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What Is Media Literacy?

For Students 1st - 5th Standards
This web quest will ask students to read and think critically about some of the media sources they are familiar with. Students will look closely at the purposes of the different kinds of media, look at the techniques used to create the...
Unit Plan
University of Houston

University of Houston: The Journalist's Desk

For Students 2nd - 5th Standards
This site includes eleven brief newspaper stories. Students must identify the main idea of each short news story.
Website
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Ire: Investigative Reporters and Editors

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This non-profit group was created in 1975 as a networking tool for the exchange of ideas and attitudes concerning the quality of investigative reporting for the media. Site is newsletter-style with up-to-date information.
Website
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The News Tribune

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
The Tribune is the local daily newspaper publication for the city of Tacoma Washington. The Tribune includes section in news, both local and national, weather, sports, and business.
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Smekens: Integrate Information Across Diverse Media Formats

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
Read about strategies to help students integrate information across diverse media formats. Includes video. [4:18]
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Better Lesson

Better Lesson: Avoiding Plagiarism and Citing Sources

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
In this scaffolded lesson, students engage in practice with determining whether or not research has been plagiarized. A short video demonstration is included. [03:44] This lesson addresses all three College and Career Readiness Standards...
Handout
W. W. Norton

W. W. Norton: The Research Essay: Integrating Source Material Into the Essay

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Information about integrating source material into an research essay. SL.11-12.2 Eval&Integrate sources
Lesson Plan
Lumen Learning

Lumen: Boundless Communications: Preparing Sensory Enhancements

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This site provides four links to information about the effective use of sensory enhancements such as audio visual to your speeches. These include the do's of using sensory enhancements, the don'ts of using sensory enhancements, design...
Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Read Write Think: Creating Magazine Covers to Summarize Texts

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
In this lesson, students will examine the ways in which a magazine cover's headlines and graphics express the main ideas of its articles. They will then use an interactive tool to create covers that summarize chapters of informational...
Article
The Washington Post

Washingtonpost: Rewriting the Rules

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Washington Post article dealing with ethics and guidelines of journalists reporting hard news. Provides material for debate and discussion. Interesting article.
Activity
Scholastic

Scholastic: Write Your Own Flight Story

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
Online writing prompt for young journalists to-be. Excellent for diagnostic or even more advanced teaching of journalism.
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Newspapers in Education

Ni Eonline: Cartoons for the Classroom: Cartoon Analysis Worksheet [Pdf]

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
Newspapers in Education and the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists developed this worksheet as a classroom handout to aid lessons in dissecting the visual and verbal messages of political cartoons.
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Newswriting for Radio

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Students and writers can get pointers on improving writing skills for newscasts. Click through all the tabs to get the most out of this tutorial. This site also links to other radio journalism websites.
Website
Other

Ten Rhetoric of War Writing Projects

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Created by a teacher responding to the events in Kosovo, this list is a great start for a media literacy class project. Good discussion-starting questions are included with each item on the list. Requires some independent research to...
Handout
Other

Snn Newsroom: Reporter's Toolbox: Writing Editorials and Columns

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
Advice and examples of editorial and feature column writing, along with an explanation of the role that editorial writers and columnists fill. Explains how to structure this type of writing in order to present clear arguments.
Activity
Other

Media Education Foundation: Deconstructing an Advertisement [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Outline of the steps involved and the questions to ask in critically assessing a print advertisement.
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History Buff: History of Newspapers in 1930's Chicago

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
First-person recount of how journalism and the papers were affected by outside forces in the 1930s. One focus is on circulation, delivery, and problems faced because of crime.
Lesson Plan
McREL International

Mid Continent Research for Education and Learning: Deconstructing Media Messages

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
This brief lesson plan focuses on the roles that many different people play in the creation of media messages and advertising.
Unit Plan
TES Global

Blendspace: Evaluating Sources

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
A seven-part learning module with links to texts, videos, slides, and a quiz to use while learning how to evaluate research sources.
Whiteboard
ClassFlow

Class Flow: Features of a Newspaper

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
[Free Registration/Login Required] A flipchart that examines the way in which newspapers and articles are constructed. The end of the flipchart focuses specifically on the battle of Glencoe, but the majority of the flipchart has much...
Whiteboard
ClassFlow

Class Flow: Evaluate Site

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
[Free Registration/Login Required] This flipchart provides students with strategies for researching on the internet and how to tell if a resource is reputable. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.7
Lesson Plan
Other

Teaching Made Practical: Compare and Contrast a Book and Movie Activities

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
The book is always better, or is it? Students will compare and contrast a book and a movie using the critical thinking questions included on this site. Also included is a list of children's books that have been made into movies as well...
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CNN

Cnn: News or Entertainment?

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This article describes the controversy surrounding tabloid news shows looking for exemption from the TV rating system.
Handout
San Diego State University

Glossary of Journalism Terms

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
A brief glossary of terms that relate to journalism.