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Media Literacy Toolkit

Media Literacy Toolkit

The Republic is (Still) at Risk – and Civics is Part of the Solution highlights the importance of news media literacy education as a complementary stream to the proven practices of civic education embedded in the Illinois middle and high school course requirements. The proven practices of current and controversial issue discussions, simulations of democratic processes, and service learning are contingent on a student’s ability to consume and produce information to address essential questions facing our constitutional republic.

IL House Bill 234 amended the school code by adding a provision that, beginning with the 2022-2023 school year, every public high school is required to include in its curriculum a unit of instruction on media literacy. It additionally sets forth what topics the unit of instruction shall include and provides that the State Board of Education shall determine how to prepare and make available instructional resources and professional learning opportunities for educators that may be used to develop the unit of instruction. (Sponsors included: Rep. Elizabeth Hernandez [D], Rep. Stephanie A. Kifowit [D], and Rep. Janet Yang Rohr [D].)

The unit of instruction shall include, but is not limited to, analyzing:
(1) the purpose of media messages and how they are constructed;
(2) explicit and implicit media messages;
(3) values and points of view that are included and excluded in the media;
(4) how the media may influence ideas and behaviors; and
(5) the importance of obtaining information from multiple media sources.

“Media literacy” means the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, create, and communicate using a variety of forms, including, but not limited to: print, visual, audio, interactive, and digital texts.

This toolkit provides classrooms with tools to help students wisely consume and produce information.

Media literacy is the ability to Access, Analyze, Evaluate, Create, and Act using all forms of communication. In its simplest terms, media literacy builds upon the foundation of traditional literacy and offers new forms of reading and writing. Media literacy empowers people to be critical thinkers and makers, effective communicators and active citizens.
National Association of Media Literacy Education
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Helping Students Be Wise Consumers of Information
  • The American Press Institute has activities and lesson plans for all ages.
  • The Center for Media Literacy designed, developed, implemented, and evaluated resources for educators and communities that comprise the CML MediaLit Kit™. CML’s framework for media literacy is evidenced-based, backed by a peer-reviewed longitudinal study by UCLA.
  • The Center for News Literacy at Stony Brook University offers a Digital Resource Center that teachers can sign up for to curate resources for classroom use.
  • The Civic Education Research Group hosts a series of videos to promote youth media literacy.
  • Crash Course – Navigating Digital Information is a ten episode series that covers fact-checking, lateral reading, deciding who to trust, using Wikipedia, interpreting data and infographics, click restraint, social media, and evaluating evidence, photos, and videos.
  • Cyberwise promises to leave “no grown up behind” by sharing resources to teach kids to use tech safely and wisely.
  • Edutopia vetted a five-minute film festival with nine videos on news literacy.
  • Facing History and Ourselves partnered with the News Literacy Project to create a timely unit on media literacy called “Facing Ferguson” that is appropriate for high school students.
  • Factitious is a game that tests students’ news sense. They updated the game to include COVID-19 information.
  • iCivics created curriculum units for both middle and high school students around news literacy as well as an online game called NewsFeed Defenders.
  • LAMP, or Learning about Multimedia Project, curated materials that shine a light to “challenge stereotypes, fake news, and more.”
  • The National Association of Media Literacy Education assembled a parents guide with useful talking points. The organization also launched the “Stop Media Monsters” campaign to promote basic literacy in the public.
  • NewsGuard is a tool that shows trust ratings for more than 7,000 news and information websites. It is installed as a browser extension that works within an internet browser as students search for news and information online.
  • Newseum ED has wonderful infographics as well as lesson plans.
  • The News Literacy Project (NLP) works with educators and journalists to give students the skills they need to discern fact from fiction and to know what to trust.
    • Checkology is NLP’s browser-based platform, designed for students in grades 6-12, that helps prepare the next generation to easily identify misinformation.
    • NLP’s resource library includes lesson plans, classroom activities, posters and infographics, quizzes, and more for educators teaching news literacy.
    • Informable is NLP’s free mobile app through which users practice four distinct news literacy skills in a game-like format: distinguishing news reports from opinion pieces; advertisements from other types of information; false claims from credible evidence; and fact-based statements from opinion-based statements.
    • NLP provides a Tips & Tools page to test and sharpen news literacy skills with short activities, engaging quizzes, and shareable graphics.
  • PBS NewsHour EXTRA’s new website, Journalism in Action, teaches students about the history of journalism in a fun way with primary sources and interactive activities.
  • The Pulitzer Center provides programming to engage students, foster curiosity, and encourage critical thinking with lesson plans, in-person and Skype journalist visits, workshops, and professional development.
  • Spot the Troll from Clemson University is an online quiz to help the public learn to spot the markers of inauthenticity in social media accounts.
  • The Stanford History Education Group’s portal for Civic Online Reasoning provides free lessons and assessments that teach students to evaluate online information affecting them, their communities, and the world.
  • Time for Kids’ Explains podcast has a recurring segment called “Fact or Fishy?” that encourages kids to think about what’s credible in the news.
Helping Students Be Wise Producers of Information
  • Adobe Education Exchange: Access online courses and curricula to deepen your media-making skills and tap into your creativity, from learning about digital publishing to poster-making, Photoshop to storytelling, all using Adobe tools (free as well as paid).
  • Civic Education Research Group shares videos of students engaging in investigation and research as well as media to engage their voice and take actions to benefit their communities.
  • Common Sense Education: Educators can find free lessons for teaching students (K-12) Digital Citizenship and building young peoples’ capacities as thoughtful media creators. The site also shares its picks of the best tech-creation tools out there.
  • The Digital Civics Toolkit is a collection of resources for educators to support youth to explore, recognize, and take seriously the civic potential of digital life.
  • Facing History and Ourselves’ Journalism in a Digital Age helps students to explore the changing landscape of journalism in the digital age and to consider their roles as creators and consumers of news using the documentary film Reporter.
  • KQED shares a range of resources for helping middle and high school students create media, including KQED Learn, online courses, and a Media Literacy Educator certification.
  • PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs hosts a series of lesson plans that cover the basics of local community journalism, storytelling, scripting and video editing.
  • The Youth Media-Making Toolkit from CIRCLE promotes youth voice, voting, and democratic participation through media creation. Lessons guide teens to plan, make, and share diverse media about voting and civic engagement: short videos, photos, internet memes, animated GIFs, and persuasive images for social media.
  • The YouthLearn Media Literacy Toolbox includes activities, handouts, and curricular resources to support media literacy education and youth media creation in a variety of settings as well as examples of youth-created media.
Latest Resources to Support Media Literacy in the Classroom
  • The Sift from the News Literacy Project is a weekly newsletter that explores current examples of misinformation, addresses media and press freedom topics, and discusses social media trends and issues. This timely content is used as starting points for discussion prompts, activities, and other teachable moments in news literacy, both in and out of the classroom.
  • Is that a fact? Is a daily podcast from the News Literacy Project that informs listeners about news literacy issues affecting their lives through informative conversations with experts working to combat misinformation.
  • Educators can join the National Association of Media Literacy Education (NAMLE) and receive a monthly newsletter of resources and professional learning opportunities from educational partners.
  • Join KQED Learn. KQED Learn is a free platform for middle and high school students to tackle big issues and build their media literacy and critical thinking skills in a supportive environment. You will receive email updates on new resources, youth media engagement opportunities, and professional development.
Learn More About the Importance of Media Literacy
Webinars

 

On-Demand Webinars

Sorting Facts from Fiction: What Districts Can Do Combat Misinformation in the Current Culture Wars: Many of the current media narratives around equity and civic learning in school provide both opportunities and challenges for school leadership as we enter into the new school year, post-pandemic on the eve of a midterm election season. What can districts do to combat misinformation and create a school climate to help students, staff, and the community navigate the brewing “culture wars?” Join Dr. Darlene Ruscitti and the Illinois Civics Hub at the DuPage Regional Office of Education as we explore proactive measures administrators can take to create a supportive school climate for all stakeholders. Learn how to sort facts from fiction from leading experts in school climate, civics, news literacy, and social-emotional learning. Confirmed panelists include Dr. Maurice J. Elias, Dr. Jonathan Cohen, Dr. Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg, Dr. Shawn P. Healy, and Peter Adams.

How Can We Ensure Our Sources of Information About Contemporary Debates and Possibilities are Accurate and Fair? with the Stanford History Education Group: Join the Illinois Civics Hub and Dr. Joel Breakstone, Director of the Stanford History Education Group SHEG, for an informative webinar on how to combat misinformation with research-based strategies that teach students across the curriculum how to evaluate information that affects them, their communities, and the world. Learn how to weave the SHEG resources into your current practice to prepare students for college, career, and civic life.

Digital Well-Being and Citizenship: In 2019, Antioch Community High School (ACHS), an Illinois Democracy School, embarked on a journey to incorporate digital well-being and citizenship practices and spread them to students and staff with goals of taking a positive perspective, promoting human interaction, and incorporating student voice and decision making. #ACHSDIGCIT was born. This webinar will explain how ACHS approached school climate through this process and will highlight some of the activities used to promote positive human interactions through digital formats and support a sense of belonging for students and staff alike. 

The Great Debates with the Museum of Broadcast Communications: Explore the Museum’s online resources for teachers and students to explore media coverage of presidential candidates, debates, and elections. The Museum’s online materials cover historical debates and candidates as well as guidance for how to help students navigate the interplay of media and candidates in an election cycle.

Civic Online Reasoning Across the Curriculum: On subjects ranging from the coronavirus to voting, disinformation proliferates online. How can we help students sort facts from fiction? During this webinar, educators from Neuqua Valley High School, an Illinois Democracy School, and Stanford History Education Group staff will discuss how they have integrated research-tested strategies for evaluating online information into ninth-grade biology and social studies classes.

Civic Online Reasoning in Science with Dr. Joel Breakstone Scientific misinformation abounds online. Join Dr. Joel Breakstone, Director of the Stanford History Education Group, to learn how to improve students’ ability to evaluate scientific information on the internet and incorporate Civic Online Reasoning in the classroom.

Media is an important part of the ecosystem that influences (both positively and negatively) whether and how young people participate in civic life. News in print, podcasts, on television, in social media, and cultural work shared online inform youth about the world and shape their understanding of how they can contribute to it — or whether they try.
Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement
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