Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum
Pearl Harbor Activity #1: Newspaper or Radio Account
After listening to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "Day of Infamy" speech, young historians research information about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, possible motives for the attack, and the consequences of the attack. Scholars...
Facing History and Ourselves
Social Media and Ferguson
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...
Curated OER
This Just in! Nile Network News Update
Have your young reporters research contributions of the ancient Egyptians, draft scripts, and broadcast their stories live on the Nile Network News. Depending on class size and age, topics may be brainstormed or assigned. The detailed...
Curated OER
To Be or Not to Be
Students gather information about setting goals through a variety of activities. In this setting goals lesson, students view a PowerPoint that explains the outcomes of the project, take notes, interview a local business person, write a...
Curated OER
Weekly Current Events Podcasts
Students create a weekly current event podcast. In this podcast lesson, students find current events for the week and write out a script to explain this event. They add in music and sound effects and record their final product.
Curated OER
Lessons to be Learned: The Importance of Attribution, Accuracy, and Honesty
Students investigate real world examples of media law issues. In this media law instructional activity, students read Janet Cooke’s feature and respond to the writing. Students read articles by Stephen Glass to highlight facts in need of...
Curated OER
Comparing the Satellite and Broadcast Radio Landscapes
Learners research the development of satellite technology over the last 50 years students explain how the enactment of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 changed the rules for corporate ownership of multiple media outlets.
Social Media Toolbox
Social Media Usage
Is there a difference in the way organizations present news via social media and in print? The third in a series of 16 lessons from The Social Media Toolbox explores news outlets and their delivery methods. Groups follow a story for a...
Curated OER
British Army Recruitment
Read and discuss the vocabulary related to a news article about a new recruitment campaign for the British army. High schoolers read the article, define key vocabulary terms, identify suffixes from the article, and complete a variety of...
Facing History and Ourselves
#IfTheyGunnedMeDown
As part of their continued investigation of the reporting of the shooting of Michael Brown class members analyze photos of Michael Brown and the social media response to these images. The class then develops a guide they believe news...
Facing History and Ourselves
The Importance of a Free Press
"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?...
Facing History and Ourselves
The Power of Images
One picture but a thousand stories. As a part of a case study of how the death of Michael Brown was reported by professional news sources and on social media class members examine the reactions of various groups to a photograph taken by...
Curated OER
Constitution Week
Students prepare one-minute broadcasts about events leading to the writing of the Constitution and current issues in the next election. Students read their broadcasts on the school P.A. system each morning during Constitution Week.
Curated OER
Electronic Media
Pupils compare forms of electronic media. They watch a news broadcast and take notes on the content being conveyed. After viewing the broadcast, they read newspaper articles or news magazines to locate articles with similar content to...
Curated OER
Power and Impact of Radio as a Broadcast Medium
Students compare radio coverage of news events with coverage of 21st century new stories. They analyze various forms of media as they relate to news coverage. They write an essay comparing the impact of radio versus that of television
Newseum
Bias Through History: Analyzing Historical Sources
Young journalists use the E.S.C.A.P.E. (evidence, source, context, audience, purpose, and execution) strategy to evaluate historical and contemporary examples of bias in the news. The class then uses the provided discussion questions to...
Newseum
The Press and the Presidency: Friend or Foe? How the President Is Portrayed
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...
News Literacy Project
Fact-Check It!
Here's a lesson designed to help learners develop their digital verification skills. First, expert groups study specific digital verification skills, and in a jigsaw activity, share what they have learned with classmates. The jigsaw...
PBS
What Makes A Good Video Report?
As part of a media literacy unit, class members establish criteria for good video reporting, and practice giving both positive (warm) and constructive (cool) criticism.
Newseum
Breaking News: Tracing the Facts
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...
Newseum
Free Press Challenges Through History: Analyzing Historical Sources
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.
Curated OER
News Anchor
Students view selected clips from news programs, analyzing the volume, stress and pacing of the deliverance. They prepare and deliver a one-minute presentation based on a current news story.
Curated OER
Using the Commentaries in Class
Students examine language and communication by listening to a commentary radio show. In this communications lesson, students listen to Michael Josephson's radio broadcast using the Internet and analyze his words and their meaning....
Curated OER
"And That's The Way It Is..." Today in History
Learners research an event in history from different perspectives. They discuss the characteristics of a nightly news broadcast and create their own based on the history event they researched. They work together to produce this...