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[MUSIC IN] Debbye Turner Bell: Hello. I'm Debbye Turner Bell
and I'm pleased to introduce you to Media-Smart Youth, an exciting program for young people ages 11 to 13.
Media-Smart Youth helps young people navigate our complex media world and
empowers them to make thoughtful decisions about nutrition and physical activity.
As a television news broadcaster, I know the power and pervasiveness of media.
Media are everywhere, constantly growing and changing. And with new forms of media, and technology
that allows us to access it anywhere and any time, media are playing an enormous role in
our lives and can influence our attitudes, behaviors, and, most importantly, our health.
To address this, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development,
or NICHD, created the Media-Smart Youth program. NICHD is part of the
National Institutes of Health, which supports most of the federal government's medical research.
Woman: What is advertising?
Turner Bell: Media-Smart Youth is a unique program. . . . It uses media awareness and
media production as an approach to involve young people in thinking about . . .
Turner Bell: . . . nutrition and physical activity. It helps them become aware of the
connection between media and their health.
Children: Yeah!
[MUSIC OUT]
Turner Bell: In this engaging program, young people develop the knowledge and skills needed
to make wise decisions about their food and activity choices to take greater control over
their use of media and their responses to it. In short, young people become "media smart."
The key principle behind Media-Smart Youth is learning by doing. The program uses a variety
of learning formats and is divided into 10 structured lessons, each running about 90
minutes. By using a fun, hands-on approach, young people learn to identify and analyze
media messages and be thoughtful about the actions they're being asked to take.
[MUSIC IN]
Turner Bell: Each lesson gives young people a chance to express what they're learning
by creating media themselves, staging skits, developing news stories, or writing jingles.
Youth also explore some important nutrition concepts and think about the food choices
they make in their daily lives.
Facilitator: Is anybody hungry?
Turner Bell: With a tasty snack break included in each lesson, young people practice making
healthful food choices in real-life settings. The program also reinforces the importance
of physical activity and its link to good health. Youth explore this concept through
discovering fun ways to be active in daily life.
Facilitator: Do you guys want to get up and move around?
Children: Yeah!
Turner Bell: An action break in each lesson gets everyone up and moving.
[MUSIC OUT]
All of these activities lead up to the Big Production, an opportunity for youth to create
a media project designed to motivate other young people to take an action for better
nutrition or increased physical activity. How and what you do for the Big Production
is up to you.
Woman: Do you want to say that one more time?
Turner Bell: You can facilitate it on your own or engage a media partner to help you
plan and carry it out.
Woman: One, two, three . . .
Turner Bell: No matter how you conduct it, young people will learn new skills in production,
teamwork, creativity, and they'll have fun. Media-Smart Youth combines solid youth development
principles and practices with current research findings and recommendations about nutrition
and physical activity. It is consistent with widely accepted national learning standards
and has been pilot tested with youth-serving organizations like yours.
Facilitator: Write your jingle about . . .
Turner Bell: The Media-Smart Youth program can be adapted to a variety of settings such
as after-school programs, summer camps, or scout meetings. The program is flexible so
you can decide the frequency and scheduling that works best for you and your group of
youth. Everything you need to conduct the lessons is included in the Media-Smart Youth
program packet. The Facilitator's Guide, with an introduction and overview, features the
lesson plans and a variety of helpful resources. A companion DVD includes segments geared to
reinforce topics in each lesson. Pre- and post-curriculum activities reveal what youth
know and think about media, nutrition, and physical activity issues. And finally, the
colorful "6 Media Questions" poster brings to life the program's special media analysis tool.
[MUSIC OUT]
I encourage you to take the time now to review the introduction and overview in the Facilitator's
Guide and preview the next segment of this video. In it you'll hear from some of the
program facilitators who have already used Media-Smart Youth. You may also want to explore
another program that incorporates Media-Smart Youth. It's called We Can!—which stands
for Ways to Enhance Children's Activity and Nutrition. We Can! is a National Childhood
Obesity Prevention program developed by the NIH, designed to give parents, caregivers,
and entire communities a way to help children 8 to 13 years old stay at a healthy weight.
We Can! provides parents and caregivers with tools, fun activities, and more to help them
encourage their families toward healthy eating, increased physical activity, and reduced screen time.
[MUSIC IN]
You and I share something in common—we are committed to empowering youth and helping
them reach their full potential. We can take a big step in that direction with the Media-Smart
Youth program. The importance of smart choices and good health among our young people can't
be overstated. Many of the patterns that young people develop in these critical years will
stay with them for much of their lives. The lessons in this program can help young people
understand the influence that media can have on their decisions and, at the same time,
encourage youth to make healthy choices. Take a close look at Media-Smart Youth. Try it
with young people in your community. I think they will have a lot of fun and learn some
skills that will stay with them for many years. Thank you for your interest, good luck, and have fun! 0:06:29.240,0:06:31.510 [MUSIC OUT]