New resource for teaching news literacy available on JEA listserv
A new resource for teaching news literacy is available on the Journalism Education Association’s listserv.
Megan Fromm, the news literacy curriculum leader for JEA, is sharing news literacy talking points through the listserv. Each email will provide a resource, such as a link to a current article or issue, as well as talking points about the resource and a learning extension idea that can help teachers build an assignment or activity around the resource, according to Fromm. She will send out the emails every few weeks.
“As someone who has taught news and media literacy in some capacity for almost nine years, I also know that these concepts work quite well when taught in small, meaningful doses,” Fromm said. “So, I hope that teachers will use these talking points as conversation starters, as bell ringers, or as a way to deviate from a production-centric journalism classroom. They work well as group or paired discussion, and they can also be an extra resource for the student who isn’t quite into the journalism and production side of media.”
Fromm tries to pick items that will be great conversation starters, including the quirky or outlandish things that might be making the rounds on social media, she said.
“But the news items must also be ripe for posing the foundational questions of news and media literacy,” Fromm said. “I aim to keep the talking points at a beginner’s level so that they can be used as tools throughout the year to reinforce concepts as opposed to introducing something too advanced to deal with in a short amount of time. I also look for news items or media issues that are gaining in popularity or have wide dissemination so that I increase the chances of students already having encountered that issue.”
Fromm shared her first talking points email below.
Today’s resource
Read about a map that’s making the rounds on Facebook, supposedly detailing what American Indian tribe regions looked like during pre-colonization. The map has been shared hundreds of thousands of times, but it’s fake. Note: the article linked here is educational but also a bit sarcastic and flippant.
Talking points
- Looking at the original map and source, how might students be tipped off that it wasn’t real?
- What kind of research would help to verify the map prior to sharing it on social media?
- Does it matter that this inaccurate information is circulating so widely? Why or why not?
- The article seeks to educate, but it also takes a very mocking, almost flippant tone. Take a moment to identify some of the phrases or sentence that poke fun at readers while also trying to make a point. Are you offended or enlightened? Both? How might that affect the way this article is received?
Learning extension
- Instruct students to research the idea of “confirmation bias.” What is it? How do we know it exists? How can we identify when it’s happening? How do we combat its effects?
“I came up with this talking point because I kept seeing the fake map circulate on social media,” Fromm said. “I think students are drawn to visual information, so that makes it all the more important to learn skills for verification and fact checking. The learning activity is designed to take the conversation a step further by asking students to look up what is actually a fairly theoretical concept of confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is the root of much of what we know in regards to how the media affects us, so it’s really a foundational concept for news and media literacy.”
News and media literacy completes the cycle of a comprehensive media education for students, Fromm said.
“Their lives and careers will be dictated and shaped by media, so they should know how to produce different media for different purposes and audiences,” she said. “But, they also need to develop awareness of how media operate, how different media affect us, and what we do about that.”
The JEA listserv is available to all members. Click here to become a member.
SchoolJournalism.org also offers news literacy lesson plans and resources.
