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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fighting Fake News

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
The New York Times

Evaluating Sources in a ‘Post-Truth’ World: Ideas for Teaching and Learning about Fake News

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
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Media Smarts

Bias in News Sources

For Teachers 9th - 12th
As young consumers of media, it is important for high schoolers to explore concepts of bias and prejudice, and how they may be present in media. After discussing ideological messages that media can contain, individuals complete a warm-up...
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Lesson Plan
University of the Desert

Do Journalists Shape or Report the News?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Analyze the presence of negative stereotypes and biased reporting in news media, and how this affects one's understanding of other cultures. Learners read newspaper excerpts and quotes from famous personalities to discuss the power of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

News Journalism Across the Media: Introduction

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Although students are aware of news as information that influences their perceptions of the world, they are often unaware of the various ways to present that information. Encourage them to investigate, discuss, analyze and make valuable...
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Lesson Plan
2
2
Facing History and Ourselves

Citizen Watchdogs and the News

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
Newseum

The Press and the Presidency: Friend or Foe? How the President Is Portrayed

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
In theory, news reports should be fair and unbiased. Young journalists test this theory by selecting a current news story covered by various media outlets about the President of the United States. They then locate and analyze five...
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Lesson Plan
Media Smarts

How to Analyze the News

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Teach kids how to watch television, specifically the news, with this creative idea for learners of all ages from the Media Awareness Network. The elementary school plan focuses on presenting news as a story and uses Jon Scieszka's story...
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Lesson Plan
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Facing History and Ourselves

Free Press Makes Democracy Work

For Teachers 9th - 12th
A unit study of the importance of a free press in a democracy begins with class members listening to a podcast featuring two journalists, one from a United States public radio station and one from Capetown, South Africa. The lesson,...
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Lesson Plan
Constitutional Rights Foundation

Understanding Fake News

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Fake or fact? Learners must decide while looking at two published "news" stories. A reading about why fake news exists and a checklist on how to evaluate sources rounds out the activity. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Beyond Media Messages: Media Portrayal of Global Issues

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Take a close look at news reporting techniques and global issues. Begin by creating a graphic representation of developing nations and defining the term. After class discussion, the second day's activities pick up by deconstructing news...
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Lesson Plan
Rockefeller Archive Center

Understanding Mass Media News

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Risk Communication: Media Presentation Exercise

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students work in groups to prepare a brief broadcast or print news report from one of five possible viewpoints about an environmental contamination scenario. Students are given basic information about a chemical spill in a small town and...
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Lesson Plan
Newseum

'The Press and the Civil Rights Movement' Video Lesson

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed Standards
Scholars watch a video featuring journalists who covered the civil rights movement, then respond to questions on a viewing guide. The video features interviews with participants and original news footage from the 1950s and 1960s. In...
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Lesson Plan
Prestwick House

Understanding Language: Slant, Spin, and Bias in the News

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
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?
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

News Coverage

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners compare and contrast methods of media coverage. In this media awareness instructional activity, students keep track of news regarding a world or national issue for the period of 1 week. Learners collaborate to describe the type...
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Lesson Plan
Newseum

Bias Through History: Analyzing Historical Sources

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Young journalists use the E.S.C.A.P.E. (evidence, source, context, audience, purpose, and execution) strategy to evaluate historical and contemporary examples of bias in the news. The class then uses the provided discussion questions to...
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Lesson Plan
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Social Media Toolbox

Reporting with Social Media

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
What does it take to create news stories that are both informative and objective? Aspiring journalists walk the line between engagement and activism with lesson 15 of a 16-part series titled The Social Media Toolbox. Grouped pupils...
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Lesson Plan
Teaching Tolerance

Media Consumers and Creators, What Are Your Rights and Responsibilities?

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Teach the class to separate fact from fiction. Scholars explore the topic of fake news as they read PEN America's News Consumers' Bill of Rights and discuss the rights and responsibilities outlined in the bill. Next, they read an article...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Television Newscasts

For Teachers 11th - 12th
When we watch news broadcasts on television, we receive a much more visual perspective than when we read the newspaper. How do sets, clothing, and music contribute to our understanding of the story? Compare American and Canadian news...
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Lesson Plan
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University of the Desert

Fact and Opinion within the Media

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How can the media foster cultural misunderstandings? These activities encourage learners to distinguish between fact and opinion in the media
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Lesson Plan
iCivics

Lesson 3: Bias

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How do journalists balance bias and ethical reporting? The final lesson in a series of five from iCivics examines the different types of bias and how they affect the news we read. Young reporters take to the Internet to find examples of...
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Lesson Plan
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Brown University

Following the U.S. Presidential Election

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Election years provide the opportunity to evaluate news media as well as the next prospective president. High schoolers read about the same event in several different news sources, varying in type, origin, and political leaning, before...
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Lesson Plan
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Facing History and Ourselves

The Challenge of Confirmation Bias

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Confirmation bias makes it difficult to overcome our preconceived notions of others. That's the big idea in a lesson that teaches learners strategies to recognize and question their biases.

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