The Latest Archives

Creating a ‘Quick Pins’ board
of native ads, sponsored content

by John Bowen Title Activity: Creating a “Quick Pins” Padlet/Pinterest board for native ads and sponsored content Description In this lesson, the teacher will lead students to create a Pinterest board that identifies native ads and sponsored content since it always helps to visually explain journalism terminology. Objectives Students will become better informed about what…

Spin and how it works

by Michael Johnson Title Spin and how it works Description In this lesson, students pick up where they left off in propaganda techniques as well as the concept of “spin” and discuss how politicians use these techniques to sway public opinion. Students will identify propaganda used in past and current ads and create their own…

Satire in your publications:
Who is the joke really on?

by Jeff Kocur Title Satire in your publications: Who is the joke really on? Description Students think of themselves as smart and funny, but does that mean they can handle satire? Satire opens students up to many legal risks including libel and invasion of privacy. Use this activity to explore some of the pitfalls of…

Real, fake or satire?
A quick review

by Michael Johnson Jeopardy-style game activity Following the How to Spot Fake News lesson or Satire’s role in Current Events lesson (or perhaps even on its own or before the lesson), urge students to download the Jeopardy-style game to see how they really do in identifying fake news. There are three predominant types of news…

Propaganda

by Michael Johnson Title Propaganda Description In this lesson, students explore propaganda techniques, and discuss how they are the targets of advertisers and politicians. Students will understand and identify how propaganda techniques are used to influence them into doing, feeling and believing a message that may or may not be of benefit to them. Students…

News v. public relations

by Kristin Taylor Title News vs. Public Relations Description The community gets information about what is happening at school through different publications, but not all of these publications are journalistic. In this lesson, students will differentiate between student reporting and school public relations by comparing and contrasting student publications with school public relations content such…

Fake news in an ever-changing media environment

by Jeff Kocur Title Fake news in an ever-changing media environment Description In the 21st century, we choose the media sources we consume in an increasingly passive manner. Stories show up in our news feeds and social media feeds, or in forwarded emails; often we don’t know the sources, or the sources look familiar, but…

Satire’s role in current events

by Michael Johnson Title Satire’s role in current events Description According to Wyatt Mason in an online article published in the New York Times Magazine titled “My Satirical Self,” readers in the 21st century have “taken shelter in the ridiculous.” He provides an excerpt from The Onion, a satirical online news source referenced as “America’s…

How to spot fake news

by Michael Johnson Title How to spot fake news Description There has been a lot of talk lately about “fake news” because it has been particularly prevalent during the recent 2016 Presidential election campaign. According to a recent Pew Research Center study, 62 percent of Americans get their news from social media sites and 44…

Jeopardy-style game activity

by Michael Johnson Following the How to Spot Fake News lesson or Satire’s role in Current Events lesson (or perhaps even on its own or before the lesson), urge students to download the Jeopardy-style game to see how they really do in identifying fake news. There are three predominant types of news in our world…

What happens when a journalist
gets it wrong?

by Jeff Kocur Title What happens when a journalist gets it wrong? Description Inaccurate reporting is not the same as fake news, but it can carry the same consequence. What are the forces at play that compel journalists to strive for accuracy? How do media organizations stay accountable for the work of their journalists? What…

Free expression and your school

by Lori Keekley Title Free expression and your school Description In this noncontinuous lesson, students will localize the 2016 Gallup survey “Free Expression on Campus: A Survey of U.S. College Students and U.S. Adults.” Students will use their technical writing skills to craft the directions (teachers and students), questions similar to the Gallup questions, and…