Explore well-known expressions that are frequently used. Middle schoolers read an article with the author's opinion of the most annoying phrases. Afterward, they complete numerous activities that check their reading comprehension. Some...

Free speech, privacy, and cyberbullying are the focus of a series of activities that prompt class members to engage in discussions about these interrelated topics. They view a segment from PBS’s series on bullying, read...

An appropriate way to celebrate and conclude the construction of a rain garden is to share it with the community. Small groups collaborate to design an outreach product such as a PowerPoint presentation, brochure, or poster, to draw...

You can keep this printable idea sheet and use when you're in a tight spot. It contains cross-curricular ideas that span every subject while relating to the African tale, "Anasazi the Spider." Learners will act, write, move, count,...

Start by defining the word sitcom with the goal of launching a discussion. What exactly is a sitcom? How is a sitcom different from sketch comedy, drama, and reality television? Class members give examples, remember storylines...

One way to get your class to evaluate and synthesize multiple multimedia sources is through a research project. The idea here is that class members will watch videos and listen to scientific debates in order to create a casebook about...

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...

Read all about it! Challenge your class to build taller and stronger. Newspapers provide the means to build towers in a simple activity. Scholars try to build as tall a tower as possible with just two sheets of newspaper.

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...

Students complete research on the causes, battles, weapons, leaders and results of World War One and use the information to create Newscasts of the topics. These newscasts are then presented to the class.

Students discuss and describe the impact of Bob Moses as an activist, compare and contrast the work of Bob Moses in the 1960's and today and develop an action plan regarding an issue they feel strongly about.

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...

This site provides a variety of activities and worksheets about the problem-based learning activity about Earth and its atmosphere. The lessons can be used separately or together in a geology unit. The resources and charts are very...

All of the activities and worksheets in this unit relate to learning about how infectious diseases spread & how the body deals with them. There is a collection of problem-based learning activities, as well very useful at-home...

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...

Extra, extra, read all about it! Scholars research information on endangered species and produce a news report to share their findings with the rest of the class. In groups, they then consider engineering solutions to problems on habitat...

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...

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...

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...

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...

"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...

Young scholars identify cooking sounds and share opinions about their associations. After reading an article, they discover the growth of radio cooking shows. They prepare an outline and script for a cooking program and present their...

Pitch your best news story to your news team, or the peers in your journalism class, with a lesson about finding, reporting, and presenting a story. After watching clips of different examples, as well as strategies for finding...

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.