Creator: NewseumEd | visit site
Grade Range: 6 - 11
Discover what a free press really is and how many of the world’s nations enjoy a free press using the NewseumEd activity World Press Freedom Map. You don’t have to make a trip to Washington D.C. to learn from this activity, instead, use the accompanying link for the Freedom House interactive map. Download the worksheet/chart in PDF or as a Word document for distribution. You must be a registered NewseumEd member to access this resource; however, membership is free.
In the Classroom
Begin by showing students the Freedom House interactive map and read the information in the right column about what a genuinely free press is. Compare that info to a partly free press (explained just under it). Then have students work in small groups or with a partner to fill out the worksheet/chart. Complete a class discussion of the chart, and then have the small groups or pairs choose one of the countries with partial freedom of the press and research what other freedoms the U.S. enjoys that are restricted or repressed for the citizens of that country. Add these to the chart. Challenge students to convert their paper worksheet/chart to an online digital infographic to present their findings using Visme, reviewed here, or to set up their own graphic organizer to show the comparisons using an online tool such as TUZZit, reviewed here. TUZZit allows you to create diagrams, mindmaps, and other visual graphic organizers.
At Home
During family discussions about current events in other countries, use the Freedom House interactive map to discover how free that country’s press is. Share this with your son or daughter who has to provide a current event topic in a class, or if s/he is studying a world language, share the Freedom House interactive map then.
Tags
newspapers, freedom of speech, news, journalism, media literacy,
Subjects
Current Events, English, Language Arts, Reading, Social Studies, Social Studies, World Languages, World Languages, Writing,