Encourage your pupils to think critically about media and the messages media portrays. Starting off with a quick-write about pop culture, this assignment launches into a hands-on, collaborative collage project. After creating collages,...

Commercial advertising—we can't get away from it, but do we realize just how often we are being advertised to? With this lesson, scholars analyze mass media to identify how its techniques influence our daily lives. Learners browse...

A 14-slide presentation showcases a social media post featuring Disney's Elsa from the movie, Frozen. The seemingly harmless post received lots of attention, raising the question, how do we know posts are factual? Scholars go through...

Given all the recent criticism of the news media and coverage, it's crucial that young people are given the tools they need to evaluate what they see, hear, and read about current events. A video interview from "News Goggles" introduces...

Integrate history, math, and art into a study of The Grapes of Wrath with a series of activities that ask learners to investigate the social, political, economic, and environmental factors at play during the 1930s. Designed to be used...

At what point does data switch from being an outlier to part of the average? Scholars view conflicting news articles about protesters. They must decide which, if any, side is using the correct sample to draw their conclusions. It's a...

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...

The burning questions is at what point do readers of Fahrenheit 451 recognize the many literary devices Ray Bradbury employs in his dystopian classic that warns of  a society that uses media to indoctrinate the public and denigrates...

Develop an understanding of how the media and society are connected and responsible for the defense of universal human rights. Learners investigate and examine the conflicts of police brutality as it is portrayed in the media and through...

Social media and United States history combine as your young historians design a Facebook page for two major defendants of landmark Supreme Court cases. The resource includes a detailed rubric for research and page design, as well as a...

Though often used in shows of patriotism, Bruce Springsteen's 1985 song "Born in the U.S.A." is critical of America's role in the Vietnam war and its treatment of American veterans. High schoolers analyze the song's lyrics in an activity...

Hook your class into an exploration of and discussion about violence in video games with a cute animal clip and a video game trailer. After a quick discussion about how media can affect mood, class members read a related article and...

Students work cooperatively in groups to research a topic of their choice. They create a multimedia presentation of the information researched. Throughout the project they generate their own progress journals.

A critical look into the structure and function of ecosystems is here for young learners as a series of lessons and worksheet activities. Topics covered include land-based and marine ecosystems, connections to the water cycle, food...

One way to get your class to evaluate and synthesize multiple multimedia sources is through a research project. The idea here is that class members will watch videos and listen to scientific debates in order to create a casebook about...

Help your pupils find some direction with a career research project. Individuals research three careers, using the included graphic organizers to record their findings. They then create a visual aid on a computer and present their...

Everybody's a critic—even your pupils! Using the included resources as a guide, screen films related to social justice and ask film enthusiasts to critique them. Publish the reviews for your school community or develop a film festival...

Get young people thinking about their lives and current topics of social justice, advocacy, gender, race, and identity. After examining several works by Barbara Kruger, participants select a tag with one of the questions printed on it,...

Wicked is not just a Tony Award winning broadway musical. It also makes for a strong base to teach character education, specifically anti-bullying. Scholars listen, discuss, role play, and show what they know through a group...

The Roosevelt family was one of the most influential and prominent political forces in the 20th century, leaving behind a wide-ranging legacy of conservation, progressivism, and economic growth. Learn more about President Theodore...

From the time of its publication, Uncle Tom's Cabin has been controversial. To better understand the debate, class members first examine a broadside decrying the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, and then two newspaper reviews of the...

What do cereal, fog, and space shuttles have to do with newspapers? A collection of science investigations encourage critical thinking using connections to the various parts of the newspaper. Activities range from building origami seed...

The Cay has been criticized by groups such as the Council on Interracial Books for Children because of the way race is portrayed. Explore the argument against the book while taking the author's perspective into account. Class members...

Explore self and social construction with a hands-on art project. After studying and discussing bullying and other social experiences, individuals create three paper dolls that represent specific social constructions. Included here is a...