Media Literacy Game for Detecting Viral Deceptions

NewsFeed Defenders, by iCivics and FactCheck.org, is a free media literacy game that engages students with the standards of journalism, showing them how to spot a variety of methods behind the viral deceptions they face today. To play the game, students join a fictional social media site focused on news and information, where they meet challenges to level up from guest user to site administrator. They can reach this level only by spotting dubious posts that try to sneak in through hidden ads, viral deception, and false reporting. In addition to maintaining a high-quality site, students are charged with growing traffic while keeping posts on topic. FactCheck.org also hosts lesson plans, misinformation directories, videos, and a teacher extension pack for use with projectors or interactive whiteboards.

Media Literacy Civic Literacy Journalism Social Media

Teaching Tools for Celebrating Women’s History

This year marks the 100th anniversary of Congress’s passing a constitutional amendment to give women the right to vote. NewseumED offers free online resources to explore the history and struggles of the suffrage movement—from artifacts on the Seneca Falls Convention to a video recounting Susan B. Anthony’s arrest for voting to a timeline on major events in the fight for gender equality.

SPOTLIGHT! On Using Captioned Media to Improve Literacy

Described and Captioned Media Program’s (DCMP) Read Captions Across America (RCAA) is the first national reading event to put emphasis on the importance of captioned media as a reading tool for all children, not just those who are deaf or hard of hearing. Thousands of students have participated in this event since its inauguration in 2006. Teachers can order a free RCAA kit, learn more about how captioning improves literacy, and find great ideas from teachers and parents on the RCAA website.

Educators can also use these captioned media resources from DCMP to celebrate Black History Month (February) and Presidents Day (February 18)—and throughout the year.

Online Course Focusing on News Literacy Skills

Founded in 2008, the News Literacy Project (NLP) helps students and teachers discern fact from fiction in the digital age. In May 2016, the project launched Checkology, an online interactive course that helps students understand and appreciate the role of the press, introduces them to different types of news—from entertainment to opinion to branded content—and teaches them the critical thinking skills they’ll need to spot misinformation.

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