Creating Context: The Printing Press as Impetus

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 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...

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...

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...

Part of a larger unit from the Media Awareness Network on media literacy, this particular lesson plan focuses on the medium of news radio. Small groups participate in discussions on their radio listening habits as well as the...

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,...

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...

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! 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...

Learners use library or online resources to create time lines on the life of Johannes Gutenberg and tell the impact his invention, the printing press, had on the development of newspapers.

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...