Curated OER
Life, Camera, Action
Students investigate the history, politics and culture of Somalia. They analyze media coverage and portrayal of the country. They focus on the role of media in reporting on Somalia and the current debate over the film Black Hawk Down.
Curated OER
Let the Truth Be Known
Learners explore authenticity in written works and the responsibilities of the media. They read two Holocaust accounts, one that is factual and one that was fabricated. They further examine, the importance of authenticity in the media.
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...
Kent State University
Teaching Ethics in Scholastic Journalism
Events in recent years have underscored the importance of a free and independent press in a democracy. Young journalists engage in lessons about the function of journalism in a democratic society, practice the steps of Bok's Ethical...
The New York Times
Should Anthony Weiner Resign?
The news regarding congressional representative Anthony D. Weiner's scandalous online communications was a hot-button topic in public media in 2011. Use this article to review the timeline of events surrounding the situation, and then...
Curated OER
Media in Time
Tenth graders type a newsletter addressing selected historical events. The newsletter is typed in the present tense, as if they are reporting the event or events live. Students are graded on historical content, grammar, focus, and...
Curated OER
The Ad Campaign
Young scholars explore how political candidates use mass media to deliver their messages to voters. Focusing on specific issues in the upcoming election, students create television commercials representing different parties' views.
Star Wars in the Classroom
"Shakespeare and Star Wars": Lesson Plan Day 12
Class members compare the final 30 minutes of Lucas's Star Wars: A New Hope with Act V of Doescher's play, William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope and consider how the choice of media influences viewers' impression of the...
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...
Curated OER
Art of Illustration: N.C. Wyeth and Literacy
High school artists observe and research the illustrations and techniques of N.C. Wyeth. They read (and reread) stories and illustrate the texts using methods inspired by Wyeth's practice. Includes detailed instructional plan and useful...
Health Smart Virginia
How the Namuhs Learned to Be Content with Who They Are
Ninth graders consider how perceived standards of beauty influence body image as well as the relationship between body image and eating disorders. The class brainstorms traits the media presents as beauty standards for males and females,...
Curated OER
Watching the Clock: An activity to build media-savvy students
Students analyze time constraints on broadcast news. They apply data collecting and data display skills. They identify the difference between news progams and the evening news.
Curated OER
"Me" Resource
Learners elucidate themselves by writing up to six entries in different formats. Some formatting choices include a dictionary, encyclopedia, or atlas entry, a magazine article, a newspaper article, and a table of contents. Some...
Curated OER
Electronic Media
Students 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
Native American Images in the Media
Learners examine various images of Native Americans in the media. In groups, they create a list of present Native American stereotypes and what the media did to continue the stereotype. To end the instructional activity, they write in...
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.
Federal Reserve Bank
It's Your Paycheck
Beyond reading and arithmetic, one of the most important skills for graduating seniors to have is fiscal literacy and responsibility. Start them on the right financial track with nine lessons that focus on a variety of important personal...
Facing History and Ourselves
Verifying Breaking News
The attempts of journalists to verify the events surrounding the shooting of Michael Brown take center stage as individuals analyze three of the initial newspaper accounts of the story. The whole class discussion then focuses on the...
Facebook
Who Do You Want to Be?
Can posting art or music online lead to the career of your dreams? Inquisitive individuals consider their social media presence with a instructional activity from a series focusing on identity exploration and digital citizenship. Pairs...
Curated OER
School Counseling and Home Economics
Eighth graders demonstrate the ability to select and evaluate media. Apply appropriate skills to collect, organize and interpret data. They research a variety of ways to make correct career choices.
NPR
Can You Beat Cognitive Bias?
In a time of fake news, media manipulation, and Internet trolls, a resource equips learners with the tools they need to recognize and combat resources that are designed to appeal to our cognitive biases. Introduce learners to five...
Curated OER
A News Story of Your Own: Sentence and Lexical Variety
Given the two-sentence skeleton of a news story about a car theft/joy ride, budding writers create their own version of the story varying diction and sentence structure to heighten interest and complexity in their writing. Resource...
Social Media Toolbox
Twitter Time
Tweet all about it! Junior journalists explore the Twittersphere to determine its effectiveness as a news broadcasting tool in the 12th installment of the 16-part Social Media Toolbox. Participants follow and record their observations of...
Social Media Toolbox
Verification
When you're putting together a great story, you've got to consider the source! Scholars discover the dangers of errors in reporting during the 14th activity in a 16-part Social Media Toolbox series. Groups collaborate to create a source...