iCivics
Mini-Lesson B: Satire
Hey, what's so funny? Explore the use of satire in a variety of media with a hands-on lesson. Fourth in a five-part journalism series from iCivics, the activity introduces satirical language in print and online. Pupils work alone or in...
Curated OER
"The Merchants of Cool"
Why are so many advertisements geared towards the teenage population? Watch a video with your class (link included), and have them fill out the attached listening guide. Then discuss persuasion, presenting biased information, and where...
Southern Poverty Law Center
Choosing Reliable Sources
It is more important than ever that 21st-century learners develop the skills they need to become savvy consumers of media. Young learners locate and identify reliable sources of information with a helpful media activity.
Stanford University
Vicksburg
Long before the term fake news, media outlets offered competing narratives of events at the time. Looking at newspaper reports from the Battle of Vicksburg, class members consider two different versions of the strategic siege—one...
Curated OER
Persuasion in Print
Advertisers target teenagers. Groups select three magazine advertisements for similar products, analyze the appeals used in each, create a poster that features the persuasive techniques used, and present their findings to the class. The...
Curated OER
Parliamentary Newsroom : Developing Media Literacy
Pupils explain and examine the selection, development, sources, transmission and impact of news on the public. They write a brief essay on the topic: "The Public Must Be Critical In Their Assessment of the News Before Drawing Conclusions."
Curated OER
WHAT INFLUENCES OUR PERCEPTION OF GENDER ROLES?
Students talk about the influence of media on gender equity perception.
Curated OER
Evaluating Web Sites for Bias
Students become familiar with checklist they use to evaluate Web content for bias. They use the checklist to evaluate two Web sites from very different sources.
Curated OER
World Media: Comparison of Iraq War Accounts
Students are introduced to the concept of news/media bias from region to region. Upon reading differing articles, students answer source questions on the structure/content of each article.
Newseum
Reporting Part III: Staying Objective
The third and final instructional activity in the Reporting series tests young journalists' ability to be objective in reporting contentious topics. After brainstorming a list of contentious topics that interest them, the class selects...
J. Paul Getty Trust
Tag: Whose Values
Get young people thinking about their lives and current topics of social justice, advocacy, gender, race, and identity. After examining several works by Barbara Kruger, participants select a tag with one of the questions printed on it,...
Curated OER
Looking for Trouble - Using the Internet to Research Structured Controversy
Discuss controversial issues with your charges. More importantly, discuss how you have to research both sides of a controversy before taking a stance. In groups, middle schoolers research the controversial issue of dog sled racing. They...
Southern Poverty Law Center
Evaluating Reliable Sources
A lesson plan instills the importance of locating reliable sources. Scholars are challenged to locate digital sources, analyze their reliability, search for any bias, and identify frequently found problems that make a source unusable.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Campaign Photo Analysis
It's the art of the image! As part of a study of the 2020 Presidential race, groups analyze an image of a candidate, first from an objective point of view and then subjectively. They then prepare a presentation detailing what they...
Curated OER
Bias, Prejudice and Propaganda
Twelfth graders examine bias, prejudeice, and propaganda in reading selections. They view commercials and print ads, discuss how the advertisers are trying to convince them of something, and keep a commercial journal.
Curated OER
Committing to Respect: Lessons for Students to Address Bias
Here's a guide designed to build safe, respectful learning environments, and to build understanding of the value of diversity through lessons packed with activities for specific grade levels.
C-SPAN
Polling and Public Opinion
Most people are eager to offer their opinions about topics of interest, but what's the most effective way to collect and assess these opinions as a matter of fact? High schoolers learn about the history of polling, as well as the...
Curated OER
What Influences Our Perception of Gender Roles?
Students research gender equity and the media. In this gender equity instructional activity, students evaluate the influence of various media on both individuals and society. Students discuss examples of media that portray...
Curated OER
Exploring Racism in America
Young scholars compare racism today to racism that existed during the nineteenth century. As a field research project, students individually keep track of examples of racism, biases, and stereotypes illustrated throughout the US media...
Curated OER
The "Ad" Survey-What Makes a Print Ad Convincing?
Students develop opinions from a variety of materials, recognize and analyze bias, propaganda and stereotypes, and evaluate effectiveness of print advertisements.
Curated OER
Conducting Research Online
In a day and age when publishing online has never been easier, high schoolers need to know how to identify a credible source. Choose the PowerPoint slides most relevant to your lesson and spend more time on the hands-on activities provided.
Curated OER
A Picture is Worth How Many (unfiltered) Words?
Students explore Google search engine in and out of China, examine events surrounding confrontation at Tiananmen Square between Chinese forces and the Tank Man, and discuss how censorship affects what the media reports and what the...
Curated OER
Empowered Barbie
Students access prior knowledge of vocabulary on feminism and psychoanalytic theory, and gender schema. For this Empowered Barbie lesson, students recreate a Barbie doll. Students write a reflection on how they changed...
Teaching Tolerance
Community Newsletter
What does it take to develop and publish a newsletter? Young academics create a newsletter with original artwork for their school or community. They explore social justice themes and spread messages of tolerance and inclusion. Scholars...