In a time of fake news and alternative facts, young people must have the ability to identify it and its role. Scholars watch a video of teens reflecting on the concept of fake news and the impact of sharing fake news stories. They then...

Scholars watch a video featuring journalists who covered the civil rights movement, then respond to questions on a viewing guide. The video features interviews with participants and original news footage from the 1950s and 1960s. In...

Young journalists use the E.S.C.A.P.E. (evidence, source, context, audience, purpose, and execution) strategy to evaluate historical and contemporary examples of bias in the news. The class then uses the provided discussion questions to...

In theory, news reports should be fair and unbiased. Young journalists test this theory by selecting a current news story covered by various media outlets about the President of the United States. They then locate and analyze five...

The case of the 1928 execution of Ruth Snyder takes center stage in a instructional activity that asks young journalists to consider the ethics involved in publishing an image of an execution. A series of discussion questions ask...

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...

Here's a lesson designed to help learners develop their digital verification skills. First, expert groups study specific digital verification skills, and in a jigsaw activity, share what they have learned with classmates. The jigsaw...

As part of a media literacy unit, class members establish criteria for good video reporting, and practice giving both positive (warm) and constructive (cool) criticism.

In this listening worksheet, students will complete a chart identifying which of 5 speakers communicated each of the 18 statements. The corresponding radio broadcast can be found...

Students create a presentation in which they retell the events of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. In this A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court instructional activity, students are introduced to Mark Twain in a...

Students study character traits. In this character education lesson, students create podcasts highlighting a particular character trait. Students broadcast one podcast per week.

Use a Huffington Post article focused on false pictures of Hurricane Sandy to launch a discussion about the reliability of online information. Groups compare and contrast how print and broadcast media regulate...

Young scholars compare and contrast methods of media coverage. In this media awareness lesson, students keep track of news regarding a world or national issue for the period of 1 week. Young scholars collaborate to describe the type of...

Advertising is everywhere! Does your class know that their attention span is for sale, even when they're watching a simple news story? The second installment in a five-part series from iCivics examines the relationship between news...

Class members investigate the role media should play in a healthy democracy. As part of this study, groups analyze political advertising, use FactCheck to assess not only the veracity of but the persuasions techniques used in candidates'...

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...

Students practice news reading at three words per second. They produce a news program while working as a team of reporters. They watch news clips of current reporters making a list of news reading tips. They play an online game that...

Learners brainstorm a list of news sources. They interview people about today's media and discuss their results. After watching segments of a film about Walter Cronkite, they role play as reporters and subjects from an historic period...

Help your 21st century learners develop their media smarts with this resource that has them examine the persuasive techniques advertisers use to influence specific demographics and then to use these techniques to craft their own ads.

Target audience, covert message, explicit and implicit appeals. As part of an investigation of rhetorical devices used in campaign ads, class members examine and deconstruct the appeals in logos from...

What is sponsored content? Who produces sponsored content? Why? Is it fair or unfair? What are the privacy implications for consumers? To answer these questions, class members view a model screencast before crafting their own that...

Radio waves are all around us! How do they transmit sound? Using an interactive, scholars examine how songs travel through the air. The resource explains the process from the radio station, to signal towers, to the radio unit. A look at...

Is one type of energy inherently good or bad? Young scientists explore energy resources in a week-long unit. After extensive research, groups create powerful position statements and presentations supporting their energy resource of choice.

Different media sources portray news in a variety of ways. In groups of three, learners look at different news sources, bringing in all the findings the next day. Three handouts help scholars compare sources, define specific terms used...