Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring Media: Understanding and Identifying Editorial Perspective in Television and Radio News

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Learners research the topics Boat People: A Refugee Crisis, Dr. Henry Morgentaler: Fighting Canada's Abortion Laws, and CANDU: The Canadian Nuclear Reactor on the CBC Radio and Television Archives Web site.
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...
Lesson Plan
iCivics

Mini-Lesson B: Satire

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Hey, what's so funny? Explore the use of satire in a variety of media with a hands-on lesson. Fourth in a five-part journalism series from iCivics, the activity introduces satirical language in print and online. Pupils work alone or in...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Free and Open Press: Evaluating the Media

For Teachers All
Students compare and critically evaluate the different media as sources of news, develop criteria for defining "news", experience the editorial process of selecting news stories and detect bias in news reporting.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Interpreting & Verifying the News in an Era of Info Overload

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students practice their critical thinking skills. In this media awareness activity, students read articles about media overload and interpretation of media. Students respond to discussion questions and discuss how they verify...
Lesson Plan
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Social Media Toolbox

About Facebook

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
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...
Lesson Plan
Media Smarts

Broadcasting Codes

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Let your learners be the judges for a series of case studies that focus on broadcast codes in Canada. In order to familiarize your class with the codes and guidelines that govern the broadcasting industry, in particular Canada's...
Activity
News Literacy Project

Fact-Check It!

For Teachers 7th - Higher Ed
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...
Lesson Plan
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PBS

Journalism Ethics

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
As a journalist, would you publish everything you heard or saw? Discuss the ethics of journalism with a lesson from PBS. Young reporters imagine themselves to be the editor of their school's newspaper, and as they read five scenarios,...
Activity
News Literacy Project

News Goggles: Identifying the News Source

For Teachers 7th - Higher Ed
A 25-slide presentation teaches viewers how to identify the source of stories in newspapers and online news sites. The slides show how to locate the byline where either the reporter's name or the wire service that provided the story can...
Lesson Plan
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PBS

Copyright and Fair Use

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
When is using someone else's copyrighted material appropriate? Learn about copyright and fair use with a lesson from PBS.org. Scholars read through a reference sheet about authors' rights and users' rights, and then create posters...
Lesson Plan
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NPR

Suffrage Lesson Plan

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
Has life changed for American women in the last century, or are there common themes between the lives of 21st century women and the struggle of suffragettes from the 1910s? Explore the ways media reflects the position of women...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Beyond the Printed Word

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students investigate the effects of television and radio on culture. In this journalism instructional activity, students consider how electronic media has shaped journalism as they create timelines that feature the changes and compare...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Electric Experience

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students investigate the effects of television and radio on culture. In this journalism lesson, students consider how electronic media has shaped journalism as they create timelines that feature the changes and compare and contrast print...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Check It Out: Verifying Information and Sources in News Coverage

For Teachers 7th - 12th
If it’s in the news it must be true, right? Prompted by a New York Times article, class members consider the importance of accuracy in reporting and validating sources. The detailed plan includes warm-up exercises, discussion questions,...
Activity
Administrative Office of the US Courts

Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier

For Teachers 10th - 12th Standards
Freedom of speech is not always free. Scholars investigate how the First Amendment provides for the right to express opinions. Through the court case Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier, they analyze free speech using primary documents—and hopefully...
Lesson Plan
Media Education Lab

Sponsored Content as Propaganda

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
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...
Unit Plan
Newspaper Association of America

Critical Thinking through Core Curriculum: Using Print and Digital Newspapers

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
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...
Lesson Plan
Facing History and Ourselves

The Nazi Party Platform

For Teachers 7th - 11th Standards
Not all party platforms stay democratic. A resource covers many political issues in Germany during the time of World War II, and teaches pupils about the Nazi party platform and what went wrong. Individuals participate in a warm-up...
Activity
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Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum

Pearl Harbor Activity #1: Newspaper or Radio Account

For Teachers 6th - 12th
After listening to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "Day of Infamy" speech, young historians research information about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, possible motives for the attack, and the consequences of the attack. Scholars...
Lesson Plan
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Facing History and Ourselves

How Journalists Minimize Bias

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Class members are challenged to write a neutral news story about the events they observe in a short video. After sharing their stories in groups and discussing the different perceptions, the class concludes with a video of...
Lesson Plan
Media Education Lab

Propaganda in Context

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
"Board Game Helps Fight Real World Ebola," a video produced by Voice of America, provides the text for a guided instructional activity that asks viewers to analyze the propaganda techniques used in the video. Groups then select a example...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Comparing the Satellite and Broadcast Radio Landscapes

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners research the development of satellite technology over the last 50 years students explain how the enactment of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 changed the rules for corporate ownership of multiple media outlets.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Citizen Journalism

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students examine the role of citizen journalism, freedom of the press, and the First Amendment. They analyze the results of an Internet survey, discuss the ethics of downloading copyrighted material on the Internet, and write a news story.