Developing the media literacy skills of middle school students in social studies

With technological developments, children have access to media tools and encounter media messages in every aspect of life and everywhere. In order for individuals to be effective citizens, media literacy skills should be acquired starting from an early age. One of the courses that will contribute to the acquisition of this skill is the social studies course. The purpose of this research is to improve students' media literacy skills in social studies course. Action research design, one of the qualitative research designs, was used in the research. The participants of the research consist of 7th grade students and social studies teachers at a private secondary school affiliated with the Ministry of National Education in Ankara. Research data were collected through individual interviews with students, lecture video recordings, researcher diary, student products, and video recordings of validity committee meetings. Content analysis approach was used in the research. As a result of the research, it was determined that students had improvements in media literacy skills in the social studies course. As a result of the research, students' awareness of the media message increased, the ability to access accurate, reliable and up-to-date information about the purpose and target audience of the media message, to look critically at the media message, to know the persuasion and propaganda techniques used, to create their own media product within the legal framework, using their democratic rights, and It has been determined that there are developments in sharing and reacting to the contents of the products that disturb them. It is recommended to carry out practical activities to develop media literacy skills in social studies classes. Key Words: Social Studies, Media Literacy Education, Media Literacy Skill, Action research.