Our kids and students are inheriting a world where trustworthy info can be tough to find. From cable news to social media to the gutting of local news sources and in-depth reporting, it can be tough to get a real handle on current events. While news literacy, or information literacy, has been kicking around schools for a long time, the entire discipline is due for a shakeup that's better tuned to how news and info gets made and manipulated now.
To help, we've curated some of the best resources for teaching a new kind of news literacy. These resources help students seek out and evaluate the credibility of sources, fact-check in a way suited to the web, understand and challenge bias, and battle misinformation and disinformation. There's everything from lessons and curricula to interactive games and tools.
Up-to-date, expert-backed news literacy program builds needed skills
Bottom Line: These trusted lessons, a great fit for middle school, empower students to approach media more intentionally, but teachers might need to adapt.
Go-to news literacy site is an excellent primer on media issues
Bottom Line: With "fake news" a pressing concern, Checkology's literacy lessons offer essential, if not totally comprehensive, skills to help students evaluate sources.
Bottom Line: A gold mine of cross-curricular literacy lessons that encourage sound, research-backed strategies for reading, analysis, and critical thinking.
News site sim demonstrates impact of misinformation
Bottom Line: Creating a fake news site and tracking its success offers students a compelling, real-world way in to important media literacy conversations.
Journalistic history site helps students analyze primary sources
Bottom Line: This is a strong resource for showing the power of journalism and research, and it'll engage most students; others will need teacher support.
