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Advertising All Around Us - MediaSmarts
Grades
5 to 8
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This lesson provided by MediaSmarts for grades 5 and 6 provides instruction in the different techniques employed by advertisers and the impact it has on students' daily lives. Download...more
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This lesson provided by MediaSmarts for grades 5 and 6 provides instruction in the different techniques employed by advertisers and the impact it has on students' daily lives. Download the lesson kit through the link to the PDF document. The activities focus on three concepts - media construct reality, representation, and audience.
tag(s): advertising (26), media literacy (106)
In the Classroom
Take the ideas and activities found in this lesson plan and enhance them with these lesson extensions. During the first activity, the author suggests taking the name of five products and giving a new humorous name. Take that idea further and ask students to design a print ad using Canva, reviewed here, and using the new product name. Ask students to include a slogan for the product along with imagery promoting the virtues of the item. The second lesson activity asks students to create a new ad to replace one that is boring and unimaginative. Ask students to create a video ad using Clipchamp, reviewed here, or another animated video creation tool. As an alternative, have students use Image Annotator, reviewed here, to create annotated images with links to text, videos, and more. As a final project, students create and plan their own ad. Extend learning by asking students to plan and implement a complete ad campaign, including print, video, and online advertising. Before planning their advertisements, ask students to share examples of effective advertising to an online collaboration tool like Padlet, reviewed here. Include links and images of effective advertising along with comments sharing ideas on why and how the ad works. Have students (or student groups) share their ad campaigns using a multimedia presentation tool like Wakelet, reviewed here. Include links to research, student-created projects, and more all within their Wakelet presentation.
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A Field Guide to Fake News and Other Information Disorders - Liliana Bounegru and others
Grades
6 to 12
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This online book explores and discusses digital methods to recognize false information such as viral memes, trolling, and social media activity. Beginning with Facebook, the authors...more
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This online book explores and discusses digital methods to recognize false information such as viral memes, trolling, and social media activity. Beginning with Facebook, the authors go in-depth to examine how users take advantage of the social media site to share disinformation to targeted individuals and groups. Other chapters consider the use of false information on the web, through Twitter, memes, and fake news sites.
tag(s): internet safety (113), journalism (72), news (227)
In the Classroom
Bookmark this site for use with any social media lessons. Use the entire book or choose from selected chapters or sections. Enhance learning by encouraging students to reflect on and discuss the information found in the book through the use of Fiskkit, reviewed here. Fiskkit is a collaborative tool for sharing and discussing online articles, add the URL of this book into Fiskkit to create a document where students can highlight and comment on any portion of the information. When working with research projects, suggest that students use iCyte Education, reviewed here, to save quotes and cite information found. iCyte is a browser add-on that makes citations and saving online information easy for you and your students. As a final project, and to extend learning, have students create explainer videos using CapCut, reviewed here to share their tips on how to find and deal with "fake news."
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Global Youth Perspectives - Global Oneness Project
Grades
K to 12
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This collection from the Global Oneness Project includes a series of lessons based on stories of youth around the world, ranging from preschoolers to 12th grade. The films and images...more
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This collection from the Global Oneness Project includes a series of lessons based on stories of youth around the world, ranging from preschoolers to 12th grade. The films and images provide perspectives on the daily lives of the featured youth, along with their future hopes. Search this site to find photos, articles, and videos used to explore various issues spanning the world. Each lesson includes a correlation to National Teaching Standards and additional resources for exploration. Registration on the site isn't required to access the lessons; however, it allows you to add materials to an account as favorites to find easily. Sign up for the newsletter to receive more free lesson plans, stories, videos, and more to go along with spreading cultural awareness.
tag(s): africa (142), alaska (21), anthropology (10), cross cultural understanding (167), cultures (145), empathy (32), india (25), middle east (43), native americans (95), Project Based Learning (26), psychology (67), scotland (7), south africa (13), south america (39), sustainability (43)
In the Classroom
Utilize these free lesson ideas and videos to incorporate into any lessons on tolerance, empathy, culture, and to bring a personal touch to learning about nations around the world. Consider using the embed code found in each video and add the video to your class website for students to view at home before your lesson. Ask students to provide a short response to the video on an online bulletin board like Pinside, reviewed here, then use these responses to guide your lesson. The following ideas lend themselves to using this resource for project-based learning or blended learning: At the start of students' ongoing research, share How to Research: Ultimate Guide, reviewed here. Enhance learning by using information learned to create infographics with Canva Infographic Maker, reviewed here. Instead of a typical report or assessment at the end of your unit extend students' learning by having them use Odyssey, reviewed here to build a virtual field trip to tell the story of students in other cultures. Include links to articles, videos, student-created infographics, and more.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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NewsFeed Defenders - FactCheck.org
Grades
6 to 12
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Learn how to find and deal with disinformation and misinformation through this news media literacy game. Players find and identify factual portions of a news story along with misinformation....more
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Learn how to find and deal with disinformation and misinformation through this news media literacy game. Players find and identify factual portions of a news story along with misinformation. Begin by choosing a topic of interest to start your mission. Your goal is to build up your integrity as much as possible throughout the game. Login to your free teacher account to access and print lesson plans and the teacher extension pack.
tag(s): evaluating sources (28), journalism (72), media literacy (106), news (227)
In the Classroom
Include the NewsFeed Defenders game and lesson as part of your broader unit of teaching about online safety and media literacy. Engage studets by using Padlet, reviewed here, to share materials. Include links to videos, articles, and other materials for students to access. Ask them to add comments sharing their insights and information learned. Help students identify online disinformation by collaborating with Fiskkit, reviewed here. Change out paper and pen by sharing the URL of an article to discuss within Fiskkit, then have students highlight any area to discuss the information within the article. Enhance learning by encouraging students to teach others about media literacy using an online book tool like Book Creator, reviewed here. Book Creator can be used for a variety of assignments in any classroom that is integrating technology as an enhancement, modification, or transformation. Have students design and share a book that includes tips for spotting disinformation or bias using specific examples, including text, videos, and images, along with examples of factual, non-biased information.
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Social Media Test Drive - Cornell University and the Cornell Research Foundation, Inc
Grades
4 to 12
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Social Media Test Drive provides a series of interactive modules offering practice in digital citizenship skills through a social media simulation. Each module includes tutorials, guided...more
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Social Media Test Drive provides a series of interactive modules offering practice in digital citizenship skills through a social media simulation. Each module includes tutorials, guided activities, and opportunities for reflection. Topics include how to shape your digital footprint, online privacy, addressing cyberbullies, and how to recognize and identify "fake news." The Teacher's Guide provides ideas on using the site along with key terms and information found within the modules.
tag(s): character education (77), cyberbullying (40), digital citizenship (89), social media (54)
In the Classroom
Share these modules for students to complete during any lessons on Internet safety. Ask students to contribute to a collaborative document sharing examples they have seen of cyberbullying or deceptive news practice. Replace pencil and paper notetaking by sharing an online tool such as Webnote, reviewed here, for students to use to take notes on any website. When finished, have them share their notes using the URL created for use in classroom discussions. Reinforce online safety concepts through gameplay using Baamboozle, reviewed here. Enhance student learning by asking students to create a game in Baamboozle for their peers to play to identify best practices in creating a safe online presence. After completing your digital safety unit, modify classroom technology use and extend learning by asking students to create explainer videos using FlexClip, reviewed here, with suggestions on how to identify fake news, how to create a positive digital footprint or ways to support peers when faced with cyberbullying. Share student videos on your class website and with younger students.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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DigCitCommit - ISTE
Grades
K to 12
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DigCitCommit provides resources for educators to teach and learn about digital citizenship. Based on a series of five competencies, DigCitCommit offers resources including curriculum,...more
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DigCitCommit provides resources for educators to teach and learn about digital citizenship. Based on a series of five competencies, DigCitCommit offers resources including curriculum, online courses, teaching guides, and more from its digital partners. Find out what digital citizenship looks like through a video, podcast, blog, and other ideas shared. Provided by a coalition of organizations including Google, Facebook, Newsela, and others, this initiative is committed to providing information to support the understanding of digital citizenship and well-being.
tag(s): digital citizenship (89), internet safety (113)
In the Classroom
Bookmark this site to use as a resource as you teach about digital citizenship. Learn about the five competencies, then use them as a basis for instruction. Encourage students to become engaged in the conversation by sharing their understanding of different topics. For example, as you teach about the concept of being aware, use a concept mapping resource like mindmaps, reviewed here, for students to visualize and share ideas related to being aware of online actions. As you continue in your lessons of awareness, enhance student learning by incorporating teaching strategies to encourage students to personalize learning experiences through the use of journals or blogs. edublogs, reviewed here, is an excellent blogging tool that provides a safe resource for student writing in addition to providing you the ability to moderate content and privacy settings. As students develop an understanding of each competency, encourage them to continue learning and applying the lessons to their everyday use of online resources. Have groups of students become experts in different competencies and share their knowledge with younger students through the creation of explainer videos using Clipchamp, reviewed here, podcasts using PodcastGenerator, reviewed here, or digital books created with Book Creator, reviewed here.
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Checkology - The News Literacy Project
Grades
5 to 12
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Checkology offers interactive lessons to teach students how to evaluate and judge news and news sources. Lessons include real-world examples; many feature journalism experts as the...more
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Checkology offers interactive lessons to teach students how to evaluate and judge news and news sources. Lessons include real-world examples; many feature journalism experts as the digital guide. Participants view videos, take polls, and respond to quizzes within the lessons. The free account includes access to four news literacy lessons along with access to a limited amount of teacher resources.
tag(s): journalism (72), news (227), newspapers (91), social media (54)
In the Classroom
Integrate these free lessons with your other activities when teaching students how to evaluate and judge online information and other news sources. Consider assigning lessons for students to complete on their own, then come together as a class to discuss the content. Add a link to a lesson on a Padlet, reviewed here, and share with students. Ask them to add comments onto the Padlet including links to additional examples of the featured topic. Ask students to compare and contrast information from two sources using a Venn Diagram. Create a Venn Diagram using resources found at Class Tools, reviewed here. Challenge students to become the reporter and enhance their learning by writing their own news article to post as a blog at Edublog, reviewed here. Ask them to include some misinformation within their blog, and then have other class members find and respond to the shared content. Extend learning by having students become the teacher and share their tips and tricks for evaluating news and creating a digital book for other students using Book Creator, reviewed here. Ask them to include videos sharing their tips, written examples of misinformation, and add their Venn diagram to demonstrate different ways facts are used in articles to mislead readers.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Media Literacy Clearinghouse - Frank W Baker
Grades
6 to 12
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Media Literacy Clearinghouse provides resources for teaching about media and media literacy using teaching standards and non-print, media texts. Browse through the site to find the...more
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Media Literacy Clearinghouse provides resources for teaching about media and media literacy using teaching standards and non-print, media texts. Browse through the site to find the latest information, or search by type of media or concepts. Use the teaching standards link to find content sorted by topics including health, math and science, art, and social studies.
tag(s): advertising (26), evaluating sources (28), journalism (72), media literacy (106)
In the Classroom
Bookmark this site as an excellent resource for planning for and teaching about media literacy. Include information from the Clearinghouse using lessons created with Actively Learn , reviewed here. Actively Learn offers tools for creating interactive, critical thinking lessons using materials found on their site and your own while providing you feedback on student responses and learning. As you continue with lessons on media literacy, collaborate with students on how to interpret online information using Fiskkit, reviewed here. Use Fiskkit to replace paper and pencil by sharing the URL of online articles and have students highlight and comment on any areas. Use this in lessons asking students to identify false or misleading information or to highlight areas that provide facts and information to support a claim. As students become familiar with online cues for understanding media, ask them to use Free Online Screen Recorder, reviewed here, to modify classroom technology use by creating a short video tutorial of their own sharing insights and information from an online article.
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Sports Resources - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12
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Explore this editor's choice collection of resources related to sports. This is a perfect list to share during football season, baseball season, the Olympics, or anytime throughout...more
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Explore this editor's choice collection of resources related to sports. This is a perfect list to share during football season, baseball season, the Olympics, or anytime throughout the year. Read the descriptions to find out whether a site sounds right for what you want to know. Don't miss the "In the classroom" ideas for specific projects, activities, lessons, and ideas. There are also additional links to all of TeachersFirst's resources tagged sports, and special topics pages for Olympics and more.
In the Classroom
This collection includes resources for all grades. Each review includes several classroom use ideas. These are excellent tools to use to study science, math, and more! Save (or bookmark) this list for students to use to review tough concepts. Explore the activities suggested.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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New York Fed's Educational Comic Books - Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Grades
6 to 12
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Learn about basic financial concepts and the Federal Reserve's part of the process through these free, downloadable comic books created for middle and high school students. Many of...more
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Learn about basic financial concepts and the Federal Reserve's part of the process through these free, downloadable comic books created for middle and high school students. Many of the comic books also include lesson plans for middle and high school levels correlated to state and social studies standards. Download the comic books in color or black and white PDFs.
tag(s): banks (8), comics and cartoons (53), financial literacy (89), money (114)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of these free comic books and lessons when teaching economic and financial lessons as a supplement to your current teaching materials. Instead of printing each comic for individual students, provide a link to students using Padlet, reviewed here. Create a Padlet to share all of your online resources for your unit in one place. Use these comic books as inspiration and modify student learning by asking them to use a comic creation tool like ToonyTool, reviewed here, to create single frame cartoons explaining financial concepts. Find more uses for using comics in the classroom by viewing the archive of our OK2Ask session Engage & Inspire: Comics in the Classroom reviewed here.
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National Geographic 101 - National Geographic
Grades
6 to 12
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Learn about and discover some of the world's most fascinating and timely topics with National Geographic's 101 video series. Each video is under 5 minutes and features an overview of...more
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Learn about and discover some of the world's most fascinating and timely topics with National Geographic's 101 video series. Each video is under 5 minutes and features an overview of the issue. The diverse range of video subjects includes pollution, human origins, climate change, dinosaurs, the flu virus, and many others. Click the "more" button next to each video for a transcript and tags for related videos.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): animals (288), chemicals (41), climate (83), climate change (93), dinosaurs (41), diseases (69), drugs and alcohol (28), energy (132), evolution (88), genetics (81), hiv/aids (15), moon (73), planets (112), plants (148), pollution (51), religions (85), romans (36), solar energy (34), solar system (109), space (216), STEM (279), sun (71), weather (161)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the share feature included with each video to share a link or embed videos on your class website or student computers. These videos provide a wonderful opportunity for students to explore a variety of science topics that aren't always included in the science curriculum. As students find a topic of interest on the site enhance learning by asking them to research additional information, and then use Canva, reviewed here, and to modify their technology use by creating posters or infographics sharing their findings with their peers. Include student-created posters or infographics as part of an overall presentation using a portfolio-building site like about.me, reviewed here. Use About.me for students to create a portfolio as their future self as a scientist sharing their research that includes posters, written work, cited research, and more.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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All About the Holidays - PBS Learning Media
Grades
K to 12
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Learn about the history and significance behind many holidays through this video collection from PBS Learning Media. Begin browsing by choosing from fall, winter, spring, or summer...more
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Learn about the history and significance behind many holidays through this video collection from PBS Learning Media. Begin browsing by choosing from fall, winter, spring, or summer holidays. Each section includes short videos explaining the history of the holiday. Learn about holidays such as Yom Kippur, Oktoberfest, Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos), Kwanzaa, Juneteenth, Father's Day, and many others! Each selection also includes links to standards along with additional links to supporting materials such as lesson plans or printable items. Not seeing a holiday you want such as 100 days of school? Use the search bar at the top!
tag(s): 100thday (9), back to school (62), chinese new year (5), christmas (36), cinco de mayo (10), easter (10), elections (82), fathers day (12), fire prevention (16), flag day (5), halloween (32), hanukkah (12), hispanic (32), holidays (178), july 4th (12), Juneteenth (22), kwanzaa (11), labor day (5), martin luther king (45), mothers day (13), new years (5), pi (26), presidents (133), rosh hashanah (13), st patricks day (12), thanksgiving (22), valentines day (12), veterans (29), womens suffrage (46), yom kippur (13)
In the Classroom
Bookmark this site to use as a resource for teaching material during holidays throughout the year. For each holiday use a bookmarking site such as Wakelet, reviewed here, to organize and share lesson materials, videos, and game sites for your students. Instead of worksheets or written reports, enhance student learning by asking them to create infographics sharing information about any holiday. Canva Infographic Maker, reviewed here, is a very easy to use tool that includes pre-made templates. Don't keep student learning to yourself, share their knowledge through holiday podcasts for your entire school and community to hear. Spotify for Podcastors (was Anchor), reviewed here, features many kid-friendly tools to get you started with creating and sharing podcasts.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Humans of New York - Brandon Stanton
Grades
7 to 12
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Humans of New York was supposed to be a photography project; then it evolved into a vibrant blog featuring the individual stories and portraits of people around the world. Browse ...more
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Humans of New York was supposed to be a photography project; then it evolved into a vibrant blog featuring the individual stories and portraits of people around the world. Browse through the site to read stories of people from every walk of life in the United States. Choose the countries link to read featured stories from over 20 countries around the world. Don't forget to visit the "series" link to find poignant stories based on themes like pediatric cancer and refugee stories.
tag(s): cross cultural understanding (167), identity (29), new york (24)
In the Classroom
Each story included on this site is only about a paragraph long, perfect to use with reluctant readers or as a short introduction to lessons on a variety of social issues. Help students identify the key concepts found in each story by creating a word cloud using Wordsift, reviewed here. Use the keywords found in your word cloud as a starting point for students to begin researching the topic further - examples might be research into refugees, drug abuse, or childhood illness. As students become familiar with the site, use it as an example to create your own site as a class related to your curriculum. For science create a Humans of Chemistry, in social studies create a Humans of the American Revolution, or in language arts create a Humans of Shakespeare. At the beginning of the year use Humans of New York in a self identity and "getting to know you" lesson(s). In small groups or as a class analyze several of the stories and have stidents use the key concepts to create their own interview questions. Then have students interview each other or others on campus (adults included). Use a presentation tool like Sway, reviewed here, to share finished projects that include student writing, photographs or drawings, videos, and other multimedia. Use Sway for a variety of assignments in any classroom that is integrating technology as an enhancement, modification, or transformation. Have students work together to compare and contrast their findings as part of a discussion within ongoing podcasts. Spotify for Podcastors, reviewed here, is an augmentation tool offering free podcasting creation and sharing and many features for both new and experienced podcasting teams.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Kialo Edu - Kialo, Inc
Grades
2 to 12
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Kialo offers a platform for focused online discussions, this version is dedicated to educational users. Use Kialo to create and map out debates onto an interactive tree featuring arguments...more
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Kialo offers a platform for focused online discussions, this version is dedicated to educational users. Use Kialo to create and map out debates onto an interactive tree featuring arguments both pro and con. Create your own forum or participate in the questions posed by other site members. Choose to make your question private or public then invite others to contribute. Throughout the debate use the site's tools to rate the impact of arguments and switch perspectives to view opinions from the other side. Be sure to watch Kialo's introductory video for an overview of all of the site's features and check out the sample classroom activities and assignments.
tag(s): collaboration (94), debate (40), perspective (12), point of view (8), Teacher Utilities (159)
In the Classroom
Kialo is a great resource to find debate topics to use with your students; be sure to bookmark it. Explore the topics available on the public portion of the site and share the discussions with your students. Use the information to teach students how to include relevant information when debating any topic and point out the importance of viewing information through different perspectives. When ready, create your own topic for classroom debate using the private option. For example, have students debate the importance of the use of propaganda during World War 2 or the ethics of using animals when testing products. As students research your topic, have them use Wakelet, reviewed here, to bookmark and save their research. When complete, transform learning by asking students to use an infographic creation tool like Canva Infographic Maker, reviewed here, to create an infographic based on their topic.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Bad News - Cambridge Social Decision-Making Lab and DROG
Grades
5 to 12
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How bad can you be? This game teaches you how fake news and disinformation spreads as players take on the role of the bad guy to acquire as many followers ...more
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How bad can you be? This game teaches you how fake news and disinformation spreads as players take on the role of the bad guy to acquire as many followers as possible while raising their credibility ratings. Follow the prompts and make selections on how to spread disinformation and take advantage of others' fears and emotions as you proceed through the game. As you make choices, watch how that affects the number of your followers and learn how to use celebrity and fear to influence others. Throughout the game, players earn up to six badges recognizing accomplishments such as impersonation and emotion.
tag(s): digital citizenship (89), game based learning (181), internet safety (113), media literacy (106), social media (54)
In the Classroom
This game is perfect for use as an introduction to lessons on digital citizenship, media literacy, and social media. Share the site with your students to explore on their own and encourage them to play several different times using the different options provided. Your students won't mind playing over and over; it is easy to get hooked on trying to find the best way to gain as many followers as possible! Once students become familiar with the game and the different options presented for spreading misinformation, ask them to apply their findings to online content. Have them do some online research to find sites or information using tactics such as emotion and the others featured in Bad News. As they research sites and online information, have them add links to the sites they find on a class Padlet. Padlet, reviewed here, offers an option to create columns, use this option then label a column for each badge found in the game and ask students to share a link to their sites in the appropriate column. In addition to adding a link, have students include a comment providing information on why their site belongs in the category. Instead of assessing learning with quizzes or a written report, enhance learning and transform your assessment by having students create infographics to share information learned. Canva Infographic Maker, reviewed here, provides easy to use templates to create interesting and informative infographics. Extend leaning and ask students to become the teacher using Symbaloo Learning Paths, reviewed here, to create an online learning activity teaching others on how to recognize and avoid disinformation found online. Be sure to share your assessment rubric with students as part of your assignment. Find many ideas for implementing rubrics for assessment along with examples and online tools at TeachersFirst Rubrics to the Rescue, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Civic Online Reasoning - Stanford University
Grades
6 to 12
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This series of assessments offers students a selection of online content and asks them to evaluate and judge the credibility of information. Using digital resources like Wikipedia,...more
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This series of assessments offers students a selection of online content and asks them to evaluate and judge the credibility of information. Using digital resources like Wikipedia, Twitter, and news websites students view information then respond to the provided questions. Competencies evaluated through the activities include student ability to understand who is giving information, identifying evidence, and comparing the content studied to that shared by other sources. Find Curriculum, Lessons, Videos, and more. You must sign in with a free account to access the free materials.
tag(s): journalism (72), news (227), social media (54)
In the Classroom
Include activities from this site as part of any online safety lesson. Use these lessons at the beginning of the school year to teach students how to evaluate online information and as an assessment for the understanding of the ability to judge the credibility of information and sources. Student responses from this site are created through Google Forms, use these responses as a template to create your own Google Forms for personalized content such as local news articles or T.V. news. Instead of creating a table to compare and contrast various sources of information, replace paper and pencil by using an online tool such as Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram, reviewed here, for students to evaluate similarities and differences between news sources. Have students enhance their learning by creating an infographic using Canva Infographic Maker, reviewed here, to share with their peers. Challenge students to include facts, comparisons, and images to create the infographics.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Online Teen Safety - StaySafe.org
Grades
5 to 12
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This guide shares online safety suggestions for teens and parents by providing basic facts and advice. Starting with tips for protecting hardware and devices from viruses and malware...more
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This guide shares online safety suggestions for teens and parents by providing basic facts and advice. Starting with tips for protecting hardware and devices from viruses and malware the site guides readers through a variety of valuable information. Additional topics include social media, scams and online shopping, and online bullying. Although the site lacks a lot of bells and whistles, it offers a great deal of information related to online safety and provides a starting point for further research.
tag(s): cyberbullying (40), internet safety (113), social media (54)
In the Classroom
Include the information from this site with your other resources for teaching about online safety. Instead of creating a list of links for students, share safety tips with students by replacing the list using a bookmarking tool like Padlet, reviewed here, to share all resources including videos, websites, and more in one place. Invite students to add their own resources to the Padlet as a collaborative activity on internet safety. Create quizzes using Baamboozle, reviewed here, as a formative assessment during your online safety unit. Baamboozle is a quick and easy quiz creation tool to replace paper and pencil. Divide the class into groups to research the different topics found on this site then let them create their own Baamboozle quizzes for their classmates. Instead of teaching online safety in individual lessons, consider using Symbaloo Learning Paths, reviewed here, to create a learning path including all of your lessons. Have students follow at their own pace and use tools with the Learning Paths to offer differentiation for the abilities and interests of your students. To modify learning and further challenge students, have them create their own internet safety Learning Paths for classmates to complete.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Read. Inquire. Write. - University of Michigan
Grades
6 to 10
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Read. Inquire. Write. is a free curriculum using investigations to support middle school social studies learning through inquiry-based lessons; also, this site provides many supports...more
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Read. Inquire. Write. is a free curriculum using investigations to support middle school social studies learning through inquiry-based lessons; also, this site provides many supports for English Language Learners within the activities. Use the provided literacy tools to guide students in analytical reasoning and argument writing within the 5-day investigations. Each investigation includes all materials needed including teacher's guides, student packets, rubrics, student models, and a PowerPoint presentation. Also, all activities provide video models demonstrating methods to encourage student thinking and investigative responses. Each lesson includes correlation to Common Core Standards. Registration is required to download materials from this site. Videos reside on YouTube. If your school blocks YouTube, they may not be viewable.
tag(s): civil war (136), colonial america (94), concept mapping (16), debate (40), democracy (20), evaluating sources (28), greece (28), inquiry (24), maps (207), mexico (30), middle east (43), native americans (95)
In the Classroom
Instead of using paper documents, scan the included PDF or Word documents into Google Classroom or your school student/teacher platform to share and assign to students. Be sure to include mentor texts for student use. Enhance student learning by asking students to use highlighting and note-taking tools within their word document to provide documentation for their responses. Although this site includes many high-quality graphic organizers, create your own and using Diagramo, reviewed here to engage students and personalize for your classroom use. Have students use a digital portfolio tool to share their investigations. Spaces, reviewed here includes many resources for creating online portfolios and web pages. Consider sharing the activities found on this site with your peers as a model for redesigning lessons you already use in your classroom. Use Padlet, reviewed here to collaborate and share ideas, activities, and resources as you work toward incorporating inquiry lessons into your classrooms.
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Engaging Congress - Indiana University
Grades
5 to 12
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Engaging Congress is an interactive game that uses primary sources to help students evaluate information as they learn about the United States government. Download the app from the...more
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Engaging Congress is an interactive game that uses primary sources to help students evaluate information as they learn about the United States government. Download the app from the iTunes store, or select the webGL link to play on the web. Begin play by choosing a story, primary source, or pick a trivia challenge or practice. Use the Teacher Toolbox to find documents by era or topic, learning objectives matched to Common Core Standards, and compelling questions for use with each issue and story. Be sure to scroll down to the bottom of the home page to find the link to request classroom giveaways to encourage play!
tag(s): branches of government (63), congress (38), DAT device agnostic tool (147), evaluating sources (28), primary sources (119)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the free games and materials on this site to use as a supplement to your current resources for teaching history and government. Instead of written notes, strengthen learning by having students use an online tool such as Holt Interactive Graphic Organizers, reviewed here, to create diagrams, mindmaps, and other visual graphic organizers. To compare and contrast information found in different primary sources, create a Venn Diagram. As students prepare to share their findings and summarize their learning, have them modify their learning by creating infographics using Canva Infographic Maker, reviewed here, to visually represent facts and information. As a final assessment for your unit using these materials, ask students to form teams to debate different sides of the issues presented. Share their debates as a podcast using Spotify for Podcasters, reviewed here. Spotify for Podcasters is a simple to use podcasting tool offering several free options for creating, hosting, and sharing podcasts. As an alternative, ask other students redefine their learning and to create multimedia presentations using Sway, reviewed here to share text, videos, images, and more.
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Eagle Eye Citizen - Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Grades
5 to 12
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Develop civic understanding and historical thinking skills through interactive challenges found on Eagle Eye Citizen. These activities, geared toward middle and high school students,...more
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Develop civic understanding and historical thinking skills through interactive challenges found on Eagle Eye Citizen. These activities, geared toward middle and high school students, teach about American History using primary sources from the Library of Congress. The Solve link provides challenge puzzles to learn about historical events, the big picture, and sorting information into categories. Use the Teach link to find ideas for lessons and units based on this site's components, assessment ideas, and quick activities for use at any time. This link also includes several rubrics for use with the Challenge activities.
tag(s): branches of government (63), civil rights (200), congress (38), elections (82), immigrants (34), inquiry (24), presidents (133), primary sources (119), Research (84), womens suffrage (46)
In the Classroom
Share activities from this site to introduce civics and government lessons; be sure to point out links with additional resources included after problem-solving activities. Share a link to this site on your class website for students to use at home. Replace written notes and help students organize information using a mind mapping tool like Coggle, reviewed here. Use Coggle to create and share colorful diagrams with included text and images. As students continue through the unit, have them enhance their learning by including their diagram on a website sharing their knowledge of civics concepts or discussing the historical event studied. Webnode, reviewed here, is a free website creator offering premade templates and easy to use tools. Transform student learning at the next level and ask them to create a book for younger students to teach them about the event studied using Book Creator, reviewed here. For example, when learning about the three branches of government ask students to create a digital book explaining the functions of the three branches. Book Creator allows you to include videos, images, audio recordings, and more.
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