Newseum
Civil Rights: Knowns and Unknowns
Class members generate a list of research questions to review the civil rights movement and determine what scholars still need to learn. Groups then select a different compelling question, create a hypothesis and find evidence to support...
Newseum
Photo Ethics: News Independence
Young journalists read a case study about an annual school tradition of a streaker running across the football field after the homecoming game. Small groups then decide whether or not to cover the story and whether or not to include a...
Newseum
Breaking News: Tracing the Facts
Breaking news reports can be short of facts. Young journalists select a pair of news articles about a disaster; one published within hours of the event and the second published the following day. They examine whether facts in the report...
Newseum
Before and After: Analyzing Turning Points in History
Scholars examine front-page news stories to gather evidence about significant historical events. They hypothesize how these events changed people's lives who lived through them and how they continue to impact lives today.
Newseum
Introduction to the First Amendment: What’s a Violation?
Young historians take an in-depth look at the five freedoms granted by the First Amendment. Groups apply their knowledge of the freedoms to a series of scenarios to decide if the depicted actions represent a violation of the amendment.
Newseum
The Women Who Made the Movement
Granting women the right to vote was a long time coming and took many efforts. Young historians select one woman involved in the suffrage movement to research. They compare and contrast the depictions of their subject in mainstream and...
Newseum
News About My Community
After researching statistics about their community in local census reports, young journalists interview a resident about their interests and then analyze a local newspaper or homepage to see how similar the stories are to the residents'...
Newseum
The First Amendment in Action Today
Young activists research a community issue and apply the rights defined in the First Amendment to develop a proposal that would solve the issue—using Pinterest's board "The Freedom to Make A Change Posters" as examples, groups design a...
Newseum
Is This Story Share-Worthy?
Young journalists use a "Is This Story Share-Worthy?" flowchart graphic to decide whether a story is worth sharing online. Instructors provide groups with fake news, poor quality stories, opinion pieces, biased news, and high-quality...
Newseum
Making a Change: Letter From Birmingham Jail
Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter From Birmingham Jail" was written in response to "A Call for Unity," written by eight white ministers from Birmingham and published in the local newspaper. After reading both letters and following a list...
Newseum
You Can't Say That in School? The Case of Lee v. Weisman
The Supreme Court case Lee v. Weisman is the focus of a activity that examines religion in public schools. After reading a summary of the case and before reading the verdict, pupils use their knowledge of the First Amendment to discuss...
Newseum
Confronting Conformation Bias
Be curious! Seek out different opinions! Be conscious of your thinking process! After reading an article about confirmation bias and motivated reasoning, class members apply these strategies to the topic of school start times. They read...
Newseum
Stereotypes: Identifying One Form of Bias
Class members brainstorm a list of people in the news (immigrants, millennials, etc.). Teams then select one to research. Using the provided worksheet and guided by a list of questions, the teams examine the stereotypes in news reports...
Newseum
Battle for the Bill of Rights: Ultimate Survivor Amendment Game
To understand the importance of the wording of the articles of the First Amendment (freedom of religion, freedom of speech and the press, and freedom to assembly and petition), teams argue before a jury for draft amendments of one...
National Park Service
Remembering Pearl Harbor: The USS Arizona Memorial
Young historians use primary source materials to investigate the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor and the sinking of the USS Arizona. After reading background articles and studying maps and images of the attack, class members consider whether...
PBS
Pearl Harbor and the Internment of Japanese Americans during World War II
Balancing national security and civil liberties can be tricky. To appreciate the tension between these two concepts, class members investigate the Japanese attack on the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor and President Franklin D....
Newseum
Explore the Information Universe
Distinguishing among different types of content when conducting online searches can be a challenge. An informative resource helps researchers identify different types of content, from fact-based reports to ads, from propaganda to satire....
Newseum
Am I Being Fair?
Young journalists use four strategies from an "Am I Being Fair?" tip sheet to check for and counter personal biases about a topic. Scholars apply the strategies to an article about the best pizza as guided practice. Participants then...
Newseum
Weighing the Arguments
To understand how personal perspectives can affect policy and politics, scholars examine the woman suffrage media map and historical artifacts to analyze arguments for and against women's suffrage. Class members then take on the role of...
British Council
Love Poems
Language learners write down the words to a song as they listen to it. They then work in groups to write a love poem using the words and phrases they wrote from the song. As a culminating activity, scholars read their poems to the class.
British Council
Drawing Dictation
Scholars give drawing dictations to practice using prepositions of place correctly. They work in groups, taking turn dictating and drawing. Learners then receive a picture they have not seen and write directions to accompany the image.
British Council
World Book Day
Scholars discover information about World Book Day. Working in pairs, learners read a text about the special day, and then write about their own favorite book. To finish, pupils complete worksheets and a crossword puzzle about World Book...
British Council
Online Safety for Teenagers
Safety in a cyber world is complex but important. Scholars review ways to stay safe online by first writing words given by the teacher. Learners analyze the words to guess the topic of the lesson plan. They then read an online safety...
British Council
The Months of the Year
What month is it? Scholars work with a team and play a game to guess which month is described by given clues. While playing, pupils learn more about what makes each month different with a main focus being on the weather.