We know that the everyday lives of our students are inundated with media. This often-overwhelming menu of media-rich entrées gets served up at a rate that seems to value overconsumption more than proper and meaningful digestion. As educators, we may be left wondering, how do we beef up (or tofu up , if you prefer) our students’ appetites for media-literacy so that they can skillfully navigate our ever-changing, media-saturated landscape?

In this lesson, students consider the different factors that make online sources reliable or unreliable. They then learn quick steps they can take to gauge an online source’s reliability and practice these steps by playing an interactive online game. Finally, students create a media product to teach other students how to do one of the tactics they’ve learned.

Breaking News English is a free current events based lesson builder. New lesson every three days. All lessons are based on stories currently in the news - as the world's news breaks, teach it.

This site is very valuable for EAL students as it allows the speed of the audio of the article to be adjusted to the pace best suited to the language level of the student. It also offers a wide range of language activities to support EAL students.

"It can be tough to tell what’s true and what’s “fake news” just by looking at a headline. But it’s easy to do a quick check and get the real facts when something doesn’t look right online."

With a little help from the house hippo, in this lesson students are introduced to the challenges of identifying what is real and what is fake online.
Break the Fake lesson plans are available for grades K-12

Help students fight information pollution.

You will have to sign up to access the site.

*Modules
*Videos
*Activities
*Case Studies

English
Students face an overwhelming online information environment that is increasingly polluted with false and misleading information, spin, and dubious expertise.

CTRL-F: Find the Facts is a contemporary digital media literacy program from CIVIX that helps students learn to evaluate online sources and claims to determine what to trust, using evidence-based ‘lateral reading’ strategies.

Learning is anchored by short expert-led videos and interactive practice examples drawn from a range of platforms, supported by lesson plans, slide decks, and worksheets. The resources are free with registration, designed for grades 7 to 12, and available in English and French. For more information, visit ctrl-f.ca.

FRENCH
Les étudiants font face à un environnement d'information en ligne accablant, de plus en plus pollué par de fausses informations, des informations trompeuses, des manipulations et une expertise douteuse.

CTRL-F : Trouver les Faits est un programme contemporain de littératie des médias numériques proposé par CIVIX qui aide les étudiants à apprendre à évaluer les sources en ligne et les affirmations pour déterminer en quoi avoir confiance, en utilisant des stratégies de "lecture latérale" basées sur des preuves.

L'apprentissage est ancré par de courtes vidéos animées par des experts et des exemples interactifs tirés de diverses plateformes, soutenus par des plans de cours, des présentations et des fiches d'exercices. Les ressources sont gratuites sur inscription, conçues pour les élèves de la 7e à la 12e année, et disponibles en anglais et en français. Pour plus d'informations, visitez ctrl-f.ca.

Media literacy is so important in today's society. This is CANADIAN program from CIVIX.
It provides opportunities for:
*Resources (including full lessons and pre/post assessments)
*Example Bank
*Workshops

You will need to sign up for a free account to access this excellent program.

"False and misleading information is rampant online, and people lack the skills and motivation to determine what to trust. To build the next generation of informed citizens, we need to adopt new ways to teach digital media literacy and source evaluation."

By critically analyzing popular television programs, students develop an awareness of the messages that are portrayed through the media.

Propaganda! Misinformation! Disinformation! Today we’re talking about the dark – or, shall we say, darkER – side of media. Understanding these media bogeymen is essential to being a more media literate citizen.

There are calendars for activities for Elementary, Middle and High School students!

These include:
Question of the day
15 min activity
Something to share with families
Spirit week ideas

The Digital Licence is an interactive resource that challenges young people to examine their interactions online and to think more critically. Referencing current trends and applications, the resource helps students and educators on their path toward informed digital citizenship.

It features about eight scenarios, tailored by age level, that cover topics including what constitutes copyright violation and how to stay safe online. Each student registers individually and then progresses through background material related to a given scenario, which might include a video or examining a given situation. When a student feels confident she has mastered a topic, she can take a "prove it" quiz that puts her knowledge to the test. A passing score is 80 percent or greater. Scores, answer resets and attempts are logged for educators, who can follow each student's progress in an admin toolbar. Educators can further specify which scenarios will be required to earn a DDL.

At Sun West you can log into this using your Sun West Office 365 credentials.

"Introduce students in grades 3–5 to Digital Passport™ by Common Sense Education. The award-winning suite of six interactive games addresses key issues kids face in today's digital world. Each engaging game teaches critical digital citizenship skills that help students learn to use technology responsibly to learn, create, and participate. Games are available in Spanish."

Learn about passwords, online safety, sharing private information online, cyberbullying, how to search and more - all by playing games.

A complete educator guide is available.

Kids news articles! Kids current events; plus kids news on science, social studies, sports, world, environment and more!

In this section, you can find...
Educational computer games that introduce kids to key ideas in media and digital literacy. These games are a great way to start a conversation on media issues in the home or classroom, and you can play most of them right here on our website.

A fact is something which is true, which can be proven. An opinion is a belief and can't be proven.

Decide whether each sentence is fact or opinion.

How do we teach students to identify fake news?
In a world where it is increasingly dangerous to simply trust what we read and see.

There is a fact sheet available for download as well.

In a “post-truth” era where people are increasingly influenced by their emotions and beliefs over factual information, fact and fiction can be difficult to distinguish, and fake news can spread rapidly through mainstream media sources and social networks. Moreover, fake news is often meant to do harm, by tricking us into believing a lie or unfairly discrediting a person or political movement.

Given this malicious intent, students must learn to approach news and information with a critical eye in order to identify intentionally misleading sources (although recent studies confirm that this is an uphill battle for both adults and young people). Teachers therefore play a crucial role in ensuring that their students develop the skills to decipher the many streams of information available to them.

"All types of educators are bound to find something of use on KQED Education. Browse the classroom resources for access to high-quality videos, lesson plans, media creation ideas, and other standards-aligned content. Or read stories written and shared by other educators, and get inspiration and ideas for your classroom. Activities focus on creative use and analysis of media. For example, one teacher-created post describes how she used memes to teach media literacy. Another wrote about having students share their culture through media creation. While the site contains a mix of structured plans and ideas, it's easy to find activities that inspire forward-thinking instruction and encourage the development of a 21st century learning environment.

Check out the free professional development (PD) offerings as well: Teachers can earn certification as a PBS Media Literacy Educator by completing eight of the available modules. The site's pages are densely populated with activities, links to more KQED resources, and partner sites, but if you're willing to spend some time looking around, you'll find lots of high-quality materials." (Common Sense Media Review)