A Free and Open Press: Evaluating the Media

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...

Students determine how free press principles can be compromised. For this global studies lesson, students read an article titled "Free and Independent Press." Students respond to discussion questions regarding the article.

The news can be scary, but is it always accurate? Young journalists read about the necessary elements of evaluating a news story for accuracy, thoroughness, newsworthiness, and biased or balanced reporting. After reading a description of...

Ever wonder why the most controversial or dramatic news stories are the first ones in a newscast? Evaluate every part of a television newscast, including the anchor's posture and facial expressions, the time allotted to each news story,...

Step into the shoes of a newscast director with a media analysis activity. High schoolers look over vocabulary for news media before deciding which three of five stories they'd want to air on tonight's news, based on exclusivity, viewer...

Is there a place for newspapers in an online world? How influential is the 24-hour television news cycle? High schoolers delve into an activity about three news formats—online news, print news, and newscasts—and consider the advantages...

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...

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...

The middle schoolers in your class are inundated with media messages like no generation before them. Help them interpret what they are seeing and experiencing between online video clips and alongside busy freeways with a worksheet about...

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...