Media Smarts
Images of Learning: Secondary
Make your scholars more aware of stereotypical portrayals in film and television. Discuss the definition of "stereotypes" and how they are used to present a story. High schoolers look at specific television shows and complete a chart...
Curated OER
The Influence of Media on Decision Making: Exploring Ideas of Bias in Media with a Committee of the Legislative Assembly
Eleventh graders participate in a role play about the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. They write an essay evaluating the influence (if any) the media has on decision-making.
Curated OER
Introduction to Sexism
Young scholars develop an understanding of sexism, its effects, and the ways in which messages in society (in media, texts, schools, families, et cetera) reinforce stereotypical beliefs.
Curated OER
Historical Witness - social Messaging
Students examine and develop artwork that shows women's roles during different eras. For this women's role lesson, students look at artwork that shows women at work during the mid-nineteenth to early twentieth century. They design a...
English Enhanced Scope and Sequence
Media Literacy with Focus of Strategies for Collaboration
Introduce your class to literary analysis with a series of activities that has them examine book and movie reviews. Groups then draft their own review of a text, select a digital medium, and craft a presentation.
Curated OER
Censorship in the Classroom: Understanding Controversial Issues
Students examine propaganda and media bias and explore a variety of banned and challenged books. Following this, students choose a side of the censorship issue and support their position by developing an ad campaign about the banned book...
National Wildlife Federation
Conceptualizing Module II - Putting It All Together
"Creativity is just connecting things." - Steve Jobs. After weeks of researching climate change, the ninth lesson in a series of 21 combines the data and analysis to address essential questions. It covers natural phenomenon, human...
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.
Facing History and Ourselves
The Audacity of a Vote: Susan B. Anthony’s Arrest
Susan B. Anthony's speech "Is It a Crime for Women to Vote?" takes center stage in a lesson that asks class members to consider how they might respond to what they consider an unjust law. Groups work through the speech paragraph by...
iCivics
Mini-Lesson: The Incumbent Advantage
Does the person running for re-election have an advantage over the challenger? Scholars explore the concept of incumbent advantage during elections using an informative mini-instructional activity explaining the legislative branch. In...
Anti-Defamation League
Student Dress Codes: What's Fair?
The controversy over school dress codes continues. The debate involves questions like, why is there a policy? Who sets the policy? Who enforces the policy? What is a fair policy? Tweens and teens have an opportunity to engage in the...
Curated OER
Quality of Information: Point of View and Bias
Fifth graders identify stereotypes of Indian people based on perceived characteristics. They discuss the misconceptions. Students define quality of information and give an example from the story "Seaman's Journal: On The Trail With Lewis...
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
Maps and the Pictures in Our Heads
Geographers of all ages examine different types of maps. They draw maps of their environment, utilizing both three-dimensional and picture maps. They interpret map information, noting how it can sometimes be misleading. Some good...
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.
iCivics
Lesson 2: Misinformation
Fake news is a hot topic right now ... but what is it? Intrepid young investigators track down the facts that separate journalistic mistakes and misinformation through reading, research, and discussion. Part three in a five-lesson series...
Carolina K-12
Propaganda, Spin and Soundbite Politics
It's all about the spin! In an introduction to propaganda techniques and soundbite politics, scholars first learn about common propaganda techniques before seeing them in action in the context of the 2016 election cycle. Activities...
PBS
Keep Your Head Up | Black America Since MLK: And Still I Rise
Change may be slow in coming, but things do change. Oprah Winfrey and Black Entertainment Television CEO, Robert L. Johnson, discuss the opportunities available to them due to the efforts of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other civil...
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...
Teaching Tolerance
Using Photographs to Teach Social Justice | Exposing Anti-Immigration Sentiment
The debate about immigration reform continues. To gain a deeper understanding of the issues involved, class members first examine a photo of an anti-immigration rally. Groups then conduct an internet search for an image that presents an...
Anti-Defamation League
Addressing Hate Online: Countering Cyberhate with Counterspeech
Cyberbullying is the focus of much discussion. Here's a lesson that offers suggestions for addressing cyberhate. After groups examine different examples of cyberhate, the class adds their suggestions to a list of ideas for how to counter...
Described and Captioned Media Program
Malcolm X: Make It Plain, Part I
Malcolm X was a complicated man that few in white America understood. After sharing what they know or think they know about this civil rights leader, about nationalism and Black Nationalism, class members view a two-part documentary...
Curated OER
Phenomenology Lesson Plan #2: Content Part #1
Students examine different types of media. They identify the bias in film and share them with the class. They also examine their personal biases and write about them.
Curated OER
COUNTERACTING MEDIA STEREOTYPING
Students explore the effects of gender bias, stereotyping, and discrimination.