English Enhanced Scope and Sequence
Research Project Embedded with Media Literacy
Here is a phenomenal language arts lesson on media literacy for your middle and high schoolers. In it, learners produce a research product in the form of a public service announcement (PSA). First, they view examples of these PSA's to...
Weebly
Mini-Media Literacy Project
Encourage your pupils to think critically about media and the messages media portrays. Starting off with a quick-write about pop culture, this assignment launches into a hands-on, collaborative collage project. After creating collages,...
Rockefeller Archive Center
Understanding Mass Media News
In an age of fake news and photoshopped images, it is vital that 21st century learners development the skills they need to evaluate mass media and assess its validity. A great way to launch such a study is with a carefully crafted lesson...
Curated OER
Media Babies
What is a media baby? Discuss at what age children should be exposed to electronic media. After reading an article, they identify the types of media products for infants and toddlers. Learners will predict the effects of media on the...
American Press Institute
Media Literacy: Where News Comes From
What actually happens at a press conference? Make sense of the mayhem with a mock press conference activity designed to promote media literacy. Individuals participate as either members of the press or the governor's office to examine...
Student Handouts
Social Media Madness
Tired of seeing u instead of you and 2 instead of too? Teach your pupils how to write for an academic setting by asking them to correct these six social media posts that are full of grammatical errors, spelling errors, and text speak.
Curated OER
Fighting Fake News
Fake news. Alternative facts. Internet trolls. In an age of Newspeak, it's increasingly important to equip 21st century learners with the skills needed to determine the legitimacy of claims put forth on social media, in print, and in...
Ontario
Critical Literacy—Media Texts
Media texts convey both overt and implied messages. As part of their study of media, class members analyze the language, form, techniques, and aesthetics in a variety of media texts.
PBS
How to Teach Your Students about Fake News
What media literacy skills do people need to evaluate a news source? Scholars listen to and discuss an NPR story about how fake headlines often dupe young people and adults alike. Next, they study news stories, using a fact-checking...
Curated OER
Diversity in Media: Looking Critically at What We See
This learning experience fosters awareness of representations we see, and don't see, in the media. Learners list TV programs, games, and films they enjoy, identify characters' ethnic, religious, (dis)ability, and sexual orientation...
American Press Institute
High Five: Media Literacy and Newspapers
Teach the five different types of media with the first of three in a media literacy unit. Learners create and propose a final newspaper project, which must address information covered throughout the unit.
ProCon
Social Media
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter—are they good for society? Pupils prepare for a class debate in which they voice their opinions on the issue. They read the main pro and con arguments, explore others' opinions, view videos, and discover the...
ReadWriteThink
Critical Media Literacy: Commercial Advertising
Commercial advertising—we can't get away from it, but do we realize just how often we are being advertised to? With this lesson plan, scholars analyze mass media to identify how its techniques influence our daily lives. Learners browse...
American Press Institute
Introductory News Literacy
Aspiring journalists learn about media literacy, journalism, and the press. Units come complete with handouts, assignment rubrics, notes, and extension suggestions. Each unit also comes with a list of vocabulary words and learning...
Curated OER
How the Media Uses Polling Data in Presidential Election Coverage
Students research and analyze polling data in journalism. They discuss reasons that polling data is included in media coverage of presidential elections.
The New York Times
Evaluating Sources in a ‘Post-Truth’ World: Ideas for Teaching and Learning about Fake News
The framers of the United States Constitution felt a free press was so essential to a democracy that they granted the press the protection it needed to hold the powerful to account in the First Amendment. Today, digital natives need to...
Curated OER
Nutrition and the Media: Cereal Box Consumerism
How many treats do you buy each week? Learners investigate diets and how the media tricks consumers into purchasing unhealthy snacks. They will investigate the designs and logos affiliated with cereal boxes and identify specific phrases...
American Bar Association
News Literacy Model Curriculum in Social Studies
Scholars investigate news literacy in the twenty-first century. They use technology, legal decisions, writings, and digital privacy to analyze the topic. Using what they learned, a group assignment looks into both the challenges and...
Media Smarts
Definitions and Comments about the News
Enable your class to construct a definition of the word "news" and compare it those provided from other sources. The activity, worksheet, and discussion that ensues would make a strong introduction to any media study you undertake.
Curated OER
Find The Hidden Message: Media Literacy in Primary Grades
Learners practice listening to and reading various types of media and text. In groups, learners use video, newspapers, magazines, and more to compare and contrast different types of information. They identify the differences between fact...
Curated OER
Favorite Sports and Athletes: an Introduction to Sports Media
Even young children watch sports and like team logos and products. It's never too early to think critically about what's onscreen. This exercise develops awareness that media communicate values (i.e. who participates in sports and who...
News Literacy Project
Fighting Falsehoods on Social Media
It's time to stop misinformation in its tracks. Scholars take an online quiz to see how well they understand social media platforms' policies on spreading false information. After taking the quiz, pupils receive a score with an...
Teaching Tolerance
Social Media for Social Action
Engage in activism, not slacktivism! Scholars discuss social media and the Internet as tools for social change. Next, they engage in a close reading strategy called Thinking Notes as they read an article about social media activism.
Curated OER
Beyond Media Messages: Media Portrayal of Global Development
Students discuss global development and create a graphic representation of the discussion. In this media analysis lesson, students deconstruct disaster coverage by reading articles and identifying missing information. Students research...