Students assess the ways in which editorial cartoons offer insight into events that shape our world, specifically focusing on the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.

Students explore the controversial topic of same-sex marriages in a fishbowl discussion. They write balanced news articles based on interviews exploring people's opinions on laws that define marriage.

Students explore the many ways that ethnic newspapers help immigrants in the United States stay connected to their cultures and countries of origin. They write articles for ethnic newspapers.

Students explore their own talents and create interview questions for a peer involved in a particular extracurricular activity. They write newspaper articles based on the interviews.

Young scholars examine the impact of photography on bringing readership to a magazine. They read and discuss an article, and create a magazine cover and inside spread designed to compete with an existing publication.

Young scholars examine how matters of national security affect the press' ability to practice free speech. They read and discuss an article regarding the Swift program, discuss opinions about patriotism and the press, and write a letter...

Students study about "breaking news" by analyzing the New York Times' coverage of the July 2006 bombing of seven commuter trains in Mumbai, India. They write their own breaking news stories for homework.

Students examine The New York Times' coverage of immigrants' rights in order to gain an understanding of how different news angles function. They assess the angles of different news media outlets, such as television, radio, and Internet...

Learners consider familiar audio and imaging devices, researching and analyzing the differences between analog and digital versions. They then reflect on which versions of the technology provide a truer record over time.

Students conduct Internet research about ancient civilizations to produce a newspaper that reflecting the cultural, political, economic and religious views of the ancient civilizations of Egypt or Mexico.

A visit to the local zoo launches an integrated life science/ language arts research project into the habitat, feeding habits, offspring, lifespan, and other interesting facts about animals. Each group selects two animals to photograph...

Create a commercial for a favorite book and broadcast this pitch on the Sly Book Channel! Learners practice retelling, summarizing, comparing/contrasting, and evaluation skills as they prepare their scripts. The approved scripts are then...

Students assess, by analyzing historic New York Times front pages, how print journalism reflects the values and language of the society in which it is created.

Students will be responsible for presenting (either performing live or videotaping and playing) a newscast dealing with an aspect of the Civil Rights Movement that connects to the unit topic of media and social justice. During the...

Learners use texts on media ethics and various Web sites  to explore real world examples of media law issues. For this media ethics lesson, students examine the Food Lion case using a transcript from the...

Young scholars examine the importance and responsibilities of journalists through examination of illegal immigration. In this journalistic ethics instructional activity students analyze scenarios and look at the pros and cons of illegal...

Fifth graders explore things that happen in their schools. In this journalism lesson, 5th graders use the writing process to prioritize their collected information. Students write a weekly article for a classroom news report.

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...

How can social media help or hinder civil dialogue? How can information shared on social media be verified? As the investigation of media reports of the events surrounding the shooting of Michael Brown continues, class members read...

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...

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...

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...

"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...

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...