NewsLiteracyPlaybook - Flipbook - Page 25
Lessons Learned
25
Next, we’ll describe more fully the partners and ideas that might be helpful to
your own news literacy efforts, especially those that include journalists in the
classroom. You can also plan to build into your coursework any or all of our
four foundational lessons in our Checkology virtual classroom (“InfoZones,”
“Democracy’s Watchdog,” “Misinformation” and “Practicing Quality Journalism”),
which are available at no cost.
Key Partnerships
Educators
Teachers are your partners from Day One. Though
you can offer professional development opportunities
(more on that below), start with the understanding
that they are already teaching their students to think
critically about news and other information. Let
them know that you want to help them do what they
are already doing by providing additional expertise,
experience and focus. Ask what they need — and
what they don’t have. Tell them that you welcome
their feedback to let you know what is working and
what is not.
Keep in mind that they are probably already
teaching some form of news literacy,
information literacy or media literacy in their
classrooms. Do not believe — or act as if you
think — that news literacy is the only way to
teach critical thinking. Reverse the idea of
who is helping whom: You will want teachers
to give you guidance on how you can better
meet their needs.
If possible, create a closed group on
Facebook, WhatsApp or another social
platform to connect teachers with each other
and with you as part of an online community.
Seek their input through surveys, and share
the results of student surveys with them. Try
to make someone available to answer their
questions and assist them when necessary.
Educators are experts in teaching complex
concepts to their students, and in adapting
and delivering whatever resources they have
on hand. Giving them a space to collaborate
and access the necessary support structures
will pay big dividends.
Our classroom and after-school programs
included resource guides for teachers, filled
with background material on news literacy,
our initial classroom lesson plans, guidance
for how news literacy can help meet required
teaching standards, and ideas for enriching
what students were learning with discussions
and projects. Today, the teacher handbook
and lesson guides for our Checkology virtual
classroom are online.)
When teachers first approach “news literacy,” many
may have limited experience with, or understanding
of, what is included in this content area. It’s not
enough to simply provide lesson plans or curriculum
elements; educators need to understand the ideas
and core concepts behind them. We found that
creating professional development sessions —
offered online or in person — enabled educators to
become familiar with both the theory of news literacy
and the fundamentals of teaching it.
For these sessions, it is helpful, but not essential,
that you gather together educators who have
something in common — perhaps they all teach the
same age group or subject matter or are in the same