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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Edward R. Murrow: This Reporter

For Teachers 9th - 12th
What would Edward R. Murrow think of today’s news broadcasts? Learners examine the work of the first public television newscaster and his commitment to researched, accurate reporting. The eight-day study concludes with investigators...
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Lesson Plan
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Media Smarts

Bias in News Sources

For Teachers 9th - 12th
As young consumers of media, it is important for high schoolers to explore concepts of bias and prejudice, and how they may be present in media. After discussing ideological messages that media can contain, individuals complete a warm-up...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

News or Propaganda?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
What is considered news vs. propaganda? Learners will discuss objectivity and press responsibility while exploring these two concepts. They work in small groups to explore the article in-depth, guided by reading comprehension and...
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Activity
Curated OER

Current Event Project

For Teachers 4th - 12th Standards
One of the best ways to make history relevant and engaging is to analyze current events before they become history! Check out these project guidelines for a current event research paper, outlining the major required sections of the...
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Lesson Plan
Newseum

Today's Front Pages

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Take a close look at a number of newspapers with collection of lessons and activities. Using a poster (which can be found under the materials tab), learners examine the hard copy of a local newspaper. This leads into an exploration of...
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Lesson Plan
Newseum

The Medium Shapes the Message

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Where do you get your news? Have learners examine four different publications and decide which one they would choose to read on their own time. The resource includes a list of publication types to supply and a worksheet for groups to...
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Lesson Plan
Newseum

News Confusion: What Is News?

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Use headlines to help your learners understand what news is. First, present a list of categories to your class. Then instruct small groups to play a game in which they sort headlines into the categories. Discuss the result and examine...
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Printables
Curated OER

Current Event Report

For Teachers 5th - 10th
Make sure your class spends some time paying attention to the news by asking individuals to report on a current event. Using this sheet, pupils write down the title, source, and date before composing a brief summary and a personal...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reporting Live from the Twentieth Century

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Students create a news story on one of the top 100 news stories of the 20th century.choose one past news event. They write a news story about that event, and provide a continuation of the story based on their research.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Macbeth News Broadcast

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Here is an authentic assessment task for Shakespeare's Macbeth. Young literature scholars prepare, perform, and record a news broadcast about the major events in the play. For example, groups may choose to report on the death of Lady...
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Interactive
Curated OER

Student Opinion: What Small Things Have You Seen and Taken Note of Today?

For Students 7th - 12th
An interesting and unusual topic for a news article, this resource from the New York Times website asks learners to take a moment and consider all the things they notice during a typical day. Based of the editorial piece "Things I Saw"...
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Writing
Curated OER

Student Opinion: What Are You Afraid Of?

For Students 7th - 12th
A great resource for informational texts as well as writing topics, the New York Times website provides writing prompts about various news articles through The Learning Network. This particular worksheet provides a very short reading...
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Lesson Plan
Media Smarts

How to Analyze the News

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Teach kids how to watch television, specifically the news, with this creative idea for learners of all ages from the Media Awareness Network. The elementary school plan focuses on presenting news as a story and uses Jon Scieszka's story...
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Writing
Curated OER

Global News: The Changing Face of Reading

For Students 7th - 12th
A current and engaging informational text with some superb scaffolding activities, this six paragraph article discusses the release of the iPad from Apple, eBooks, and the history of reading and writing materials. After reading the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tales with a Twist

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Your authors create news stories that share a familiar fairy tale from a new perspective. They review a familiar fairy tale, select a character to "interview," and write original news stories from the perspective of that character.
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Lesson Plan
Media Smarts

Cyberbullying and the Law

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Dealing with the very topical subject of cyberbullying, this lesson plan will surely create some engaged discussion in your classroom. Young learners discuss the laws concerning cyberbullying in Canada, and then respond to a series of...
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Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

A Way with Words

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
How do facts and opinions impact the news? After reading "How to Cover a War" from the New York Times, middle schoolers evaluate the claims in the article. They also consider the media's responsibilities in reporting during wartime....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Learning Network: Poetry Pairing July, 21, 2011

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Although not a complete lesson plan, this set of emotionally powerful texts could be used in a variety of lessons. From The New York Times' Learning Network site, the resource includes a poem, an excerpt from a New York Times article and...
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Lesson Plan
Media Smarts

Media Awareness Network: Hate or Debate?

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Discuss the difference between legitimate debate on a political issue and arguments that are based on hate through a science-fiction scenario that shows how a controversial issue can be discussed in both ways. Then learn how purveyors of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Twenty-Five Great Ideas for Teaching Current Events

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Teaching current events can be an amazingly-rewarding part of your teaching week. This resource presents twenty-five ways to incorporate current events into your curriculum. It offers some outstanding ideas, such as providing your...
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Interactive
Curated OER

Student Opinion: Should Couples Live Together Before Marriage?

For Students 9th - 12th
Bring nonfiction into the classroom with this high-interest op-ed piece from the New York Times about love, marriage, and relationships in the 21st century. Pupils read a short article on the topic of cohabitation and offer their own...
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Lesson Plan
Media Smarts

The Citizen Reporter

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Ripped from the headlines! Discuss topical social issues like racism, discrimination, and diversity while exploring the concept of citizen journalism. Begin with a professional-looking presentation on the history of citizen journalism....
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Lesson Plan
Media Smarts

The Newspaper Front Page

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Hot off the presses! A perfect instructional activity idea for a journalism class or even a language arts class looking to incorporate some informational texts. Young writers analyze the front pages of various newspapers to determine the...
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Lesson Plan
Media Smarts

Marketing to Teens: Gender Roles in Advertising

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Young learners explore gender roles in advertising by taking an ad campaign they have seen which is specifically directed to one gender, and redesigning the campaign to target the opposite gender. After leading a guided discussion about...