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Presidential Photo-Op and Political Protest: Who’s Telling the Story?
In this media literacy activity students analyze and compare a short video produced by the White House and a longer news report by MSNBC on President Trump’s photo-op in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church on June 1, 2020 during nationwide protests against police brutality and racism.
High School, College
Whole Class
15-30 Minutes
Presidents and Propaganda?
This activity asks students to reflect on the definitions of propaganda and fascist propaganda as they analyze two short videos: a pro-Obama music video produced by musician will.i.am in 2008 and a pro-Trump video shown at the Ellipse in Washington DC shortly before the Capitol insurrection on January 6, 2021.
High School, College
Whole Class
15-30 Minutes
Pride Month: Representation and Authorship
Students analyze short Pride Month videos for messages about LGBTQ history and culture and its representation.
Middle School, High School, College
30-60 Minutes
Pride in Our Hispanic Heritage: Countering Stereotypes
In this media literacy activity students analyze advertisements targeted at the Latino/a community for messages about cultural identity, consumerism and stereotyping,
Middle School, High School, College
Whole Class
15-30 Minutes
Rapping the Revolution: Music and Social Change in Iran
Students analyze excerpts from five short Iranian music videos for messages about the causes of the protests in Iran in 2022 and the role of music in revolution.
Middle School, High School, College
Whole Class
30-60 Minutes
Rating Media Credibility – Who’s Behind the Curtain?
In this media literacy activity students analyze websites for messages about how funders and advisors influence bias.
High School, College
Individual, Pair, Group - Small (3-5 Members), Whole Class
30-60 Minutes
Real Bugs TV Commercial Decoding
Media literacy and critical thinking lesson reflecting on stereotyping by analyzing a TV comercial.
Upper Elementary, Middle School, High School, College
Whole Class
Under 15 Minutes
Regulating Social Media: How About It?
Students analyze five short video clips for different messages about the regulation of social media.
High School, College
Whole Class
30-60 Minutes
Remember the Alamo
Students analyze feature film, educational video and TV news clips for the reasons behind the1836 Battle of the Alamo, the credibility of media messages, and how cultural and historical context shapes how history is presented and viewed.
Middle School, High School, College
30-60 Minutes
Representations of Enslavement in South Carolina – Context is Everything
In this media literacy activity students analyze primary and secondary texts from the 19th, 20th & 21st century for messages about African slavery in South Carolina.
High School, College
Whole Class
30-60 Minutes
Science or Fiction – Does Carrying an Umbrella in a Thunderstorm Make You More Likely to be Hit by Lightning?
Students analyze a cartoon and a weather channel video for messages about whether carrying an umbrella is potentially hazardous and about credibility in Internet videos.
Upper Elementary
15-30 Minutes
Scientific Consensus: Global Warming Is Real and It's Caused by Us
This is a media literacy and critical thinking activity in which students analyze two web articles from Skeptical Science and NASA for different approaches to reporting on the scientific consensus on human-induced climate change.
High School, College
Whole Class
30-60 Minutes
Seeing Body Image Through Instagram Filters
in this media literacy activity students analyze a residential treatment center blog post, an opinion piece in college newspaper and an international newspaper story for messages about the impact of Instagram filters on social media users.
High School, College
Whole Class
30-60 Minutes
Selling Masculinity: What Kind Would You Like?
In this media literacy activity students analyze two television commercials from the same company for conflicting messages about masculinity.
Middle School, High School, College
Whole Class
15-30 Minutes
Should the Government Support Gun Research?
In this media literacy activity students analyze short text documents from a scientific research paper abstract from the New England Journal of Medicine, a news story from the National Rifle Association, a magazine article from Smithsonian and an op-ed from the National Review for messages about scientific gun research, credibility, sourcing and their own biases.
High School, College
Whole Class
30-60 Minutes
Social Media Goes Viral: Fact Checking Messages About COVID-19
In this media literacy activity students analyze a text message, a Facebook post, a webpage from a fact checking organization and a tweet from the World Health Organization for messages about credibility of Internet information about precautionary health measures for COVID-19.
High School, College
Whole Class
30-60 Minutes
Social Media and Elections: What’s the Connection?
In this media literacy activity students analyze online charts and text for messages about the impact of social media on U.S. elections and political discourse.
High School, College
Whole Class
30-60 Minutes
Sports and Protest: Media and Civil Discourse
Students analyze a news report, an advocacy video and a twitter thread for messages about media bias, civil discourse and the role of athletes in social protest.
High School, College
30-60 Minutes
Spotting Fake News: How to Help
In this media literacy activity students analyze three videos for messages about how and why students should recognize and respond to fake news stories.
Middle School, High School, College
Whole Class
15-30 Minutes
Squanto and the First Thanksgiving: Whose Story?
In this media literacy activity students analyze excerpts from children’s books for differing perspectives and messages about the history of Squanto’s role in the first thanksgiving feast.
Upper Elementary
Pair, Group - Small (3-5 Members), Whole Class
30-60 Minutes
Storming the Capitol: Front Page Constructions
In this media literacy activity students analyze newspaper front pages for messages about media representation of the storming of the Capitol.
Middle School, High School, College
Whole Class
15-30 Minutes
Student Media Research Project on Sustainability
Media literacy and critical thinking lesson in which students will complete and present a quantitative research project on media representation of sustainability.
This lesson is part of a "kit" or collection of media decoding lessons on a particular topic. You can explore that kit using the link below:
Playlist: English Language ArtsKit: Media Constructions of Sustainability: Food, Water, and Agriculture
High School
Whole Class
Over 60 Minutes
Sustainability and Media: Introducing Content Analysis
Media literacy and critical thinking lesson introducing the differences between qualitative and quantitative research by decoding messages about sustainability in magazine covers.
This lesson is part of a "kit" or collection of media decoding lessons on a particular topic. You can explore that kit using the link below:
Kit: Media Constructions of Sustainability: Food, Water, and AgricultureHigh School, College
Pair, Whole Class
30-60 Minutes
Techniques of Persuasion: Smoking, Vaping and Health
In this media literacy activity students analyze commercials and PSAs related to smoking and vaping for messages about purpose, technique and target audience.
Middle School
Whole Class
15-30 Minutes
Thanksgiving: Who’s Telling the Story?
In this media literacy activity students analyze short videos for messages about the meanings and impacts of the stories surrounding Thanksgiving.
Middle School, High School, College
Whole Class
30-60 Minutes
The Chinese Exclusion Act - Media and Messages
Students analyze late 19th and early 20th century legislation and Senate testimony, legal documents, political cartoons, a pamphlet and handbill, a newspaper front page and illustration and advertisements for messages about Chinese immigrants and the Chinese Exclusion Act.
Middle School, High School, College
30-60 Minutes
The Death of Kobe Bryant: How Viral Media Spreads Misinformation
In this media literacy activity students analyze screen grabs from a YouTube page, a Facebook post, a network news video page and online headlines, photos and captions for messages about credibility of Internet news reporting.
Middle School, High School, College
Whole Class
15-30 Minutes
The Early Feminists and Haudenosaunee Women: The Origins of Women’s Rights in the U.S.
Students analyze and ask questions about a 1914 political cartoon and a 2020 documentary film clip for messages about the impact of Haudenosaunee women on the early women’s rights movement in the United States.
Middle School, High School, College
15-30 Minutes
The Face of Cereal: Using Cartoon Characters to Persuade Children
This is a media literacy and critical thinking activity in which students decode cereal packages for messages about health and advertising.
Lower Elementary
15-30 Minutes
The Magic of Stereotypes
Media literacy and critical thinking lesson analyzing stereotypes about Arabs by viewing an excerpt from the film, Aladdin.
This lesson is part of a "kit" or collection of media decoding lessons on a particular topic. You can explore that kit using the link below:
Playlist: Global StudiesUnit: Introducing the Middle East
Kit: Media Constructions of the Middle East
Middle School, High School, College
Whole Class
15-30 Minutes
The Murders of Osage Indians: Media Forms, Qualities, and Credibility
Students will explore how different media forms represent the history of the Osage murders, the credibility of sources, and their own preferences.
Middle School, High School, College
30-60 Minutes
The U.S. Exits Afghanistan: Lessons from the Newspaper Front Pages
Students analyze newspaper front pages from August 2021 for messages about media representation of the U.S. exit from Afghanistan.
Middle School, High School
Whole Class
30-60 Minutes
Throwaway Culture: To Buy or to Reuse?
This is a media literacy and critical thinking activity in which students decode web videos and commercials for messages about buying disposable products vs. reusing and reducing waste.
This lesson is part of a "kit" or collection of media decoding lessons on a particular topic. You can explore that kit using the link below:
Playlist: Elementary Critical Thinking Skill BuildingUpper Elementary, Middle School
Whole Class
15-30 Minutes
Tidal Waves & Tsunamis in Film: Fact & Fiction
This is a media literacy and critical thinking activity in which students analyze two short excerpts from a National Geographic video and a TV miniseries to examine credibility of information on the causes and impacts of tsunamis.
Upper Elementary, Middle School
Whole Class
15-30 Minutes
TikTok Timebombs: Methods of Media Manipulation
Students analyze and evaluate the accuracy, purpose and techniques of manipulation in TikTok videos, and reflect on their own reactions and biases.
High School, College
30-60 Minutes
Time Magazine’s Person of the Year – How Selections Change Over Time
In this media literacy activity students compare Time magazine’s “Person of the Year” covers from 1965-1969 and 2015-2019 for messages about historical context in judgments of who is important across a half century.
Middle School, High School, College
Whole Class
15-30 Minutes
To Smoke or Not to Smoke?: Advertising & Persuasion
This media literacy activity was created to integrate the teaching of English language instruction with media literacy for educators in Panama. In this media literacy activity students analyze a poster from the 1970s and a webpage and product packaging from the 2010s for messages about smoking.
Middle School, High School, College
Whole Class
15-30 Minutes
Tracking Lies: Determining the Credibility of Internet Information
This is a media literacy and critical thinking activity in which students decode a tweet, a blog post and a factchecking webpage for credibility of Internet information.
High School, College
Whole Class
30-60 Minutes
Trails of Tears: Who's Telling the Stories and How?
Students analyze videos about the Cherokee trails of tears for messages about techniques, credibility and sourcing.
Middle School, High School
30-60 Minutes
Trusting Web Videos on COVID-19 (Or Not)
In this media literacy activity students analyze for credibility four video clips of people giving prevention advice during the Covid-19 crisis: President Donald Trump, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a New York City primary care doctor during an online family information session, and a naturopathic doctor during a televangelist TV program. These were all posted online in March of 2020.
Middle School, High School, College
Whole Class
15-30 Minutes
Twister: A Film Decoding Activity
Media literacy and critical thinking lesson reflecting on the concept of target audiences, and how messages can be crafted for a specific audience through visuals, language and sound.
Middle School, High School, College
Whole Class
15-30 Minutes
Twitter and Lies: How They Snowball
In this media literacy activity students analyze an excerpt from a research study published in a scientific journal and a news article about the study in an online magazine for messages about the spread of lies on Twitter and the differences in writing for different target audiences.
High School, College
Whole Class
30-60 Minutes
Two Views of an Insurrection: January 6, 2021
In this media literacy activity students analyze the choices made in constructing two news reports on the January 6, 2021 storming of the U.S. Capitol and how we interpret the bias of each.
High School, College
Whole Class
15-30 Minutes
UN Sustainable Development Goals and Graphics
Students analyze icons for messages about graphic design and the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
Upper Elementary, Middle School
30-60 Minutes
Understanding Teen Media Use: Different Research Techniques
In this media literacy activity students analyze three articles about different approaches to social science research through polling data analysis, a longitudinal study and a literature review. Students explore the techniques used for data gathering and discuss the impacts of social media use on adolescents.
High School, College
Whole Class
30-60 Minutes
Vaccinations – What Role Does Social Media Play in Informing the Public?
In this media literacy activity students analyze an article from an anti-vaccination Facebook page, a public radio podcast and an international newspaper for messages about the role of social media in promoting public health as regards vaccines and immunization.
High School, College
Whole Class
30-60 Minutes
Vaccine Safety - Exploring Our Own Biases
Students analyze two short news videos about the safety and speed of the creation of the mRNA Covid vaccine, about sourcing and credibility of the videos and the scientific information presented in them, and about their own confirmation biases.
High School, College
15-30 Minutes
Veterans’ Statues: Reading the Messages
Students analyze sculptures of war veterans for messages about purpose, point of view and meaning.
Upper Elementary, Middle School, High School
15-30 Minutes
Wash Your Hands – What’s the Right Way?
In this media literacy activity students analyze a comic, a graphic, a music video and a public service announcement for messages about the best way to wash your hands to protect yourself from getting sick.
Lower Elementary, Upper Elementary
Whole Class
15-30 Minutes
Wellness Claims and Social Media
Students analyze social media posts with health/wellness claims and evaluate their credibility.
High School, College
30-60 Minutes