More state legislatures are developing media literacy policies in response to debates over student phone use, social media restrictions, and artificial intelligence. But are they committed to supporting programs that engage all teachers in opportunities to teach media literacy?
Aimed at middle and high school educators, 5 Questions for Any Text by Marilyn Pryle presents a structured yet flexible approach for helping students move beyond surface-level comprehension toward deeper analysis, reflection, and awareness, writes Melinda Stewart.
Whose job is it to teach students what they need to know about deceptive social media, algorithmic advertising, and deep-fake artificial intelligence? Media literacy educator Frank W. Baker offers advice, resources, and a sense of urgency “in an increasingly deep-fake world.”
Librarians do more than read with elementary kids, check out books to middle schoolers, or gather books for reshelving in high schools. The modern school librarian is an advocate for joyful reading and a provider of meaningful learning opportunities, writes Jennifer Sniadecki.
Media LIteracy / Wide Open Learning
by Megan Kelly · Published 12/15/2024 · Last modified 01/01/2025
Concerned by the News Literacy Project’s survey revealing teens’ difficulties in separating fact and fiction, Megan Kelly is finding as many classroom minutes as possible to build her students’ media literacy skills. She shares some quick activities her classes like best.
While making sure middle school students are media savvy is critical and the ideas in The Media-Savvy Middle School Classroom are supported by solid theory, educator Megan Balduf finds some lesson plans too esoteric for the middle school classroom and a packed ELA curriculum.
Marilyn Pryle’s five crucial questions help students become critical readers in the Age of Disinformation as they learn to look more deeply into any text, in any form, and see the influences around it, the voices and sponsors, the craft and rhetoric, the intent and message.
Classrooms that teach a broad range of close reading skills are not only rich with texts but host a wide range of types of texts, from traditional to digital to hyperlinked to hybrid, writes ELA teacher Jason DeHart. Critical student thinking needs to occur in all these spaces.
It’s daunting to invite politics into the classroom. But when we do it right, students can learn to engage meaningfully with people who see the world very differently. Kent Lenci has tips to help the conversations thrive, including developing media literacy and supporting SEL.
Articles / Civics and Current Events / Media Literacy
by MiddleWeb · Published 09/25/2022 · Last modified 11/18/2024
As disinformation proliferates, schools need a better solution than perfunctory media literacy education, say these digital citizenship advocates. When students achieve full “media fluency,” they will not only understand disinformation exists but have the tools to outflank it, write McCusker, Irvan and Driscoll.
