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....

Get your young journalists above the fold with a set of lessons about newspapers. Kids focus on writing articles using the 5 Ws before creating a slide show presentation and blog entry to publish their writing.

What is news? What is newsworthy? Who decides and what criteria do they use? Introduce young journalists to the basics of reporting with this media literacy lesson.

What would you ask Abraham Lincoln if you had the chance? Class members draft interview questions for the 16th U.S. President, and imagine what his responses would be.

What is and what will be the role of newspapers in the future? Keeping this essential question in mind, class members use print, electronic, and/or web editions of newspapers, to investigate topics that include financial...

We live in a time of fake news, alternative realities, and media bias. What could be more timely than an activity that asks class members to research how different sources report the same topic in the news?

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...

Big news isn't necessarily newsworthy everywhere! How do journalists decide what to cover with so much happening around them? A instructional activity on media literacy examines the factors that affect the media's choice of stories to...

Hot off the press: a mini-unit for class members to create their own newspaper. Complete with graphic organizers, extension activities, and helpful learning targets that teach parts of a newspaper, the resource contains everything needed...

Should school news publications use social media if their district is against the use of social media in school? Pupils ponder the policy, then examine their publication's plan in parts seven and eight of a 16-part Social Media Toolbox...

Social media has changed the news publishing process, so how does it affect school news publications? Lesson nine in a 16-part series titled The Social Media Toolbox explores the traditional publishing roles through the lens of social...

If everyone is on Facebook, should the school's news publication be as well? Scholars study a social media giant in the 11th lesson from The Social Media Toolbox's 16-part series. The activity combines individual study and collaboration...

Tweet all about it! Junior journalists explore the Twittersphere to determine its effectiveness as a news broadcasting tool in the 12th installment of the 16-part Social Media Toolbox. Participants follow and record their observations of...

Show what you know about social media! The 16th and final lesson in The Social Media Toolbox gives pupils the opportunity to share their social media experiences with their school communities. Groups identify the most important messages,...

Survey says ... social media is here to stay! How do the pupils in your school use social media? Using lesson plan four from a 16-part series, The Social Media Toolbox, learners study surveys and create their own. The resource includes...

How can people learn to spot viral deception? Players do just that with the NewsFeed Defenders media literacy game. Scholars choose avatars and the focus of their news feeds: student life, health and wellness, or sports and...

Reading a scientific article about cross-species synchronization may sound like a yawner. But "Monkey See, Monkey Do" is a fascinating tale that just happens to be about yawning, within and across species. After a close reading, class...

Agatha Christie's Witness for the Prosecution becomes the text for an online newspaper activity. Young journalists craft news, features, obituary, and opinion articles based on the characters and events in the play.

Peace and quiet. After reading page 12 of The Most Beautiful Roof in the World, scholars participate in a silent conversation with a chalk talk activity. They take turns describing how the rainforest is diverse by writing on chart...

It's all connected. Scholars use pages 24-26 of The Most Beautiful Roof in the World to identify the relationship between the plants and animals in the rainforest. They answer and discuss questions about the relationship with a...

Mail me a postcard. Individuals design a postcard to show what Meg Lowman from The Most Beautiful Roof in the World might have written to her friends at home. They then continue to work on writing a science journal entry.

Upper elementary scholars test their checking skills with a lesson that challenges them to distinguish between fact and opinion. First, the class takes part in a discussion regarding a helpful flow chart. Next, learners follow the flow...

Times are changing. One change is the way people get and share the news. Class members pair up and interview one another to find out how their peers get news. After compiling their findings, young reporters interview an adult, compile...

With the advent of photo manipulation software, it is possible to digitally edit a photograph in a way that is virtually undetectable. The question asked of young journalists in this lesson is whether such manipulation is ethical. Groups...