TeachersFirst Collection: Media Literacy
Media literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media in all its forms, helping us understand who created a message, why, and how it might shape what we think and do. Whether you're an educator, librarian, parent, or lifelong learner, this collection offers tools to help you question sources, analyze messages, and create media responsibly. You'll find podcasts, videos, lesson plans, interactive simulations and games, fact-checking guides, discussion prompts, and classroom activities for a range of ages, subjects, and time commitments.
Click here to view our complete collection of tagged media literacy resources.
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Bad News - Cambridge Social Decision-Making Lab and DROG
Grades
5 to 12
2 Favorites
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How bad can you be? This game teaches you how fake news and disinformation spreads as players take on the role of the bad guy to acquire as many followers ...more
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How bad can you be? This game teaches you how fake news and disinformation spreads as players take on the role of the bad guy to acquire as many followers as possible while raising their credibility ratings. Follow the prompts and make selections on how to spread disinformation and take advantage of others' fears and emotions as you proceed through the game. As you make choices, watch how that affects the number of your followers and learn how to use celebrity and fear to influence others. Throughout the game, players earn up to six badges recognizing accomplishments such as impersonation and emotion.
tag(s): digital citizenship (112), game based learning (309), internet safety (117), media literacy (137), social media (64)
In the Classroom
This game is ideal for introducing lessons on digital citizenship, media literacy, and social media. Share the site with your students to explore on their own, and encourage them to play several different times using the different options provided. Your students won't mind playing over and over; it is easy to get hooked on trying to find the best way to gain as many followers as possible! Once students become familiar with the game and the different options presented for spreading misinformation, ask them to apply their findings to online content. Have them conduct online research to find sites or information using tactics such as those featured in Bad News, including emotional appeals. As they research sites and online information, have them add links to the sites they find on a class Padlet. Padlet, reviewed here, offers an option to create columns, use this option, then label a column for each badge found in the game, and ask students to share a link to their sites in the appropriate column. In addition to adding a link, have students include a comment providing information on why their site belongs in the category. Instead of assessing learning with quizzes or written reports, enhance learning and transform your assessment by having students create infographics to share the information they have learned. Canva Infographic Maker, reviewed here, provides easy-to-use templates to create interesting and informative infographics. Extend learning and ask students to become the teacher using Wayground (formerly Quizizz) reviewed here. Include videos, quizzes, and other interactive activities as part of your Quizizz lesson. Be sure to share your assessment rubric with students as part of your assignment. Find many ideas for implementing rubrics for assessment along with examples and online tools at TeachersFirst Rubrics to the Rescue, available here.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Project Look Sharp - Project Look Sharp, Ithaca College
Grades
K to 12
3 Favorites
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Project Look Sharp promotes media literacy education and critical thinking skills through the offering of curriculum kits for classrooms in grades K-12; to find the kits click the Free...more
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Project Look Sharp promotes media literacy education and critical thinking skills through the offering of curriculum kits for classrooms in grades K-12; to find the kits click the Free Classroom Materials button. The free kits include teacher guides, handouts, assessments, and correlating digital media. Browse through all available kits, or filter by grade level or Common Core Standard. Each kit is available for download in its entirety or download individual lessons as desired; registration is required. Lesson contents cover a variety of topics including Global Warming, Presidential Campaigns, and Social Justice. Be sure to look through other sections of the site including professional development information and links to handouts from Project Look Sharp's presentations.
tag(s): american revolution (99), climate change (112), critical thinking (188), environment (245), martin luther king (42), media literacy (137), middle east (47), nutrition (140), OER (54), presidents (153), russia (32), social justice (44), social media (64)
In the Classroom
Become acquainted with these free curriculum kits and lessons to integrate media literacy within content already taught in the classroom. As you teach lessons found on the site, incorporate technology to enhance learning and build student understanding by using WordSift, reviewed here, to introduce and develop vocabulary as a prereading strategy or older students can use either as they are reading. Incorporate images with annotations to help students understand "big picture" ideas using Image Annotator, reviewed here. For younger students create a Image Annotator as a class to add text, video, and more to images. Ask older students to create their own Image Annotator sharing information learned throughout your lessons. Be sure to share all of your images on your class website for students to view at any time. To transform classroom technology use and as a culminating activity, use a digital book creation tool like Book Creator, reviewed here, as an alternative assessment to quizzes or tests. Include student-created writing, Annotated images, and add videos with student commentary within each book. Be sure to provide students with your rubric to use as a guide before turning in digital books. Find many ideas for implementing rubrics for assessment along with examples and online tools at TeachersFirst Rubrics to the Rescue, reviewed here. Whether students work individually or in groups, be sure to share your new digital library related to your lesson topic with students to review and revisit at any time!
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Interland - Google
Grades
2 to 6
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Master five core principals of Internet safety through gameplay with Interland. Choose from four different lands to learn how to deal with phishers, hackers, over-sharers, and bullies....more
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Master five core principals of Internet safety through gameplay with Interland. Choose from four different lands to learn how to deal with phishers, hackers, over-sharers, and bullies. Interland is part of a larger Internet safety site from Google, Be Internet Awesome, reviewed here.
tag(s): cyberbullying (52), digital citizenship (112), internet safety (117)
In the Classroom
Include Interland as part of any digital safety unit. Add a link to games on classroom computers for use as a center. Be sure to include a link on your class web page for students to play at home. Share this site with parents during Open House or Meet the Teacher sessions as a resource for teaching Internet safety at home. Have students or groups collect ideas and suggestions for staying safe on the web using Dotstorming, reviewed here. The Dotstorming application creates free online bulletin boards that can include comments and voting. Have students make a multimedia presentation sharing Internet safety advice using Genially, reviewed here. Genially allows you to add polls, videos, embeds, web links, PowerPoint, and PDFs.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Glean - Digital Literacy Teaching Tools - The Public Learning Media Laboratory
Grades
6 to 12
3 Favorites
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Small but mighty, this site has several lesson plans for the digital classroom. Use, share, and help create digital literacy lesson plans using Google Docs at Glean. Also, use the ...more
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Small but mighty, this site has several lesson plans for the digital classroom. Use, share, and help create digital literacy lesson plans using Google Docs at Glean. Also, use the hashtag #lessonhack on X (formerly Twitter) to follow the development of ideas and the lessons. Use the drop-down menu for Lessons to view plans for Media, Data, Information, Network Literacy, and also find Security and Privacy lessons. Find plans already created that include, To Teach Memes, Teaching Media Making, Terms of Service, and there are several others about the Internet and IPs. One lesson on Safer Sexting states, "This is not intended to condone sexting; rather it is designed to provide young people (at risk through their sexting behavior) with digital literacies and personal practices to mitigate negative impacts of the sexting they've done."
tag(s): computers (102), digital citizenship (112), internet safety (117), media literacy (137)
In the Classroom
Computer Literacy teachers and those responsible for teaching Internet safety in any course are sure to find a lesson they need. Take advantage of these free lessons to educate students about the basics of the Internet from safety to reading the terms of service to creating or sharing memes. After these lessons, challenge students to create a simple infographic about what they learned using Infogram, reviewed here. The lessons and (some of) the descriptions include resources you may want to share with parents and school counselors so they can have a conversation about the topics with their students. Discuss topics on this site as part of Internet safety lessons. Share this site with school counselors as a resource for teens facing online safety issues.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Making a Change: The First Amendment and the Civil Rights Movement - NewseumED
Grades
8 to 12
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Explore how the First Amendment influenced the Civil Rights Movement through this collection of resources from Newseum. The collection includes three teaching units with topics of Historical...more
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Explore how the First Amendment influenced the Civil Rights Movement through this collection of resources from Newseum. The collection includes three teaching units with topics of Historical Connections, Media Literacy, and Civics & Citizenship. In addition, an interactive timeline beginning in 1791 demonstrates the Civil Rights journey. A Google Civil Rights map includes links to important American newspapers and their coverage of civil rights events and leaders. Be sure to sign up for your free NewseumED account for complete access to all materials.
tag(s): black history (133), civics (138), civil rights (228), constitution (108), cultures (302), journalism (72), media literacy (137), newspapers (86)
In the Classroom
Use any or all of the units and interactives with any Civil Rights lessons; this site isn't just for Black History Month! Share with journalism students as they explore the role of the press in shaping and telling the story of a nation. Have small groups or pairs of students enhance their learning by making a multimedia presentation exploring the First Amendment and the role of the press using a tool such as Sway, reviewed here. With the web-based Sway, you can include text, images, and video. To illustrate different press coverage around the nation, have students modify their learning by creating maps using Zeemaps, reviewed here. This tool allows students to create audio recordings and choose a location on a map where the news report takes place.
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Believe It or Not? - NewseumED
Grades
8 to 12
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Use the lessons, discussion questions, and news articles provided by NewseumEd to help young adults understand what media literacy is and to tell the difference between good and bad...more
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Use the lessons, discussion questions, and news articles provided by NewseumEd to help young adults understand what media literacy is and to tell the difference between good and bad information. Though the lessons seem to center around a visit to Newseum and their galleries, there is a lot to be learned just by examining and discussing the materials presented here. There are discussion questions, media issues to think about, suggested in-class activities, and worksheets. Find a Unit plan with lessons that are standards aligned and Common Core compatible. The Unit plan and worksheets are available in both PDF and Word document formats. You must be a registered NewseumEd member to access this resource; however, membership is free.
tag(s): evaluating sources (58), media literacy (137), news (222)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the free lessons, discussion questions, sample articles, and worksheets offered for use in your classroom. Divide students into small groups and assign different discussion questions and activities to each group. Allow all older students to have a voice (and engage their interest) in the small group by using a chat service like Flock, reviewed here. Enhance learning by challenging the small groups to create a slide presentation using the free Microsoft PowerPoint Online, reviewed here, demonstrating information learned. With the online PowerPoint students can add videos, images and documents making them all interactive. Note: with Flock students can also start planning the presentation and keep the plan for 30 days. If you cannot make a field trip to the Newseum for the Gallery Guide Handout, you can do a Google search for Who Controls the News and find many free resources.
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NewseumED - NewseumED.org
Grades
6 to 12
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Make history relevant to the world today and learn more about First Amendment issues at the same time. Find lesson plans, a multimedia collection of primary sources and artifacts, interactive...more
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Make history relevant to the world today and learn more about First Amendment issues at the same time. Find lesson plans, a multimedia collection of primary sources and artifacts, interactive tools, and worksheets. These are searchable by type, topic, collection, and time period. The lessons focus on historical connections, media literacy, and civics and citizenship. There are several EdCollections with titles like "Election 2016: Stumped!?," "Making a Change," "Women, Their Rights and Nothing Less," and "Freedom in the Balance." The latter focuses on teaching and learning about 9/11 and the attacks in Paris, France, in 2015, and adhering to the First Amendment freedoms and concerns for safety and the public good. All of this is free with an email sign-up. Check back frequently to see NewseumEd's newest EdCollections.
tag(s): civics (138), civil rights (228), elections (91), evaluating sources (58), freedom of speech (17), media literacy (137), politics (119), primary sources (177), sept11 (19), terrorism (40), terrorist (12)
In the Classroom
If you teach or even discuss civil rights, the First Amendment and its freedoms and ideals, current events, or the presidential elections be sure to look at the lessons provided here. The lessons will also help you show students how to tell facts from opinions in current events. Use ideas from the lesson plans to supplement your current teaching materials. Enhance learning and challenge small groups of students to create an infographic sharing their learning from the notes they took during a lesson. Use Infogram, reviewed here, to construct the infographic. If you plan on using one of the EdCollections ask students to enhance and extend their learning and develop a multimedia presention using Presentious, reviewed here, or an interactive poster with a tool like Genially, reviewed here, for one of the suggested Extension Activities.
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Media History Digital Library - Media History Digital Library
Grades
6 to 12
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Visit the Media History Digital Library to find digitized classic media periodicals from the public domain. All of the collections pertain to the cinema, broadcasting, and sound. Periodicals...more
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Visit the Media History Digital Library to find digitized classic media periodicals from the public domain. All of the collections pertain to the cinema, broadcasting, and sound. Periodicals such as Business Screen, Pictures and Story Magazine, Motion Picture Classics, and Radio Age have at least a five-year spread of content. Over 100 other periodicals are featured. When selecting a periodical, you may choose to read it, download it, or go directly to the site. Join the blog to discover recent additions, scholarship opportunities, events, and more.
tag(s): art history (110), media literacy (137), multimedia (71)
In the Classroom
Use Media History Digital Library in your classroom as a secondary resource to discover the culture and setting of a time period while studying literature or even through history classes. List the clues and details that provide further information. Analyze the article use and its influence on society by using close reading techniques. In a multimedia class, discover the history and progression of cinema, broadcasting, and sound. Use to discover the influence of critical world events such as world wars, depressions, economic influences, an industrial revolution, and more. Analyze the artistic changes throughout time.
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Save the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus - Lyle Zapato
Grades
6 to 12
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1 Comments
This site is the perfect example of false information that you can find on the Internet! Learn all about the endangered tree octopus and efforts to keep them from extinction ...more
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This site is the perfect example of false information that you can find on the Internet! Learn all about the endangered tree octopus and efforts to keep them from extinction at this very realistic "fake" site. Read all about the characteristics of the tree octopus including habitat, reproduction, and why it has become endangered. View some of the activities such as a trick or treat box to collect candy to hang in trees for the octopus. Peruse pictures of rare sightings of the octopus. The falsehoods shown on the site, such as the inclusion of other hoax species and organizations (mixed with links to pages about real species and organizations) are sure to give you a chuckle!
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): creative writing (123), evaluating sources (58), internet safety (117), literacy (122), media literacy (137), satire (7)
In the Classroom
Use this site as an anticipatory set or "activator" to introduce a unit or lesson on finding credible sources. Share this tool on a projector or interactive whiteboard. If you are beginning the process of integrating technology, have students create blogs sharing their learning about analyzing Internet resources (and even fake news) using Telegra.ph, reviewed here. This blog creator requires no registration. You may want to share the Wikipedia and Snopes articles about the Tree Octopus. What a great creative writing idea this is! Have your students try their hand at something like this. Use one of the web page making tools reviewed by TeachersFirst here, to publish the creative writing assignments. Invite other classes to vote on the one they think is true.Comments
I have used this site for years. It is well made and, once the students catch on, it provides the basis for great discussions and a lot of laughter. I also use the Dehydrated Water website where you, too can buy dehydrated water or, even buy a franchise to sell dehydrated water. My other favorite is Dog Island Free Forever where your dog can live stress free with other dogs without the stress that comes from living with humans.Sharon, PA, Grades: 0 - 8
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Media Smarts - Canada's Centre for Digital and Media Literacy
Grades
6 to 12
5 Favorites
0 Comments
Media Smarts is a comprehensive Canadian site devoted to media literacy and critical thinking skills for children and youth. Browse through several topics such as digital and media...more
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Media Smarts is a comprehensive Canadian site devoted to media literacy and critical thinking skills for children and youth. Browse through several topics such as digital and media literacy to explore articles related to television, Internet, and gender issues. An extensive teacher resource section offers many lessons and resources searchable by grade, topic, and media type. Download lessons in PDF format using links in the lesson description.
tag(s): media literacy (137)
In the Classroom
Bookmark this site to explore and use with lessons related to digital and media literacy. Share articles on gender and body image with students. Engage students by having them create a word cloud of the important terms they learn from this site using a tool such as WordItOut, reviewed here. Enhance learning by having students find examples on T.V. and use an online poster creator, such as PicLits, reviewed here to demonstrate examples. Give students a choice and have students create a simple infographic sharing their findings using Venngage, reviewed here, instead of the poster.
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RADCAB - Steps for Online Information Evaluation - Karen M. Christensson
Grades
6 to 12
2 Favorites
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RADCAB is a way to evaluate information and resources. RADCAB is a mnemonic acronym: Relevancy, Appropriateness, Detail, Currency, Authority, and Bias. Click on each word for details...more
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RADCAB is a way to evaluate information and resources. RADCAB is a mnemonic acronym: Relevancy, Appropriateness, Detail, Currency, Authority, and Bias. Click on each word for details on that topic. An excellent rubric is available for download in PDF format at the bottom of the home page. This simple site is a great resource for discussing and teaching information literacy lessons about evaluating information and sources.
tag(s): evaluating sources (58), internet safety (117), media literacy (137), Research (92), rubrics (39)
In the Classroom
Share this site and content on your interactive whiteboard or projector as you begin a project involving research. Demonstrate how to use this site before allowing students to explore on their own. Print and use the rubric available on the site. Require that students (or groups) complete the rubric on their chosen sources for research. Share a link to the site on your class website and classroom computers for easy student (and parent) reference at any time. Another idea: to enhance student learning is to assign cooperative learning groups one part of the acronym. Each group could create a presentation to share with the class about what they learned about their part of the evaluation process. Have students create online posters individually or together as a class using a tool such as Web Poster Wizard, reviewed here, or PicLits, reviewed here. Students will LOVE finding and sharing examples of "bad" sources!
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National Archives: Educator Resources - National Archives
Grades
4 to 8
2 Favorites
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This site is meant to assist teachers in their use of archival documents when teaching. Choose "Teaching with Documents" and "Docs Teach" for documents and analysis instructions. Also...more
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This site is meant to assist teachers in their use of archival documents when teaching. Choose "Teaching with Documents" and "Docs Teach" for documents and analysis instructions. Also find reproducible primary documents, photographs, and lesson plans correlated to the National History Standards, and cross-curricular connections. The site includes interesting activities for use in studying events in U.S. History.
tag(s): civics (138), media literacy (137), primary sources (177)
In the Classroom
This is an excellent site for any history, art history, or civics teacher attempting to put forth something more tangible for students to grasp. Click on "Images of the American Revolution," and open up the pictures on the interactive whiteboard or projector. Question students as to the meaning and context of the illustrations, to help them understand how images were used to convey certain meanings. Ask the students to create their own cartoons about something controversial in their town, or about the unit being studied, and encourage them to use some of the same subtle concepts the original illustrators did.
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