Curated OER
Is Social Media a Trustworthy News Outlet?
Examine the role of social media in social and political uprisings. Pupils listen to NPR audio clips about social media and the Arab Spring and read an article that proposes the idea that revolution will not happen through social media....
Facing History and Ourselves
Hands Up, Don't Shoot!
Why is it so difficult to develop a clear understanding of the events surrounding the shooting of Michael Brown by a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer? To answer this question class members listen to a NPR discussion of the findings of...
Teaching Tolerance
The Privacy Paradox
What's more important: privacy or convenience? Scholars consider the question as they take a digital privacy quiz and read a transcript of an NPR podcast about the privacy paradox. As a culminating activity, pupils develop a list of five...
Curated OER
Lesson: Looking Closer: The Artwork of Shinique Smith
A critical discussion regarding the nature of Shinique Smith's second-hand clothing art is the foundation for the instructional activity. Critical thinkers fully analyze the meaning behind her work, taking close consideration of where...
Pulitzer Center
Food Insecurity
Food insecurity, whether as a result of food scarcity or a lack of nutritious food, is a growing and serious problem in the world today. After discussing the concept of food insecurity, learners listen to an NPR radio broadcast on the...
Star Wars in the Classroom
"Shakespeare and Star Wars": Lesson Plan Days 13 and 14
How important are sound effects in films? In stage plays? In radio programs? To gain an understanding of the impact of these special effects, class members watch a short video spoof of the sound in a scene from Star Wars: A New...
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...
National Woman's History Museum
Ida B. Wells: Suffragist and Anti-Lynching Activist
Suffragette, investigative journalist, and civil rights activist Ida B. Wells is the focus of a lesson that has young historians study the work of this amazing woman. Scholars watch a video biography of Wells, read the text of her speech...
Curated OER
This I Believe
Students create a list of 100 beliefs they have. In this Civil War lesson students listen to the podcast 'This I Believe' on NPR about a little boy who was asked to bring 100 items to class to celebrate 100 days of school. Students then...
Curated OER
Becoming familiar with National Public Radio
Students listen to a National Public Radio program. They summarize the program, and write a script from a controversial newspaper article that could be a part of the NPR program they listened to.
North Carolina Civic Education Consortium
The Nineteenth Amendment
Beginning with an exercise of favoritism to engage learners, progressing through image and primary source analysis of the Nineteenth Amendment and the Seneca Falls Declaration, and culminating in a look at a political cartoon called...
State Bar of Texas
White v. Regester
One vote doesn't really matter, right? Class members investigate the concept of voter rights and restrictions using the 1973 Supreme Court case White v. Regester. They view a short video and work in pairs to analyze how people create...
Newseum
The Making of Fake News: A Case Study
"Fake News" (stories that are entirely fabricated/fictional) is the subject of a case study of the search for Jestin Coler, the creator of some of the most famous fake news stories. After reading NPR's investigative report, scholars...
NPR
Teaching Podcasting: Podcasting Overview
Listen up! After engaging in a discussion about podcasts, scholars listen to some examples of podcast episodes and radio shows. Next, listeners discuss the difference between scripted and question-and-answer podcasts.
NPR
Teaching Podcasting: Choosing a Topic
Pick a topic, any topic! Working in small groups, scholars choose three topics they think would make interesting podcasts. Next, each group shares their ideas with the class to narrow down their choices.
NPR
Teaching Podcasting: Planning the Story
Without structure, things fall apart. Scholars discuss the importance of structuring a podcast to tell a story that makes sense. They walk around the classroom, stopping at stations to answer questions on posters about planning their...
NPR
Teaching Podcasting: Brainstorming Sounds
Making a podcast requires a sound mind. Pupils listen to a variety of radio stories, making a note of the sounds they hear. Then, in small groups, learners devise a list of sounds they want to include in their podcasts.
NPR
Teaching Podcasting: Recording Practice
Time to record and upload! Working in small groups, scholars use recording devices to practice recording their voices, conversations, and sounds in the classroom. Pupils then upload their recordings onto a computer.
NPR
Teaching Podcasting: Interview Practice
Step aside, Barbara Walters! Using an interesting resource, pupils practice interviewing one another about something they are most proud of. As individuals listen, they record their partners' responses and then upload them onto a computer.
Curated OER
Plagiarism Workshop
What do George Harrison, Vanilla Ice, and Steven Ambrose all have in common? The Warner Brothers’ films Batman Forever and The Devil’s Advocate? All are guilty of plagiarism. And if you are considering a research project and want to...
Curated OER
Radioactive: An Interdisciplinary Study of Marie and Pierre Curie
Use this innovative text to show the far-reaching influence of the dynamic Curie couple
NPR
Distracted by Everything - Being Wired at All Times
This multimedia activity challenges media-savvy learners to look at the critical issue concerning the inundation of technology and multitasking in the classroom, and its effects on the education of themselves and others. The tasks...
Carolina K-12
Exploring the Electoral College
Does your vote really count? This activity helps young voters learn about the electoral college through a TED talk, a helpful handout, discussion prompts, and then a role-playing activity that has participants simulating an election on a...
Education World
Every Day Edit - National Public Radio
For this everyday editing worksheet, students correct grammatical mistakes in a short paragraph about the National Public Radio. The errors range from capitalization, punctuation, grammar, and spelling.