What's the story behind the headlines for scientifically researched products? Viewers of a short video identify the fallacies in headlines designed to lure the unwary.

Concepts

headlines, news headlines, media analysis, media coverage, literary analysis, image analysis, healthcare, persuasion, random sampling, sampling

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Additional Tags

english language arts

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Instructional Ideas

• Have groups investigate the headline for a health concern article and the sample size, whether or not there was a control group, and other factors involved in selecting the test subjects
• Have class members bring in headlines that match those mentioned in the video
• Have class members investigate the requirements for clinical trials using this website

Classroom Considerations

• Ends with an ad for other media literacy skills videos in the series

Pros

• Provides suggestions for what to look for in randomized, controlled trials, and observational studies

Cons

• None

Common Core

SL.9-10.3 SL.11-12.3