Frontpage photographs are the focus of four activities that ask young journalists to consider what the images reveal about a newspaper and its community. To begin, groups compare what images different papers from across the country use...

Reliable news stories are based on facts from reliable sources. Young journalists learn how to evaluate the reliability of news sources by watching a short explainer video. Teams apply their new source-digging skills to a current news...

Young journalists are presented with scenarios that involve media ethics. They must decide in each case whether to cover the story, what they would cover, and if covered, what the angle would be.

Do not try this at home! At school! Or any other place! Groups of young journalists discuss the ethics of publishing photos of school peers performing dangerous stunts. They share their decision with the class and explain their reasoning.

Journalists are supposed to adhere to a Code of Ethics. To determine the degree to which reporters follow this code, individuals select three recent stories with photographs from newspapers, magazines, online news sites, or television...

Young journalists use a "Is This Story Share-Worthy?" flowchart graphic to decide whether a story is worth sharing online. Instructors provide groups with fake news, poor quality stories, opinion pieces, biased news, and high-quality...

Young journalists have an opportunity to experience the challenges of covering a catastrophe by staging a mock press conference. Half the class acts as reporters while the others act as officials from the mayor's office.

Breaking news reports can be short of facts. Young journalists select a pair of news articles about a disaster; one published within hours of the event and the second published the following day. They examine whether facts in the report...

Young journalists search for two examples of news stories, either published or online, that use anonymous or unnamed sources. They then consider the possible motives for why the sources remain unidentified, the types of stories that use...

Young journalists learn how to prepare for an interview, conduct an interview, and craft good interview questions with follow-up questions. After they watch and analyze several interviews, class members select a senior to interview,...

How can you tell the difference between fact and opinion? Using newspapers, learners determine which articles contain statements of fact, and which articles reflect the writer's opinion. The lesson plan includes a discussion format and a...

Placing Ben Franklin’s ideas about a free press next to those embodied in the First Amendment sheds light on both. Learners interpret and compare two primary sources and then examine them in the light of a contemporary survey about...

What would Ben do? Jumping off from the pseudonymous letters Ben Franklin fooled his older brother into publishing when he was still a teenager, young literary lovers dive into acting, writing, and addressing a local issue with wit and...

Academic goals can lead high schoolers toward bright futures. Get your class to think about where they want to be in 20 years and what they'll need to do to get there with this lesson plan. Learners fill out a brief questionnaire about...

What, there was a crocodile escape? Read, analyze, and examine a newspaper article with your class about the crocodiles that escaped in Vietnam. Your English language learners note the facts and key vocabulary in the story and answer...

Read and discuss the vocabulary related to a news article about a new recruitment campaign for the British army. High schoolers read the article, define key vocabulary terms, identify suffixes from the article, and complete a variety of...

Have your class participate in an interview activity using an informational text about the Amazon. After reading a Cultural Connections story about a person from the Amazon, middle schoolers write interview questions based on the text....

Although this lesson is based on “Final Word,” Craig Wilson’s USA Today column, the strategies could be adapted to any local columnist. After reading three articles independently, groups share observations about content and style used by...

A great idea for a fun homework assignment! The class fully and critically analyzes Daniel Sprick's painting, Your Plans. They then generate questions to ask the artist as they attend a mock press conference. They pretend to ask the...

Middle schoolers write an editorial giving an opinion of whether or not Quetzalcoatl has arrived and if so, what the Aztecs should do.  They discuss whether or not they believe Quetzalcoatl is a god or a man, and use an Editorial...

Following brief instruction about the Iran Hostage Crisis during Jimmy Carter's presidency, small groups read three-page sections from the diary of hostage Robert C. Ode. They write editorials from the perspective of either U.S. citizens...

Research, role-playing, and reflection are the three “R’s” that form the basis of an examination of Cyberbullying. Although based on the Criminal Code of Canada, the included scenarios and case studies provide valuable resources for a...

Part of a series aimed at breaking down cultural bias from the Canadian Media Awareness Network, this activity identifies where opinions do and don't belong in a newspaper. Pupils review handouts about the purpose of editorial comments...

A natural disaster could strike at any time: do your learners know the school and community emergency plans? Start the school year by honing research and speaking skills in a practical way with this preparedness instructional activity....