An essential skill for 21st-century learners is to know how to find reliable sources of information. Two activities help high schoolers learn how to determine the reliability of health-related news from websites, TV, magazines, or...

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...

It only takes three colors. Using three-colored glow sticks, pupils observe what happens when colors of light mix together. Learners use the material from a red, green, and blue glow stick to mix together. By mixing small amount of the...

Change may be slow in coming, but things do change. Oprah Winfrey and Black Entertainment Television CEO, Robert L. Johnson, discuss the opportunities available to them due to the efforts of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other civil...

A set of 14 primary sources provides background for a study of Lorraine Hansberry's drama, A Raisin in the Sun. Featured are images from stage productions of the play, white supremacy protests, a clip from a television interview, and...

Jump at the chance to use the idea of rates. Young mathematicians watch part of a clip of a Japanese TV show where a contestant jumps rope as fast as possible. They use the data for the number of jumps and the number of seconds shown in...

Teamwork makes the dream work! Learners work in groups to analyze pages 2-9 of The Boy Who Invented TV, The Story of Philo Farnsworth. They complete a first read to determine the gist and a second read to identify main idea and...

Learners continue their work in The Boy Who Invented TV by examining pages 14-17. They work together to determine the gist of the section during a first read then complete a second read to make inferences, create a summary, and...

Turn on the tube. Learners take a look at pages 10-13 of The Boy Who Invented TV. They work in groups and complete a first read to determine the gist of the section. They then reread the pages to  make and revise previous...

Journalists are supposed to adhere to a Code of Ethics. To determine the degree to which reporters follow this code, individuals select three recent stories with photographs from newspapers, magazines, online news sites, or television...

A lesson puts a spotlight on becoming a good friend. After pointing out TV friendships, scholars listen to several scenarios and discuss whether the characters exhibit good or bad friendly behaviors. Learners reflect on the...

Before cell phones, tablets, and computers with access to YouTube, before gleaming multiplexes and even before television, there were small theaters with Saturday night black and white movies. Alberto Ríos's poem "When There Were Ghosts"...

Upper graders take a critical look at art criticism, music, and politics. They watch one segment of "True Spin," produced by VH1 music television and then discuss myths that relate to art and music. Several modern songs are analyzed...

Eighth graders are exposed to different types of media in order to investigate the tendency of being exposed to a set of values that run contrary to conservative values. They role play a television program in order to communicate the...

Fifth graders review definitions of bullying and harassment, respond to real-life bullying scenario from news, television, or movie, brainstorm possible solutions and consequences for negative behavior, and discuss how their peers...

Several real-world problems are posed as a way to learn about vector fields in order to make some predictions after analyzing the data. The main problem comes from the tv show NUMB3RS and is based on solving a crime where a body has...

Sixth graders analyze plot conflict with science fiction and TV programs. After discussing the conflict, they identify solutions for the programs selected. They examine Only You Can Save Mankind for conflict, and consider ways the...

This New York Times Learning Network exercise provides a cloze exercise along with a word bank that readers can use to complete the passage about the television show, "The Voice" and Jermaine Paul, a recent winner. Another option is...

Do you like history? Tamales? Watching the television? Practice using the verb gustar and identify the things you like and the things that don't interest you. Then ask your friends if the topic interests or bores them. 

Teens, dating, relationships, breaking up, what's appropriate dating behavior? Go through this PowerPoint presentation and discuss all of these things and more. Too often, teens are not sure what's appropriate and what's inappropriate...

Does watching TV increase one's blood pressure? Assess student understanding of how study design dictates whether a conclusion of causation is warranted. Use this as a prompt for a small group or whole class discussion, or as a part of a...

Discuss media stereotypes with your emerging consumers. They view a television program to identify gender bias. After discussing the clip as a class, each learner writes a story showing more equitable roles. Or consider having them...

Do you know what a fallacy is? Discuss this term and its meaning with your class. Then, talk about why making generalizations about a large group of people isn't the best thing to do. As a group, study the included letter excerpt. It...

Students read and discuss the literary elements of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" by C.S. Lewis. They explore the elements of dramatic performance and create a TV news program based on life in Narnia. They videotape their...