Activities

Media Literacy for Teens.gr Course 

Pre-course survey

      Session#1-experiential learning 
-raising awareness of how our fixed perceptions of the world influence the way we interpret a message

and how accurate or not we may be when reporting a message to a third person--2 activities
- active listening
-speaking

Activity 1:  Stage 1: Students work in pairs--they are asked to turn backs on each other and create anything they want by following each other’s instructions. Stage 2: Ss share in class and reflect on their understanding (how their perceptions of the world influenced their creation).

Activity 2: Students work in pairs and interview their peers. They ask each other three questions, get responses, and then report back to class. Sample questions:  3 favorite activities, 3 objects they would take with them on a remote island, why they participate in this program

      Session#2-my media landscape
 1-way vs 2-way communication

Activity 1: students work on their media landscape and share their findings--discussion in class Based on their answers, students are asked to report what media occupies most of their time and why. They are introduced to the text on the communication process, and learn basic concepts

Activity 2: Students play Kahoot!  a) with their peers and  b) with the Ss from the other school!

Activity 3: Homework/peer-work Write a paragraph comparing traditional media and social media. You should include: a)description of at least one aspect of traditional media b)description of at least one aspect of social media c)at least 5 sentences d)at least 3 correctly formed comparative adjectives

     

 Session#3-Forms of fake news

• mis-/ dis-/ mal-information
• matrix

Activity 1: Students are introduced to the main concepts they need to know before proceeding with the activities--vocab enhancement and take an explore activity on Padlet  (What is Media Literacy for you? Share with your peers!!!! Write a short text. You may wish to add a picture or a video!!!!)

Activity 2: Students are given the matrix leaflet and discuss various examples. Then, in groups they design their own concept maps with all forms of fake news.

      Session#4-The Wheel of Emotions

• reactions to titles
• how they appeal to emotions 
• critical thinking (leaflet- >who, what, where, when, why)
• title vs content
• choice of words (positive vs negative connotations) 

     Session#5-Cross-checking of Sources
a) validity of information - critical thinking (how do we check news websites?)
b) objectivity-bias in the media
c) use of language 

Activity 1: Students are given titles and the wheel of emotions to match

Activity 2: What words influence their reactions? They have to work on the titles and check for validity of information within and beyond the text

Activity 3: a. They watch a video on Bias by Spin and use of language b. they read two versions of a paragraph (same denotation- different connotations)  and then c. they take a quiz (blog)-8 questions

Activity 4: Evaluating news articles and websites Check news websites (see example) Suggested questions to help you check validity: -What is the overall mission of the organization? -Do they use professional news gathering and reporting? -What do they do when they get a story wrong?

Activity 5: Assignment and peer-work Students are asked to look for posts/articles/ads that there is bias on the information. They describe their findings in 2 paragraphs. They have to describe: where they found this piece of news if the title reflects the content at least one form of bias use of language (negative/positive connotations) what emotions it provokes and how they feel about it now that they are media literate Peers exchange their writing, check the assessment rubric, and evaluate the work.

Mid-course survey

    

      Session#6-An example of checking news websites 

Activity 1: Can you identify fake news? (i.e. excerpts from various sources on Teresa May's resignation, or based on Ss’ interests)  -group discussion  Watch this video and find out what the FLAGS are! Retrieved from here

Activity 2: Now that you know-how-to, let's create a poster to help our school community learn how to discern!!!!

     Session#7-Adverts

Activity 1: Watch the video and respond to the questions.

Activity 2: Students take a quiz. They have to match the target audience with the product advertised.

Activity 3: Explore activity. Students share a document and write their experiences on how influential advertisements have been to them so far, and reflect based on new knowledge. Their peers make annotations and comment.

     Session#8-Fact or fiction 
photoshop 

Activity 1: Students read a text and listen to the transcript. Can you tell fact from fiction? Read the text  Real or Not? Did the Bear Chase the Snowboarder? (2016, April 13). Retrieved from http://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/trending-snowboard-video-bear/3284301.html

Activity 2: Google doc--Students comment on the text, add similar findings, share personal experiences

     Session#9-Interview the interviewers

Experts visit school and vice versa.

Students prepare questions to interview them!!!!

     Session#10-A Debate

Students choose from:
a) “The importance of critical thinking in the digital age”.
b) “Social media is more than a place to socialize”.
c) “Social media posts are each individual's right and nobody can be condemned for posting
something online”.

Assessment criteria have to be shared with the students before the debate.

End-of-course survey-Reflection

Useful notes:

Misinformation: Information that is false, not created with the intention of causing harm but can be used
to harm.

Disinformation: Information that is false and deliberately created to harm a person, social group,
organization or country.

Malinformation: Information that is based on reality, used to inflict harm on a person, organization, or country.

If we are to become more alert on fact-checking, it is important that we pay attention and respond  to the
following questions:

1. Who created this piece of information?
2. What techniques were used to attract attention?
3. How might other people understand or interpret this piece of information differently from me?

4. What points of view and values are included or omitted?
5. Why was it sent?

This project is funded through an Alumni TIES small grant from the U.S. Department of State. https://alumni.state.gov/highlight/alumni-thematic-international-exchange-seminars-alumni-ties.