The American Society of News Editors and the Journalism Education Association in partnership with the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute offer free news literacy lessons for English/language arts, science, math and social studies teachers to use in secondary-school classrooms. The lessons are available at WhyNewsMatters.org, SchoolJournalism.org and jea.org. Funding for the project was provided by the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.

The News Literacy Corner will highlight each of these subject areas, beginning with social studies.

The social studies lessons were developed by the American Bar Association Division of Public Education and the National Council for the Social Studies to help middle school and high school educators incorporate news literacy within the social studies classroom. These lessons are aligned with the Common Core and the C3 Framework for the Social Studies, and a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 License allows teachers to adapt the lessons for educational purposes.

“We hope students will have a better understanding of the significance that the First Amendment, particularly the right to freedom of the press, has in our constitutional democracy,” said Christine Lucianek, manager of education programs and research at the American Bar Association Division for Public Education. “How has the role of the press and First Amendment protections changed in a digital era? We want students to think about the challenges and opportunities that digital media and social media create for sharing news and sparking civic action as they investigate current events happening within their communities and around the world.”

There are three lessons, and each focuses on a different aspect of news literacy. They are also divided into middle school and high school levels. Materials for each lesson are also provided.

“One of the most important skills needed to become a responsible, engaged citizen is the ability to access, discern, analyze and critique information that is circulated by the media,” said Michelle M. Herczog, immediate past president of the National Council for Social Studies. “If we want young people to engage in democratic processes as informed citizens, they must understand deeply the multiple, complex points of views presented in presidential debates, current events, and controversial topics that impact their lives every day.”

Lesson 1 is called “Introduction to News Literacy: Free Press in a Constitutional Democracy.” Students examine several quotes from the founders to understand the context for including a freedom of press in the First Amendment. They think about the role that news and being an informed citizen continues to play in democracy as they build practical skills to evaluate information from newspapers. Students also evaluate the messages of national news headlines and explore local, state and national news issues.

Lesson 2 is called “The Fourth Amendment, Technology, and a Right to Privacy.” It looks at a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision using a political cartoon. Students analyze the cartoon, then discuss the case, and consider the implications of searching an individual’s smartphone or tablet.

Lesson 3 is called “Making and Shaping the News in a Digital Age.” Students learn about the role that social media played in sharing the news and supporting civic action after the Boston Marathon Bombing. They then examine the role of media and social media in reporting and reacting to the events that unfolded in Ferguson, Missouri, after the shooting of Michael Brown. Students think about the challenges and opportunities that the technology and digital media create for making and sharing news.

“Teaching news literacy is a natural fit within the social studies curriculum because news literacy skills overlap with many of the skills that social studies teachers are already teaching their students to help them become informed and engaged citizens,” Lucianek said. “It is important for students to be able to evaluate the reliability of sources across different types of media, distinguish between fact and opinion, become familiar with varying perspectives on a given issue and to understand the role that the news can play in shaping public perception.”

Click here to download the lessons.

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