Sorting Fact from Fiction: The News Literacy Project for Middle School

Excellent teaching points - lessons - short videos to help us learn how to sort fact from fiction on media sources including Twitter - check out the stories about Hurricane Sandy & Boston Bombing - HERE
HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT TO BELIEVE

"The News Literacy Project (NLP) is an innovative national educational program that mobilizes seasoned journalists to work with educators to teach middle school and high school students how to sort fact from fiction in the digital age.

Students learn how to distinguish verified information from raw information, spin, opinion and propaganda — whether they are using search engines to find websites with information about specific topics, checking a friend's Facebook page, viewing a video on YouTube, watching television news or reading a newspaper or blog post.

The project gives students the critical-thinking skills to become smarter and more frequent consumers of credible information across all media and platforms. They are taught to seek news and information that will make them well-informed and engaged students, consumers and citizens."

Teaching About Sensitive Issues in the News

Good stuff from the NYTimes Learning Network

 10 Ways to Talk to Students About Sensitive Issues in the News

"This week it might be the Trayvon Martin shooting, while last week it could have been the “Kony 2012″ viral video, the soldier in Afghanistan accused ofmassacring women and children, or the outcry over Rush Limbaugh’s criticism of Sandra Fluke: In a “flat” social media world, parents and teachers are no longer the gatekeepers, and news of all kinds reaches children — sometimeseven before it gets to adults.

How do you talk about difficult or sensitive news stories with young people, whether in your classroom or at your dinner table?"

http://teachablemoment.org/