Curated OER
News or Propaganda?
What is considered news vs. propaganda? Learners will discuss objectivity and press responsibility while exploring these two concepts. They work in small groups to explore the article in-depth, guided by reading comprehension and...
Curated OER
Beyond Media Messages: Media Portrayal of Global Issues
Take a close look at news reporting techniques and global issues. Begin by creating a graphic representation of developing nations and defining the term. After class discussion, the second day's activities pick up by deconstructing news...
Curated OER
Information Overload: Looking at News
How do events reported in mainstream newspapers, on television news, blog posts, and social network sites differ? Ask your class to investigate the way the same news item is presented in the many information sources available. Groups...
Curated OER
The American Press and the
Students read and analyze newspaper accounts of Holocaust-related items in various WWII newspapers. They discuss the physical placement of Holocaust-related news items to other news items in the same paper.
Curated OER
Is Social Media a Trustworthy News Outlet?
Examine the role of social media in social and political uprisings. Pupils listen to NPR audio clips about social media and the Arab Spring and read an article that proposes the idea that revolution will not happen through social media....
Curated OER
Beyond Media Messages: Media Portrayal of Global Development
Students discuss global development and create a graphic representation of the discussion. In this media analysis instructional activity, students deconstruct disaster coverage by reading articles and identifying missing information....
Curated OER
Freedom of the Press Around the World
Students research press freedoms in various countries such as Iran and North Korea. They create a freedom of the press report card for the countries examined.
Curated OER
Stonewall and Beyond: Gay and Lesbian Issues
Help learners understand their own biases and how their perspectives may have been influenced by biased media sources. They keep a journal while viewing videos, exploring websites, and engaging in class discussions related to gay and...
PBS
Be the Press: Local Interviews, National News
High school learners research an issue that is important to them and apply the research to write a newspaper article. After thoroughly researching their topic, students strengthen research, analyzation, and writing skills, by generating...
Curated OER
Finding and Authenticating Online Information on Global Development Issues
Learners discover how to find authoritative resources. In this research skills lesson, students examine strategies for using the Internet effectively to research global development issues.
Curated OER
A Free and Open Press: Evaluating the Media
Students compare and critically evaluate the different media as sources of news, develop criteria for defining "news", experience the editorial process of selecting news stories and detect bias in news reporting.
Curated OER
Race to the Presses
Students explore how the news media relays information about race in the United States by creating collages from newspapers and magazines and by sharing their reflections about the responsibilities of the news media in covering...
Curated OER
Are We Scaring Ourselves to Death?
Interesting! Have your high schoolers watch this 13-minute clip from the documentay, "Are We Scaring Ourselves to Death?" It examines the fear we have as a culture about death and whether or not the media increases those fears. The focus...
Curated OER
Media Literacy Skills
You're on camera! Third graders find a news story and research it to get more information. Everyone uses their found information to write a script and create their own news broadcast!
Curated OER
Stamps are Making News
Students analyze the cost of mailing a letter since 1917, then read a news article about the increasing stamp price and new Star Wars stamps that will be available. In this current events lesson, the teacher introduces the article with a...
Curated OER
Media Coverage
Students research news coverage to examine how a local issue does not receive fair attention in the news. In this new coverage lesson, students discuss where they get their information and why some issues are ignored. Students research a...
Curated OER
Getting the Word Out: From Gutenberg's Press to Zines
Students examine the effects of Gutenberg's printing press on the world. Using this information, they create their own Zines or internet magazines about a social issue of their choice. They share their magazine with the class for...
NOAA
Stressed Out!
Are our oceans really suffering due to the choices humans make? The sixth and final installment in the volume of activities challenges research groups to tackle one of six major topics that impact ocean health. After getting to the...
Social Media Toolbox
Law Review
How can your journalism class ensure they use social media responsibly and legally? The sixth lesson in a 16-part Social Media Toolbox series asks pupils to dig deep into the legal aspects of social media use by school publications....
Curated OER
Keeping News Trustworthy
Students analyze media sources. In this media awareness activity, students consider media outlets as businesses and discuss how they present information. Students keep media logs and analyze selected newspapers, magazines. or television...
US House of Representatives
Hispanic-American Members of Congress in the Civil Rights Era, 1945–1977
Debates around immigration in the news are not new, but they are a defining feature of the Hispanic American experience throughout the twentieth century. Looking through the lens of Hispanic Americans in Congress, class members explore...
Curated OER
Media Literacy: TV - What You Don't See!
Students examine how to evaluate what they are watching on television. They discuss hip hop music videos, compare/contrast them to other types of music videos, write a letter or press release about promoting positive teen stories, and...
Curated OER
Kids' Newsbreaks
Group learners together to identify a question relating to an issue and create a 60-second kids news break highlighting information that begins to answer the question. They research and answer issue questions in a news story format.
Penguin Books
An Educator’s Guide to Chraisma by Jeanne Ryan
Often, science fiction makes a lot of connections to real life. An educator's guide for the novel Charisma by Jeanne Ryan, has readers discuss many of the real-life issues that come in the text. A brief summary helps garner interest in...