Scholars begin the instructional activity by watching a video of media history and discussing it in a Turn and Talk. They then look at the texts A Mighty Long Way and Little Rock Girl 1957 to make a connection to the role of the press in...

Given the two-sentence skeleton of a news story about a car theft/joy ride, budding writers create their own version of the story varying diction and sentence structure to heighten interest and complexity in their writing. Resource...

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...

When you're putting together a great story, you've got to consider the source! Scholars discover the dangers of errors in reporting during the 14th activity in a 16-part Social Media Toolbox series. Groups collaborate to create a source...

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...

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using a credit card versus a debit card? What are the costs of using a debit card irresponsibly? Here you'll find a lesson plan on key concepts that every learner should know...

Each day, people throw currency away in different ways because of a lack of financial knowledge. Introduce your learners to the importance of financial literacy and assess their understanding of banking and personal finance.

Twelfth graders consider art as a medium to convey information and opinions on social conflict and issues. They analyze images from the Crocker Art Museum, discuss their effectiveness in raising awareness of an issue, and create a...

What would Edward R. Murrow think of today’s news broadcasts? Learners examine the work of the first public television newscaster and his commitment to researched, accurate reporting. The eight-day study concludes with investigators...

Sixth graders demonstrate the ability to follow the library media center floor plan and use directional symbols and guides. They also use after-reading strategies to increase understanding and learning from content area texts.

Learners familiarize themselves with the definition of media literacy and why it is important. In this media literacy activity, students examine the front pages of three different types of newspapers. Learners discuss the lead...

A great idea for showing language arts pupils the universality of themes, even in the real world! Have class members choose an idea-noun (peace, justice, war, love, etc.) at the beginning of the year or semester. They complete weekly...

How can your journalism class ensure they use social media responsibly and legally? The sixth lesson in a 16-part Social Media Toolbox series asks pupils to dig deep into the legal aspects of social media use by school publications....

Visual and print propaganda are featured in a lesson that asks readers of A Separate Peace to examine the techniques used in propaganda from World War I, World War II, presidential elections, and in the novel.

"Plot the plot" of "The Adventures of the Speckled Band" with your young readers. Take a few days to read Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's short story as a class or in pairs, having learners write down what they consider to be the most important...

How cool, an interactive personal finance game! Young consumers play a real-life scenario game to practice making credit decisions. They play the game then discuss good and bad credit choices. The scenarios revolve around the use of a...

Explore the newspaper as a unique entity with a detailed and extended unit. The unit requires learners to consider the newspaper's role in democracy, think about ethics, practice writing and interviewing, and examine advertising and news...

Students are introduced to the concept of news/media bias from region to region. Upon reading differing articles, students answer source questions on the structure/content of each article.

Students identify people in the news media who have admitted they suffer from cancer. They explain the types of treatments for each cancer mentioned. They work together to discuss their findings.

Eighth graders determine how mass media influences human sexuality by looking at advertisements for their sexual content and how the ads affect their decision making. After evaluating the advertisements in a PowerPoint presentation they...

Fifth graders examine the portrayal of African Americans in the media. In this socio-political lesson plan, 5th graders view various news clips of African Americans and discuss the way they are presented. Students...

Students explore mass media by completing worksheets in class. For this consumerism lesson, students discuss the meaning behind advertisements and how they are used in television, the Internet and print. Students analyze a group of ads...

Young scholars explore consumerism by completing a worksheet. In this advertisement lesson plan, students discuss the relationship between the media and consumerism while analyzing advertisements from the Internet, magazines and T.V....

First graders identify text features and how they communicate meaning to the reader. In this media literacy instructional activity, learners view the movie The Lorax and discuss how students from another country would respond to this...