This book argues that people live simultaneously in two different cultures. Values of the first culture are imparted to children through curriculum in the nation's public school classrooms. The second culture is the world of mass communication that promotes consumption, instant gratification, and impulse. The clash between these cultures confronts children with mixed messages while providing little mechanism for resolving the conflict. To become critical thinkers, students must comprehend the form and content of information. This book offers ideas, strategies, and activities for promoting critical thinking and viewing skills in order to assimilate messages from news, advertising, television, and motion picture sources. The book is organized into seven chapters that are subdivided into specific topics with related activities for integration into the curriculum. Each activity is coded by grade level and by applicable curriculum area. The broad areas described by chapter headings are: (1) "Education, Media and Mindsets"; (2) "Media Literacy and Visual Literacy: Instructional Imperatives in a Wired World"; (3) "Getting Started: Ways of Seeing, Ways of Saying"; (4) "Making the Living Room a Learning Room by Using TV Effectively"; (5) "Advertising: Exploring the Consumer Culture in the Classroom"; (6) "Reading the News: Interpreting Form and Content"; and (7) "Movies as Mentors: Teaching with Motion Pictures." The book is indexed, contains a reference list, a recommended reading list, and concludes with brief author biographies. (MM)