Facing History and Ourselves
Citizen Watchdogs and the News
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...
Curated OER
Fighting Fake News
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...
Curated OER
Extra Credit: It’s No Fairy Tale
Students discuss their knowledge of payday loans and credit cards. In this Economics lesson, students complete a read an article and Q&A activity in groups, and play a vocabulary bingo game and a quiz game on payday loans. Students...
The New York Times
Evaluating Sources in a ‘Post-Truth’ World: Ideas for Teaching and Learning about Fake News
The framers of the United States Constitution felt a free press was so essential to a democracy that they granted the press the protection it needed to hold the powerful to account in the First Amendment. Today, digital natives need to...
University of Minnesota
Mirroring Emotions
Do you ever give your class the "teacher look"? Without saying a word, they become silent and engaged (hopefully). How do they know what you're thinking? Explore the concept of nonverbal communication and how it relates to our mirror...
Curated OER
Printing and Publishing
Explore African literature and artwork in a multicultural literacy and art instructional activity. Begin with a read aloud of Tiger and the Big Wind: A Tale from Africa, and afterward, have kids retell the main events in the story. They...
Curated OER
Eastside Literacy Reading Lesson - Fact or Opinion
Analyze critical thinking skills that involve the ability to distinguish between fact and opinion through self-reflection. Higher education students will collect a newspaper article, advertisement, magazine article, tabloid article,...
Curated OER
Favorite Sports and Athletes: an Introduction to Sports Media
Even young children watch sports and like team logos and products. It's never too early to think critically about what's onscreen. This exercise develops awareness that media communicate values (i.e. who participates in sports and who...
Curated OER
Convey Ideas in Writing
Use the platforms of the 2004 presidential candidates to bring persuasive writing to your class. Young voters identify the three issues most important to them in the election and research the issues and candidates' positions. They write...
Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 12: Story Event
Focus on plot and the impact-specific events in The Cay. Class members use their double-entry journals, created in a previous lesson in this series, to record their thinking about the guiding question as they read chapters 15 through 17....
Curated OER
Shaking the Movers: Youth Rights and Media
Children have rights! Exploring those rights and using media to express those rights is the focus of this Media Awareness Network lesson. Although some of the law links reflect the Canadian Articles of The Convention, the majority of the...
Curated OER
Understanding Library Skills: The Dewey Decimal System
Cyber Dewey? Dewey Made Fun? Do the Dewey Game? After a librarian-led tour of the school library and an explanation of the Dewey Decimal System, class members use the Internet to access MAGNOLIA, a site with resources devoted to library...
Curated OER
The Gift of Gatsby
A reading of “Gatsby’s Green Light Beckons a New Set of Strivers,” a New York Times article by Sara Rimer, triggers a discussion of the American Dream and what it means to strive for something. Following the discussion, class members...
Curated OER
Literacy Activity: The Perfect Pet
Students develop their listening skills as they listen to the book The Perfect Pet. In this reading lesson, students listen to the book, and then talk about the pets they have. Then they make a graph as a class of all their pets.
Curated OER
Civil War Photographs: What Do You See?
A study of an image from The Library of Congress collection Civil War Photographs 1861-1865 launches an investigation of the connection between the Civil War and American industrialization. After analyzing “Petersburg, Va. The...
Curated OER
ICT/Literacy
Deepen understanding of email correspondence. Begin by tapping into prior experience with email and word processing. Learners then send emails to one another, practicing attaching images and copying and pasting their work into a word...
Curated OER
A'planting We will Go
Germination is an amazing process that results in amazing things. The book The Tiny Seed is the inspiration for a set of activities that will help build early literacy, observation, language, and writing skills. The class observes how...
Texas Center for Learning Disabilities
First-Grade Intervention
Learning how to read is a big challenge for young learners, but this series of lessons provides them with the extra support they need to succeed. With each lesson following the a clearly outlined format, children are introduced to new...
Curated OER
Darfur: Violence and the Media
Learners read an article on Darfur prior to class, discuss the conflict in Darfur, visit a series of websites, and complete a worksheet evaluating the reporting and sources used. They view films on genocide to decide if the Darfur...
Curated OER
Two Truths and a Lie: Internet Research Skills
It's tough for high schoolers to assess what is a credible resource and what is not. A helpful resource prompts class members to research a particular topic and record two facts—and create one lie—while documenting the sources. They then...
Curated OER
Home Living / Daily Living: Labels on Food Products
Everybody needs to know how to make healthy choices when it comes to food. Understanding food labels is the first step. Using empty food packaging, you'll discuss what food labels are, what information can be found on them, and how to...
Appalachian State University
The Fault in Our Stars: A Movie Study Guide for Eighth Grade Language Arts, Social Studies, and Science
How would you spend your last days with a loved one? The movie guide for The Fault in Our Stars prompts scholars to compare important scenes from the novel to the film and contains background information about the author, guided...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
A Century of Plastics
After reading about polymer materials, engineer trainees examine how plastics have been integrated into everyday products. In groups, they compile a list of products made entirely without plastics and then, as a closing activity, try to...
Curated OER
Vocabulary and Concept Development
Considering a lesson on Greek and Latin roots and affixes? The Latin roots bas and pos, and the Greek root bas are the focus on a colorful, animated presentation that will engage your learners and provide guided and independent practice...