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  • Lessons (55)
  • Professional Development (0)

The Boston Massacre: A Bloody Slaughter or Self Defense?

Students analyze Paul Revere’s engraving of the Boston Massacre, a newspaper account by the imprisoned British commander, a sworn deposition by an eyewitness, and the court testimony of another eyewitness to learn about sourcing, bias, and credibility in historical sources.

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Middle School, High School

30-60 Minutes

Illustration, Informational Text, Literature, News - Print
Subject Areas
Visual Arts, US History And Government, US History, Sociology, Library/Information Literacy

Picturing the Underground Railroad: Historical Context Through Book Covers

Students analyze three book covers to understand historical context, to reflect on how identity impacts interpretation, and to discuss the role of media makers in crafting historical representations.

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Middle School, High School, College

15-30 Minutes

Illustration, Literature, Photograph
Subject Areas
Visual Arts, Commercial Arts/Advertising, US History, Civics And Government, Sociology, Library/Information Literacy, ELA/English Language Arts

Claiming Feminist Identities

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson using diverse media imagery to teach about the history of the late 20th century women's liberation movement in the U.S.

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Middle School, High School, College

30-60 Minutes, Over 60 Minutes

Editorial Cartoon, Illustration, Informational Text, Literature, Photograph, Poster
Subject Areas
Health, Psychology, Visual Arts, Commercial Arts/Advertising, Journalism, US History And Government, US History, Civics And Government, Sociology

The Murders of Osage Indians: Media Forms, Qualities, and Credibility

Students will explore how different media forms represent the history of the Osage murders, the credibility of sources, and their own preferences.

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Middle School, High School, College

30-60 Minutes

Feature Film, Illustration, Informational Text, Literature, Magazine, News - Print, Photograph, Social Media, Television Program, Webpage, Web Video
Subject Areas
Film/Video Arts, Journalism, Civics And Government, Sociology, General Media Literacy, Library/Information Literacy, ELA/English Language Arts

Origins of Hip Hop: Considering "The Message"

Students analyze song lyrics, a music video and an excerpt from a documentary for messages about the origins of hip hop as reflected in the song, “The Message.”

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Middle School, High School, College

15-30 Minutes

Documentary Film, Television Program, Music/song, Web Video, Literature, Music/song
Subject Areas
Film/Video Arts, Music, US History, Sociology, ELA/English Language Arts

Arguing For Freedom

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson using diverse media imagery to teach about the history of the movement to abolish slavery in the United States in the early and mid-19th century.

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Middle School, High School, College

30-60 Minutes, Over 60 Minutes

Illustration, Informational Text, Literature, News - Print, Poster
Subject Areas
Visual Arts, Commercial Arts/Advertising, Journalism, US History And Government, US History, Civics And Government, Economics, Sociology

A Media Chronology

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson about Dr. King's public accomplishments and their representation in the media.

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Middle School, High School, College

Over 60 Minutes

Illustration, Informational Text, Literature, Music/song, News - Print, Photograph, Poster, Speech, Web Video
Subject Areas
Visual Arts, Film/Video Arts, Commercial Arts/Advertising, Music, Journalism, US History And Government, US History, Civics And Government, Sociology, General Media Literacy, Library/Information Literacy

Censoring Seuss: Cancel Culture or Cultural Respect?

Students evaluate pages from Dr. Seuss books that were removed by the family for perpetuating stereotypes and then analyze a tweet and replies that includes support and criticism for censoring those images - discussing both the issues and the civility of the comments.

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High School, College

30-60 Minutes

Illustration, Literature, Social Media
Subject Areas
Visual Arts, Consumer Education, US History And Government, US History, Civics And Government, Global Studies, Economics, Sociology, General Media Literacy, Library/Information Literacy, ELA/English Language Arts

Columbus “Discovers” America: What’s The Story?

Students analyze three illustrations for messages about Columbus and the Tainos, and reflect on changing perspectives on history.

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Upper Elementary, Middle School, High School, College

15-30 Minutes

Illustration, Literature, Poster
Subject Areas
Visual Arts, Commercial Arts/Advertising, US History And Government, Civics And Government, Global Studies, Sociology, General Media Literacy, Library/Information Literacy, ELA/English Language Arts

Creative Visions of the Future

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson analyzing the imagined future of food, water and agriculture as viewed through the creative media of film, song, poetry and science fiction literature.

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High School, College

Over 60 Minutes

Feature Film, Literature, Music/song, Television Program, Music/song
Subject Areas
Film/Video Arts, Music, Life Sciences, Environmental Studies, US History And Government, US History, Civics And Government, Sociology, ELA/English Language Arts

Creativity in Mentoring

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson analyzing four short excerpts from feature films about mentoring by elders.

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High School, College

30-60 Minutes

Feature Film
Subject Areas
Psychology, Film/Video Arts, Sociology

Louis XIV & Absolute Monarchy: Media Messages from the Time

Students analyze media documents from the era of Louis XIV - an oil painting, a royal medal, an excerpt from John Locke’s “Treatise on Government” and an excerpt from a French travel memoir - for messages about absolute monarchy, media forms and historical context.

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High School, College

30-60 Minutes

Illustration, Informational Text, Literature
Subject Areas
Visual Arts, Global Studies, Sociology, Library/Information Literacy, ELA/English Language Arts

Rachel Carson (Print Documents Lesson)

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson using four short informational writing excerpts to reflect on the media representation of Rachel Carson's legacy.

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Middle School, High School, College

30-60 Minutes

Editorial Opinion, News - Print
Subject Areas
Health, Psychology, Journalism, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, Environmental Studies, Sociology, ELA/English Language Arts

Singing the Struggle

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson exploring political and cultural perspectives in Israel and Palestine by listening to excerpts from four songs.

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High School, College

30-60 Minutes

Music/song
Subject Areas
Music, Global Studies, ELA/English Language Arts

The Value of Trees

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson reflecting on the free market's role in the 19th century lumber harvest by interpreting maps and comparing texts from John Muir and John J Audubon .

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Middle School, High School, College

30-60 Minutes

Informational Text, Literature, Map
Subject Areas
Life Sciences, Environmental Studies, US History And Government, US History, Civics And Government, Economics, Sociology, ELA/English Language Arts

Three Speeches

Media literacy and critical thinking lesson analyzing three of Dr. King's speeches for content, literary devices and presentation form.

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Middle School, High School, College

Over 60 Minutes

Speech, Web Video
Subject Areas
Film/Video Arts, US History And Government, US History, Civics And Government, Sociology, ELA/English Language Arts

Understanding Teen Media Use: Different Research Techniques

In this media literacy activity students analyze three articles about different approaches to social science research through polling data analysis, a longitudinal study and a literature review. Students explore the techniques used for data gathering and discuss the impacts of social media use on adolescents.

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High School, College

30-60 Minutes

Informational Text, Social Media, Webpage
Subject Areas
Health, Psychology, Journalism, Consumer Education, Sociology, General Media Literacy, Library/Information Literacy, Technology/Digital Media

Women’s Suffrage: Why the Women’s Vote Was Important Then and Is Now

In this media literacy activity students analyze primary and secondary texts from the 19th to the 21st century for messages about the arguments in favor of women voting.

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High School, College

30-60 Minutes

Editorial Opinion, Illustration, Informational Text, Literature, Magazine, Speech
Subject Areas
US History And Government, US History, Civics And Government, Sociology, Library/Information Literacy, ELA/English Language Arts

U.S. History Textbooks Messages About Hiroshima & Nagasaki

Students analyze excerpts from two U.S, history textbooks for messages about President Truman's decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan and about author's point of view in media messages . This simple decoding activity has been taken from a larger lesson with many slides titled “For Peace or Against Oppression?”. To access this lesson, type the title with quotes into the PLS keyword search bar.

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Middle School, High School, College

Under 15 Minutes

Informational Text, Literature
Subject Areas
Visual Arts, Commercial Arts/Advertising, Journalism, US History, Civics And Government, Sociology

"From the Palmer Raids to the Patriot Act" & "Investigate Everything" Book Covers

Students analyze 2 book covers for messages about civilian dissent and government repression during wartime and about editorial design choices in 21st century book covers. This simple decoding activity has been taken from a larger lesson with many slides titled “Peace or Liberty?”. To access this lesson, type the title with quotes into the PLS keyword search bar.

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Middle School, High School, College

Under 15 Minutes

Illustration, Literature
Subject Areas
Visual Arts, Commercial Arts/Advertising, Journalism, US History, Civics And Government, Sociology