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Lesson Plan
The New York Times

Evaluating Sources in a ‘Post-Truth’ World: Ideas for Teaching and Learning about Fake News

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
The framers of the United States Constitution felt a free press was so essential to a democracy that they granted the press the protection it needed to hold the powerful to account in the First Amendment. Today, digital natives need to...
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Lesson Plan
iCivics

NewsFeed Defenders Extension Pack

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Accuracy, transparency, trustworthiness, and impartiality are four unspoken rules of journalism. Scholars delve deep into the subject by discussing the pros and cons of relying on social media for news. They also play an online game to...
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Lesson Plan
California Department of Education

Plagiarism is Stealing!

For Teachers 9th Standards
Stop, thief! Do your pupils understand the consequences of plagiarism? Lesson three of six in a series of college and career readiness activities demonstrates the dangers of taking credit for someone else's work. Learners engage in...
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Unit Plan
American Press Institute

Introductory News Literacy

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Aspiring journalists learn about media literacy, journalism, and the press. Units come complete with handouts, assignment rubrics, notes, and extension suggestions. Each unit also comes with a list of vocabulary words and learning...
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Lesson Plan
Deliberating in a Democracy

Cyberbullying—Alternate Lesson Plan

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Should schools be permitted to punish young scholars for off-campus cyberbullying? After reading a passage that details statistics about cyberbullying and Supreme Court rulings about schools' ability to limit student speech, class...
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Lesson Plan
Media Education Lab

The Ethics of Propaganda

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
What are the short and long-term consequences for consumers and producers of modern media propaganda? Class members ponder this essential question as their unit study of ethics of propaganda concludes. After examining two case studies,...
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Lesson Plan
Media Education Lab

Understanding Viral Messages

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Imagine advertising for a product but not being paid to do so. Welcome to the world of Viral Messaging. Class members first view a T-Mobile flash mob video that went viral and has been seen by over 14 million viewers. After analyzing the...
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Lesson Plan
Media Education Lab

Propaganda in Context

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
"Board Game Helps Fight Real World Ebola," a video produced by Voice of America, provides the text for a guided instructional activity that asks viewers to analyze the propaganda techniques used in the video. Groups then select a example...
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Lesson Plan
Media Smarts

Authentication Beyond the Classroom

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
In an age of fake news, alternative facts, and Internet trolls it is essential that 21st Century learners develop the skills they need to authenticate the facts in viral news. Here is a great way to begin with a resource that provides...
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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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2
Facing History and Ourselves

Citizen Watchdogs and the News

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
To conclude their case study of media coverage of the shooting of Michael Brown by a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer, class members consider the role of citizen watchdogs in a democratic society, develop strategies for combating...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Facing History and Ourselves

Hands Up, Don't Shoot!

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Why is it so difficult to develop a clear understanding of the events surrounding the shooting of Michael Brown by a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer? To answer this question class members listen to a NPR discussion of the findings of...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Facing History and Ourselves

The Importance of a Free Press

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
"Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press;. . ." Why is this guarantee of free speech and a free press the First Amendment to the US Constitution? Why are these rights so essential to a democracy?...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
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
1
1
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
1
1
Facing History and Ourselves

Social Media and Ferguson

For Teachers 9th - 12th
How can social media help or hinder civil dialogue? How can information shared on social media be verified? As the investigation of media reports of the events surrounding the shooting of Michael Brown continues, class members read news...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Facing History and Ourselves

Verifying Breaking News

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The attempts of journalists to verify the events surrounding the shooting of Michael Brown take center stage as individuals analyze three of the initial newspaper accounts of the story. The whole class discussion then focuses on the...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Facing History and Ourselves

How Journalists Minimize Bias

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Class members are challenged to write a neutral news story about the events they observe in a short video. After sharing their stories in groups and discussing the different perceptions, the class concludes with a video of journalists...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Facing History and Ourselves

Confirmation and Other Biases

For Teachers 9th - 12th
As the investigation into the reporting of the events in Ferguson, Missouri, continues, class members consider how bias influences perception, how the tendency is to collect evidence that supports preconceived notions. The big idea...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Facing History and Ourselves

The Impact of Identity

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How does identity influence the way people respond to events? That is the central question class members grapple with as they examine a political cartoon, read a vignette by Sandra Cisneros, watch of video of police officers discussing...
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Lesson Plan
2
2
Facing History and Ourselves

Preparing Students for Difficult Converstaitons

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Many of the issues facing 21st Century learners are challenging and even discussing these issues can be a challenge. So how do teachers prepare learners for these difficult conversations? How do instructors create a safe classroom where...
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Unit Plan
Newspaper Association of America

Power Pack: Lessons in Civics, Math, and Fine Arts

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
Newspaper in Education (NIE) Week honors the contributions of the newspaper and is celebrated in the resource within a civics, mathematics, and fine arts setting. The resource represents every grade from 3rd to 12th with questions and...
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Unit Plan
Santa Ana Unified School District

The Giver

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Wouldn't it be great to live an a community without pain, without danger? Such a society is the goal of the community in The Giver. Using Lois Lowry's dystopian novel as the core text, class members read primary source materials about...
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Unit Plan
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Santa Ana Unified School District

Lord of the Flies Unit

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
How does a society influence and shape individuals? Class members ponder this essential question as they read Lord of the Flies, as well as primary source materials about the historical background of the novel. As a final assessment,...