This pioneering book, by one of the founders of the media literacy field, provides the first empirical evidence of the impact of media literacy on the academic achievement of adolescents. It chronicles the practice of high school teachers who prepared their students to critically analyze all aspects of contemporary media culture. To do so, they developed an innovative curriculum that incorporates popular media, television, journalism, film, and new media into the required English curriculum. This book examines the processes they used to design and implement the new curriculum as well as the specific, measurable impact that the program had on students.It documents how a media literacy course significantly improved reading comprehension, writing, critical analysis, and other academic skills. It offers practical information for teachers attempting to bring media literacy into their classroom, including lesson plans and activities. It examines how media literacy education increases motivation and builds citizenship skills with teens.