Understanding Bias

Critical thinking and social justice are central themes for this resource on bias and crime in media. The class views and discusses an incisive PSA that highlights assumptions based on race. Small groups read newspaper opinion pieces...

"Love it or leave it." "You're either for us or against us." Rhetoric and it's polarizing effects are the focus of a lesson that uses John Brown's attack on Harper's Ferry as an exemplar. Groups examine primary source documents,...

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...

As class members progress through eight fully prepared learning stations, they will identify how bias is present in persuasive media, as well as differentiate among types of propaganda techniques like bandwagon propaganda and the use of...

What constitutes the media, and how does it act as a gatekeeper, agenda-setter, and watchdog in society in the United States? Through a variety of worksheets and an in-class true/false participation review, your young citizens will...

How is a stereotype defined, and what are some mechanisms we can use to combat negative stereotyping? Your young historians will discuss how and why stereotyping occurs, as well as consider the roots of modern conceptions of the Middle...

Why is it so difficult to develop a clear understanding of the events surrounding the shooting of Michael Brown by a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer? To answer this question class members listen to a NPR discussion of the findings of...

As the investigation into the reporting of the events in Ferguson, Missouri, continues, class members consider how bias influences perception, how the tendency is to collect evidence that supports preconceived notions. The big idea...

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...

Class members are challenged to write a neutral news story about the events they observe in a short video. After sharing their stories in groups and discussing the different perceptions, the class concludes with a video of journalists...