Southern Poverty Law Center
Analyzing How Words Communicate Bias
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. The resource focuses on recognizing implicit information and...
Teaching Tolerance
Using Photographs to Teach Social Justice | Exposing Gender Bias
Young sociologists are asked to read two photographs, identifying how the photographer uses point of view, color, pose, light, and shadow to express a stereotype of women or to challenge those stereotypes. Partners then create their own...
Curated OER
Where Are You Coming From?
Pupils examine and discuss author's purpose and the influence of an author's perspective in his or her writing. In groups, they read scenarios and respond to them from the perspective of a designated character. Materials are attached.
Curated OER
Marital Roles
Learners consider the differences between egalitarian and traditional marriages. They analyze a series of video clips and mid-century advertisements looking for evidence of gender bias in marriage. Feminism, gender roles for women and...
Idaho State Department of Education
Lessons for Social Studies Educators
Point of view, purpose, and tone: three concepts readers of primary and secondary source materials must take into account when examining documents. Class members view a PowerPoint presentation and use the SOAPS strategy to identify an...
Curated OER
Beyond Media Messages: Media Portrayal of Global Issues
Take a close look at news reporting techniques and global issues. Begin by creating a graphic representation of developing nations and defining the term. After class discussion, the second day's activities pick up by deconstructing news...
Curated OER
Slanted Sentences
Students examine biased words in news articles, suggest synonyms, then rewrite the sentences to demonstrate how word choice can alter meaning.
Curated OER
Using Primary Source Documents in the Classroom
Students use primary documents to explore the past. They consider the source of the documents and identify and biases that the author may have held. They identify any questions about the historical event that may remain after reading the...
Curated OER
Determining Point of View
Students examine web sites to determine point of view and bias in information sources. They determine the usefulness of information based on these biases or limitations.
Curated OER
The Power of Graphical Display: How to Use Graphs to Justify a Position, Prove a Point, or Mislead the Viewer
Analyze different types of graphs with learners. They conduct a survey and determine the mean, median and mode. They then identify different techniques for collecting data.
Curated OER
Speak Write! Understanding the Hidden Meaning of Words
Young scholars investigate connotation and denotation as a basis for greater examining of language. They identify the literal meaning of words and explore the greater implications and impact of word usage.
Curated OER
Dating Behaviors and Refusal Skills
Saying no to sex means an individual has the power to decide when he/she is ready to engage in the act, on his/her own terms. Pupils discuss waiting until they are married to have sex, what sexual values are, and how to say no to sexual...
Museum of Tolerance
Developing Media Literacy
To protect young people from questionable content, many schools limit access. This resource suggests that because learners can so readily avail themselves to unrestricted Internet access, it is vital for 21st century learners to develop...
Curated OER
HISTORICAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES ANALYSIS
Middle schoolers examine a variety of maps and documents to identify physical and cultural features of neighborhoods, cities, states, and countries, to explain the historical migration of people, expansion and disintegration of empires,...
Curated OER
Laurence Yep's Dragonwings
Students read independently the novel, "Dragonwings," by Laurence Yep and make connections between a text and the world. They summarize, paraphrase, analyze and evaluate skimming and scanning techniques when reading a novel. Each student...
Curated OER
Fact, Fiction, or Bad Memory
Learners identify bias in how the events of the Boston Massacre were reported. They attempt to determine who is to blame for the Boston Massacre by determining the reliability the of sources.
Curated OER
Is Charleston Your Lucky Charm?
Students determine what makes Charleston, West Virginia unique. In this West Virginia history lesson, students explore the West Virginia History Museum to identify why Charleston became the capitol of the state.
Curated OER
Dragonwings: Evaluate Chapters 10-12
As your class finishes the novel Dragonwings, use these culminating projects. A vocabulary list is given for chapters eleven and twelve and either an epitaph or letter activity concludes the book. The final project consists of creating a...
Curated OER
Friar Margil & The Spanish Missions
Students explore the life of Friar Margil de Jesus as well as other Spanish friars. They research Friar Margil and write a paragraph explaining why Spanish friars came to Texas. In groups, students create a PowerPoint presentation...
Curated OER
Checking Sources For Accuracy
Middle schoolers will paraphrase a resource without plagiarizing. Then rewrite after reading text. They then evaluate the site or reference they are using for accuracy. In the end, they complete a note-taking organizer.
Curated OER
Fact Or Opinion
Groups of junior highers find newspaper articles which contain both facts and opinions, and present examples of each to the class. The focus is on discerning between fact and opinion. Two excellent worksheets are embedded in the plan...
Curated OER
Choosing the Best Candidate
Who would win an election between Napoleon and Julius Caesar? Group your class up to analyze and discuss which of their given choices would make the best presidential candidate, given specific criteria. The potential candidate list...
Curated OER
Whose Buffalo?
Seventh graders examine how the Plains Indians vied with white commercial buffalo hunters for the millions of Great Plains buffalo. They create an illustrated broadside supporting the interests of either the Indians or the commercial...
Curated OER
Concern in East Virginia
Students investigate the statehood of West Virginia. In this lesson on statehood, students use primary sources to examine the separation of Virginia from Wes Virginia. The lesson incorporates a field trip as a means to put knowledge into...