Odell Education
Making Evidence-Based Claims: Grade 8
New ReviewAmerican women have been working toward equal rights since the ink dried on the Declaration of Independence. Focused on the words and actions of Sojourner Truth, Shirley Chisholm, and Venus Williams, a language arts lesson takes eighth...
iCivics
NewsFeed Defenders Extension Pack
Accuracy, transparency, trustworthiness, and impartiality are four unspoken rules of journalism. Scholars delve deep into the subject by discussing the pros and cons of relying on social media for news. They also play an online game to...
Curated OER
Youth Emergency Preparedness
What is an emergency, why is preparing for one important, and how can your pupils help others prepare for an emergency? Answer these questions and more with a short unit. Learners will participate in a variety of collaborative,...
K20 LEARN
Something's Rotten In The City Of Verona: Information Literacy
Data is a powerful tool that your class can use for both good and evil! Help your classes become knowledgeable consumers of information through a game-based exploration. Learners examine a method of determining the reliability of a...
K20 LEARN
Alienstock: Analyzing Information, Media, And Validity
One only has to watch MSMBC and FOX News to realize that media can present the same story in very different ways. Middle schoolers have an opportunity to test their ability to determine the validity and trustworthiness of information by...
Newseum
Explore the Information Universe
Distinguishing among different types of content when conducting online searches can be a challenge. An informative resource helps researchers identify different types of content, from fact-based reports to ads, from propaganda to satire....
ReadWriteThink
Captioning the Civil Rights Movement: Reading the Images, Writing the Words
Scholars boost their knowledge of the Civil Rights Movement with a activity that challenges writers, readers, and historians to analyze primary sources and caption their observations. By way of reading, writing, discussion,...
Teaching Tolerance
Privacy and Security Online
Don't forget to dust for digital footprints! Scholars engage in a whole-class discussion about how digital footprints compromise online safety and privacy. Next, small groups create posters to illustrate what it looks like to follow...
Teaching Tolerance
Advertisements and You
Watch out for clever advertisements! Using the lesson, scholars learn how to identify online ads and respond to them critically. They then use what they've learned to develop a list of strategies to evaluate web pages.
Teaching Tolerance
Sensible Consumers
Girls like pink and boys like blue. Working in small groups, learners discuss stereotypes about children in advertisements. Then, scholars create their own manifestos about how they plan to respond to the consumer market they see in...
Teaching Tolerance
Understanding Online Searches
Discover what's behind an online search. Scholars read a handout and engage in discussions to learn how to critically evaluate online search results. Then, working in small groups, they create posters listing their demands for search...
Teaching Tolerance
Advertising on the Internet
Believe it or not, everyone plays a role in Internet advertising. Scholars explore the topic with a podcast about Internet advertising and personal identity. Next, partners plan and produce their own public service announcements to...
Teaching Tolerance
Evaluating Online Sources
Newspapers, television, social media ... how do people get their news? Using the informative resource, scholars locate and verify credible sources of information. Working in small groups, they discuss strategies for evaluating the...
Teaching Tolerance
Understanding and Evaluating Online Searches
With billions of options to choose from, how can people determine which online sources are reliable? Using an informative resource, pupils first discuss and evaluate a sample search result handout. Next, partners create a checklist for...
Teaching Tolerance
Understanding How Digital Information Comes to You
Google, Yahoo!, Bing ... so many choices, so little time! Using the resource, scholars explore how different search engines affect the way they find information. After reading a handout on the topic and engaging in small group...
News Literacy Project
Should You Share It?
Sharing isn't always caring. Scholars learn how to reduce the spread of misinformation on the Internet. They take an online quiz of example posts targeted to a specific audience. Using critical thinking skills, they see if they can tell...
News Literacy Project
Fighting Falsehoods on Social Media
It's time to stop misinformation in its tracks. Scholars take an online quiz to see how well they understand social media platforms' policies on spreading false information. After taking the quiz, pupils receive a score with an...
News Literacy Project
Story Explorers: Evaluate News Coverage
What makes an issue or event newsworthy? Scholars complete a K-W-H-L chart based on a recent news event. As they complete the chart, small groups collaborate to analyze coverage of the story or event.
News Literacy Project
News Judges
Order in the court! Scholars act as news judges, learning how to analyze the newsworthiness of several pieces of information. Working in small groups, they determine which events are most newsworthy and then complete graphic organizers...
News Literacy Project
InfoZones
Not all information is created equal. Scholars embark on a gallery walk around the classroom to view six examples of information and identify their primary purposes. Next, pupils complete a graphic organizer to evaluate the different...
Nemours KidsHealth
Media Literacy and Health: Grades 6-8
Internet suffers could drown in the volume of information available on line. Here's an activity that can be a lifeline and buoy confidence in middle schoolers' ability to find reliable information and credible sources. After reading...
PBS
How to Teach Your Students about Fake News
What media literacy skills do people need to evaluate a news source? Scholars listen to and discuss an NPR story about how fake headlines often dupe young people and adults alike. Next, they study news stories, using a fact-checking...
Tumblehome
Resisting Scientific Misinformation
How do scholars determine if a scientific claim is true? Learners investigate scientific misinformation by watching video clips and reading false advertising claims. They engage in discussion in both class and small group settings to...
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 lesson.