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Lesson Plan
Rockefeller Archive Center

Understanding Mass Media News

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
In an age of fake news and photoshopped images, it is vital that 21st century learners development the skills they need to evaluate mass media and assess its validity. A great way to launch such a study is with a carefully crafted lesson...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fighting Fake News

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Fake news. Alternative facts. Internet trolls. In an age of Newspeak, it's increasingly important to equip 21st century learners with the skills needed to determine the legitimacy of claims put forth on social media, in print, and in...
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Lesson Plan
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Facing History and Ourselves

#IfTheyGunnedMeDown

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
As part of their continued investigation of the reporting of the shooting of Michael Brown class members analyze photos of Michael Brown and the social media response to these images. The class then develops a guide they believe news...
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Lesson Plan
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Facing History and Ourselves

The Power of Images

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
One picture but a thousand stories. As a part of a case study of how the death of Michael Brown was reported by professional news sources and on social media class members examine the reactions of various groups to a photograph taken by...
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Lesson Plan
Media Smarts

Perceptions of Youth and Crime

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Explore the potential for bias in the news and in scholars' own attitudes and opinions. Begin with a quiz on youth crime to see how learners perceive crime among their peers. After looking at the correct answers, put individuals in...
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Lesson Plan
PBS

Amid Rising Economic Inequality, Does America Need a Third Reconstruction?

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Young political scientists investigate the Poor People's Campaign protest held in Washington, D.C., on June 18, 2022. They research how the event was reported in various news outlets and consider their stance on whether "poverty is...
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Lesson Plan
Anti-Defamation League

Is Olympic Coverage Sexist?

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Women Olympians have come a long way since 1900 when 22 women competed for the first time. News coverage of the Olympics has also changed dramatically. What has been slow to change, however, is the language used in the coverage of female...
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Lesson Plan
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Facebook

Metadata

For Teachers 9th - 12th
In previous lessons, young journalists learned about how to trace the original source of scrapes and memes. This interactive lesson plan teaches them another important step in the verification process. Participants learn how to analyze...
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Activity
News Literacy Project

News Goggles: Newsroom Lingo Review

For Teachers 7th - Higher Ed
Learn how to talk like a journalist. Throw around jargon like "lede" and "nut graf." A 20-slide presentation introduces viewers to words and phrases heard in the fast-paced newsroom.
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Lesson Plan
PBS

Decoding Media Bias

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Alternative facts? After watching the We The Voters film, "MediOcracy," viewers compare how cable news outlets CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC report the same story about politics or public policy. After a whole-class discussion of their...
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Lesson Plan
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Teaching Tolerance

Racial Disparity in the Criminal Justice System

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Explore the impact of the war on drugs in a thought-provoking lesson for high school academics. Young historians delve into the world of the criminal justice system and the racial disparity that occurs in the US. The resource provides...
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Lesson Plan
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Encyclopedia Britannica

Candidate Flip-Flop or Evolution?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Beware political rhetoric! Connotation is everything! Groups select a presidential candidate and investigate how the candidate's position has changed on a specific issue. After analyzing the situation, the group determines whether they...
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Lesson Plan
Constitutional Rights Foundation

Understanding Fake News

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Fake or fact? Learners must decide while looking at two published "news" stories. A reading about why fake news exists and a checklist on how to evaluate sources rounds out the activity. 
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Lesson Plan
Stanford University

Hurricane Katrina

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The adage says that journalism is the first draft of history. How should people evaluate these sources of information? Taking into account various sources, including those from various perspectives and different creators, learners...
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Lesson Plan
National Woman's History Museum

African American Activists

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Ida B. Wells, Rosa Parks, and Fannie Lour Hammer are three African American activists who stood up for change. Though living in different time periods, all three women sought justice and equality. Class members examine primary source...
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Lesson Plan
PBS

The Media and the War: The Penny Press, Walt Whitman and the War

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The Mexican-American war marked a significant moment in United States history, as well as in the history of American media. The mid-nineteenth century saw the introduction of the Penny Press, which provided many American citizens with...
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Lesson Plan
Facing History and Ourselves

The Nazis in Power: Propaganda and Conformity

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The Nazis used the power of propaganda to encourage confirmative views and the discrimination of Jews. A social studies resource illustrates these issues through discussion, image analysis, and a writing exercise.
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Unit Plan
American Press Institute

Creating a Classroom Newspaper

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Hot off the press: a mini-unit for class members to create their own newspaper. Complete with graphic organizers, extension activities, and helpful learning targets that teach parts of a newspaper, the resource contains everything needed...
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Lesson Plan
American Press Institute

Media Literacy: Where News Comes From

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
What actually happens at a press conference? Make sense of the mayhem with a mock press conference activity designed to promote media literacy. Individuals participate as either members of the press or the governor's office to examine...
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Lesson Plan
Southern Poverty Law Center

Analyzing How Words Communicate Bias

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Words are powerful ... can your class choose them wisely? Scholars evaluate news articles to discover the concepts of tone, charge, and bias during a media literacy lesson plan. The resource focuses on recognizing implicit information...
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Lesson Plan
Southern Poverty Law Center

Evaluating Online Sources

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
All sources are pretty much the same, right? If this is how your class views the sources they use for writing or research projects, present them with a media literacy lesson on smart source evaluation. Groups examine several articles,...
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Lesson Plan
iCivics

Lesson 3: Bias

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How do journalists balance bias and ethical reporting? The final lesson in a series of five from iCivics examines the different types of bias and how they affect the news we read. Young reporters take to the Internet to find examples of...
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Lesson Plan
iCivics

Lesson 2: Misinformation

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Fake news is a hot topic right now ... but what is it? Intrepid young investigators track down the facts that separate journalistic mistakes and misinformation through reading, research, and discussion. Part three in a five-lesson series...
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Lesson Plan
Advocates for Human Rights

Migrants in the Media

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Class members examine two documents—The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and The Rights of Migrants in the United States—and then use reports in the media to assess how well the US is doing in ensuring these rights.