Recognize misinformation and stop it in its tracks by using RumorGuard’s 5 Factors for evaluating credibility of news and other information. This classroom poster displays the 5 Factors alongside “Knows” and “Dos” for evaluating credibility.

In this lesson, students review examples of misinformation, identify a rumor pattern and create a list of red flags to watch out for. Then students will create a social media post warning others to be on the lookout for this type of misinformation and directing them to credible sources about the subject. Finally, students will discuss the impact of misinformation on a democratic society.

Hi! My name is Pili Lee and I am a Speech-Language Pathologist. Everyday, I work with students on practicing their speech or language skills. Overtime, when students are close to reaching mastery, we often shift to practicing in a more natural and unstructured setting to help them generalize their skills outside of speech therapy activities. Although there are many different things we can do, I recently learned about “genius hour” and especially love the idea of helping my students discover and learn more about things they are interested in or passionate about. When my students get to work on things they love and are excited about, not only does it keep them motivated to practice their speech and language skills, it also prepares them to communicate well when it comes time they get to share what they love and know about in everyday life. Image created by Pili Lee using Canva

In this co-taught 80-minute face-to-face lesson (assessment is homework or given time in a second class session) students will rotate through stations to make personal connections with the book, A Long Walk to Water by  Linda Sue Park. (Stations can be removed or customized to allow for time, budget, or supervision constraints.) Please note, this lesson works best when you have several adult volunteers to run stations. This lesson is best co-taught with an ELA teacher who will be reading and discussing the book with their students. (It can be slightly adapted to fit similar stories.) It is also an effective way to deepen understanding and connections after the class has read the book. Thumbnail Image: Woodwayne, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

This week, we talk to data reporter Emilie Munson of the Times Union, a local news organization based in Albany, New York, with a coverage area that includes the state’s Capital Region and Hudson Valley. Munson sheds light on the Times Union’s decision to publish a guide explaining how the news organization covers elections and politics — and the role of journalism standards in its news decisions. We also discuss the Times Union’s strict policies on the use of anonymous or unnamed sources. Grab your news goggles!

We can all make better choices about the information we consume, share and act on. But can you tell the difference between social media posts that are false or misleading and those that are credible?

In this unit, students will learn about major standards of quality journalism and why news matters. Through a series of five main lessons, they will distinguish fact from fiction, zone different types of information into their primary purposes, recognize elements of quality journalism, gauge the newsworthiness of topics and stories and identify key journalism terminology. It’s meant to be a starting point for conversations about and interest in journalism.