ithaca.edu