This is an excellent newsletter-style site for the American Journalism Review. Aside from a ton of articles and pertinent information, it offers essential resources, first rate tools, and a huge database for journalists.
As part of the BBC's Skillswise unit, this resource covers the basics of separating fact from opinion through a worksheet, a factsheet, and a quiz.
Internet research is a fine writing tool, but can you trust the information you find? This presentation by Hope N. Tillman, Director of Libraries at Babson College, gives advice on assessing the quality and credibility of information found on the Internet. Includes links to search engines and research guides, but the most useful aspect of this presentation is the in-depth discussion on assessing these resources.
This handy page clearly explains various ways in which bias can creep into news reports. Examples of each method are given.
What are the benefits and drawbacks of online tracking? Many of us are aware that we're being tracked when we go online. It's one of the ways our favorite websites and apps know how to recommend content just for us. But how much information are companies actually collecting? And what are they doing with it? Digging into the details can help us make smart decisions about our online privacy and how to protect it. Approximately 50 mins.
LESSON OBJECTIVES: Define online tracking and describe how companies use it. Identify the benefits and drawbacks of online tracking to both companies and users. Analyze specific examples of online tracking and take a position for or against them.
Are we addicted to our devices, and, if so, are companies to blame? The word "addiction" packs a heavy punch, and the research is inconclusive on whether it's truly accurate when it comes to digital device use. What's certain, however, is that as people use devices and apps more, profits increase for the companies who make them. Help your students recognize how most of the technology they use is designed to keep them hooked, and help them use this as an opportunity to find more balance in their digital lives. Approximately 60 mins.
LESSON OBJECTIVES: Analyze and draw conclusions about a series of photos depicting device use. Use online resources to track arguments for and against whether we are addicted to our devices. Complete a short writing assignment analyzing one or more aspects related to the device addiction debate.
How can we challenge our own confirmation bias? Our brains are great at using past experiences to make quick decisions on the fly, but these shortcuts can also lead to bias. "Confirmation bias" is our brain's tendency to seek out information that confirms things we already think we know. Help your students learn to recognize this when they encounter news online, as a way to examine competing opinions and ideas and to avoid drawing questionable conclusions. Approximately 45 mins.
LESSON OBJECTIVES: Define confirmation bias and identify why it occurs. Explore examples of confirmation bias, particularly related to news and online information. Identify strategies for challenging their own confirmation biases.
How can you tell when an online relationship is risky? Having conversations online, without nonverbal cues or being able to see people, can be awkward and sometimes even risky -- with drawbacks from simple misunderstandings to manipulation or inappropriate messages. Help students navigate and avoid these situations before they go too far. Approximately 45 mins.
LESSON OBJECTIVES: Identify the types of messages that might cause a red flag feeling for someone. Use the Feelings & Options thinking routine to analyze and respond to a situation involving a red flag feeling.
This modular ELA collection for grades 6–12 invites students to explore the complexity of identity and develop a sense of agency as they reflect on what it means to grow up in the world today.
The collection includes:
- Back to School Toolkit
- Introductory lesson
- Multi-genre text sets
- Unit Guide for teaching Jacqueline Woodson’s Brown Girl Dreaming
- Unit Planning Guide for developing a unit on a book of your choice
- Book Club Guide
- Whole School Read Planning Guide
The resources in this collection help you diversify the range of stories that students read and combine reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills with ethical and empathic reflection.
A quick guide to help you determine the relevance and authority of a resource.
How can we counter online hate speech and xenophobia? As humans, we thrive on social connections and group associations. But this tendency can also lead us to be suspicious of people outside our group. This fear -- xenophobia -- can be overcome by more exposure to people who are different from us. However, the internet can often make this more difficult. Help students recognize this challenge and find strategies for navigating content online. Approximately 50 mins.
LESSON OBJECTIVES: Describe the relationship between hate speech and xenophobia. Analyze how the internet has contributed to an increase in hate speech and extremist views. Describe one way to use the internet to combat one type of hate speech.
How can I create a social media presence that represents the real me? Social media gives us a chance to choose how we present ourselves to the world. We can snap and share a pic in the moment or carefully stage photos and select only the ones we think are best. When students reflect on these choices, they can better understand the self they are presenting and the self they aim to be. Approximately 50 mins.
LESSON OBJECTIVES: Describe how their curated self may or may not represent their real self. Analyze the benefits and drawbacks of representing different parts of their real self online. Create an avatar that represents both their real and curated selves.
This lesson discusses the concept of source credibility and goes over how to evaluate a source. This tutorial lesson shares a short screencast with the lesson's content. [7:06]
Lesson plan designed for consumer health class, that is also useful for media literacy. Contains a link to an ad for an abdominal strengthening machine that provides the basis of the lesson. SL.9-10.2 eval & integrate sources
How can you avoid being fooled by fake videos and other information online? We know not to believe everything we hear, but what about what we see? Advancements in computer-generated graphics, facial recognition, and video production have led to a world of viral videos that are often difficult to identify as fake. Help your students learn to read what they see on the web "laterally" by showing them how to get off the page, check credibility, and find corroboration. Approximately 50 mins.
LESSON OBJECTIVES: Define "misinformation" and explore the consequences of spreading misinformation online. Learn how to use lateral reading as a strategy to verify the accuracy of information online. Apply lateral reading to examples of questionable videos to determine their accuracy.
A portion of a larger book, this site is critical of journalism as it is presently practiced. This portion offers characteristics of critical news consumers.
This learning video addresses a particular problem of selection bias, a statistical bias in which there is an error in choosing the individuals or groups to make broader inferences. Rather than delve into this broad topic via formal statistics, we investigate how it may appear in our everyday lives, sometimes distorting our perceptions of people, places and events, unless we are careful. [23:24]
Distinguishing information from propaganda, biased reporting and misinformation is an important skill. This short article defines each of these, and provides examples of each.
Slant, or bias, can be found in virtually every news outlet. Use this online lesson plan to help students understand how word choices and other factors can intentionally or unintentionally affect the audience's understanding.
A well-done set of units that helps teachers teach the importance of media literacy to their students. Click on Secondary School Introduction to see a video of teachers in the classroom instructing students in ways of using and evaluating media. Return the the the Media Education Lab page to access PDF files and videos for six secondary school units.