Telling Fact From Fiction on Social Media
Journalists and media professionals discuss the benefits and challenges of using social media to report and understand any fast-moving story.
Journalists and Social Media
Journalists discuss how social media was used in the aftermath of Michael Brown's death in Ferguson, Missouri.
How We Respond to Images
Journalists, media professionals, and a high school student discuss the different ways that people respond to the news, including a particular photo taken during a Ferguson protest.
The Role and Challenges of a Free Press
Reporters and media professionals discuss the functions and importance of a free press in a democracy.
Verifying Breaking News
Students evaluate the differences among news accounts about Ferguson, develop strategies for verifying news and information, and understand the challenges facing journalists as they cover complex, fast-moving events.
Brown Remembered As a Gentle Giant
A profile of Michael Brown published two days after he was killed features recollections from friends and teachers and details of the community's response.
Social Media and Ferguson
Students explore the role of social media in Ferguson, apply information verification strategies to social media posts, and develop strategies for becoming critical consumers and sharers of social media.
#Ferguson Brought National Attention
A New York Times article addresses the role that social media played in rapidly bringing the events in Ferguson to national attention.
The Power of Images
Students examine how identity and biases can impact how individuals interpret images and experience the challenge of selecting images to represent news events, particularly connected to sensitive issues.
The Importance of a Free Press
Students review the First Amendment, understand the importance of a free press, and consider how that freedom can conflict with other societal needs through journalists’ experiences in Ferguson.
Hands Up, Don't Shoot! Built on a Lie
Washington Post journalist Jonathan Capehart documents how difficult it is, for journalists and consumers of news, to face a narrative that contradicts what we believe.
Responding to Difference in Democracy
Students explore the varied ways people respond to differences by reading and reflecting on a poem.
Free Press Makes Democracy Work
Students explore the importance of a free press to democracy through recorded conversations with journalists from the United States and South Africa.
News Literacy in a Digital Age
This webinar explores ways teachers can help their students to become informed and effective civic participants in today’s digital landscape.
News Article Analysis
Help students identify and analyze the key characteristics of the three most common types of news articles.
Facing Ferguson: News Literacy in a Digital Age
Help students become informed and effective civic participants in today's digital landscape. This unit is designed to develop students' critical thinking, news literacy, civic engagement, and social-emotional skills and competencies.
Preparing Students for Difficult Conversations
Students establish a safe space for holding sensitive conversations, before introducing the events surrounding Ferguson, by acknowledging people's complicated feelings about race and creating a classroom contract.
How Journalists Minimize Bias
Students experience the challenges to reporting objectively by writing a news piece and watching a video about how journalists counteract bias in the newsroom.
