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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fighting Fake News

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Fake news. Alternative facts. Internet trolls. In an age of Newspeak, it's increasingly important to equip 21st century learners with the skills needed to determine the legitimacy of claims put forth on social media, in print, and in...
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Lesson Plan
2
2
PBS

Broadcast News

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Just because a story is on the news doesn't mean it's being presented fairly. Analyze news broadcasts with a lesson focused on evaluating television journalism. At home, kids watch a news show and note the stories presented, including...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Facing History and Ourselves

The Importance of a Free Press

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
"Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press;. . ." Why is this guarantee of free speech and a free press the First Amendment to the US Constitution? Why are these rights so essential to a democracy?...
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Lesson Plan
American Press Institute

Media Literacy: Where News Comes From

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
What actually happens at a press conference? Make sense of the mayhem with a mock press conference activity designed to promote media literacy. Individuals participate as either members of the press or the governor's office to examine...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

News

For Teachers 5th - 10th
How does broadcast news differ from accounts reported in newspapers? On the radio? Through the Internet? Middle schoolers discuss the news and speak about the differences between news in print and broadcast news. Given a list of six...
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Lesson Plan
Newseum

Fake News — What's the Big Deal?

For Teachers 5th - 12th Standards
In a time of fake news and alternative facts, young people must have the ability to identify it and its role. Scholars watch a video of teens reflecting on the concept of fake news and the impact of sharing fake news stories. They then...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Facing History and Ourselves

Free Press Makes Democracy Work

For Teachers 9th - 12th
A unit study of the importance of a free press in a democracy begins with class members listening to a podcast featuring two journalists, one from a United States public radio station and one from Capetown, South Africa. The lesson plan,...
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Lesson Plan
Newseum

Covering a Catastrophe: Press Conference Simulation

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Young journalists have an opportunity to experience the challenges of covering a catastrophe by staging a mock press conference. Half the class acts as reporters while the others act as officials from the mayor's office.
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Lesson Plan
2
2
Facing History and Ourselves

Citizen Watchdogs and the News

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
To conclude their case study of media coverage of the shooting of Michael Brown by a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer, class members consider the role of citizen watchdogs in a democratic society, develop strategies for combating...
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Lesson Plan
Newseum

The Fundamentals of News

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
A short video introduces middle schoolers to different media-related news terms. Viewers then complete a worksheet and discuss the differences between news and journalism, between facts and opinions.
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Lesson Plan
Deliberating in a Democracy

Free and Independent Press

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students determine how free press principles can be compromised. For this global studies lesson plan, students read an article titled "Free and Independent Press." Students respond to discussion questions regarding the article.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Television News

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Different media sources portray news in a variety of ways. In groups of three, learners look at different news sources, bringing in all the findings the next day. Three handouts help scholars compare sources, define specific terms used...
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Lesson Plan
Newseum

The Press and the Presidency: Friend or Foe? How the President Is Portrayed

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
In theory, news reports should be fair and unbiased. Young journalists test this theory by selecting a current news story covered by various media outlets about the President of the United States. They then locate and analyze five...
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Lesson Plan
Newseum

Free Press Challenges Through History: Analyzing Historical Sources

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
The debate over the integrity of stories in media is not new. Young journalists analyze historical sources that reveal freedom of the press controversies and draw parallels to challenges freedom of the press faces today. 
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Lesson Plan
Newseum

When the News Media Make Mistakes

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Mistakes happen. When they happen in news reporting, be it in print or on the internet, journalism ethics requires that the errors be corrected. Young journalists use an Accuracy Checklist to track how news organizations post corrections...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Risk Communication: Media Presentation Exercise

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Young scholars work in groups to prepare a brief broadcast or print news report from one of five possible viewpoints about an environmental contamination scenario. Students are given basic information about a chemical spill in a small...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Radio News

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Part of a larger unit from the Media Awareness Network on media literacy, this particular lesson plan focuses on the medium of news radio. Small groups participate in discussions on their radio listening habits as well as the...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Facing History and Ourselves

Social Media and Ferguson

For Teachers 9th - 12th
How can social media help or hinder civil dialogue? How can information shared on social media be verified? As the investigation of media reports of the events surrounding the shooting of Michael Brown continues, class members read news...
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Lesson Plan
Newseum

Breaking News: Tracing the Facts

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
Breaking news reports can be short of facts. Young journalists select a pair of news articles about a disaster; one published within hours of the event and the second published the following day. They examine whether facts in the report...
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Lesson Plan
Rockefeller Archive Center

Understanding Mass Media News

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
In an age of fake news and photoshopped images, it is vital that 21st century learners development the skills they need to evaluate mass media and assess its validity. A great way to launch such a study is with a carefully crafted lesson...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Television Newscasts

For Teachers 11th - 12th
When we watch news broadcasts on television, we receive a much more visual perspective than when we read the newspaper. How do sets, clothing, and music contribute to our understanding of the story? Compare American and Canadian news...
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Lesson Plan
Newseum

'The Press and the Civil Rights Movement' Video Lesson

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed Standards
Scholars watch a video featuring journalists who covered the civil rights movement, then respond to questions on a viewing guide. The video features interviews with participants and original news footage from the 1950s and 1960s. In...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Facing History and Ourselves

Verifying Breaking News

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The attempts of journalists to verify the events surrounding the shooting of Michael Brown take center stage as individuals analyze three of the initial newspaper accounts of the story. The whole class discussion then focuses on the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Broadcasting the News Lesson 6

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students practice news reading at three words per second. They produce a news program while working as a team of reporters. They watch news clips of current reporters making a list of news reading tips. They play an online game that...

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