This text is adapted from a blog from the News and Information Literacy Professional Learning Community on the Literacy in Learning Exchange.
News literacy is vital for the next generation of leaders, says Teri Hayt, executive director of the American Society of News Editors.
“A news literacy curriculum is about more than just journalism concepts,” says Hayt. “It teaches our students to think about how they consume news and how to be critical thinkers. ”
One way to support the development of these skills is through the use of news literacy lessons. A variety of such lessons are offered free for English/language arts, science, math and social studies teachers to use in secondary-school classrooms, provided by the American Society of News Editors and the Journalism Education Association, in partnership with the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute. Funding for the project was provided by the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
“The news literacy lesson plans encourage teachers and students to analyze and challenge, to be part of the conversation that is guaranteed in our First Amendment freedoms.”
To learn more about teaching news literacy and receive information about available resources, join the News and Information Literacy Professional Learning Community on the Literacy in Learning Exchange. (If you don’t yet have a free log-in on the Literacy in Learning Exchange, register here.)
Read NCTE’s Resolution on Promoting Media Literacy.