“Teaching News Literacy in the Age of AI”

Book Summary

Get the tools and strategies you need to help students understand why news matters and how to navigate the journalism landscape in the age of AI, misinformation and conspiratorial thinking. 

News literacy is critical to understanding the role that information and a free press play in our lives, and to maintaining a robust democracy. However, effective news literacy education resources at the K-12 level are hard to find. This book fills the gap, offering a civic-minded and globally oriented perspective to help teachers integrate news literacy across curriculum areas to guide students in learning about the importance of journalism in our world.

Through practical tools, resources and lesson plan ideas, the book helps educators foster the skills students need to become discerning consumers and creative producers of news. Educators will develop strategies for sparking meaningful classroom discussions that empower students to evaluate, interpret and synthesize information, pushing students beyond the concept of “fake news” to become expert critical thinkers and content creators.

This book includes:

  • Guidance in every chapter on how to address news literacy in the context of AI
  • A menu of resources for further exploration, such as podcasts, videos and digital tools
  • Guiding and reflection questions
  • An Action Plan Template and cross-curricular examples linked to ISTE and content Standards to help teachers integrate news literacy in classrooms and learning spaces
  • An introduction to tools such as the News Literacy Project’s Framework for Teaching News Literacy and the MediaWise Teen Fact-Checking Network

The cross-disciplinary approach of this book gives readers knowledge and resources to help students navigate today’s news and media landscape as expert chroniclers, curators and content creators.

Audience: Elementary and secondary classroom teachers, library media specialists

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Resources by Chapter

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Organizations with a News and Media Literacy Education Focus:

  • News Literacy Project
    • Description: The News Literacy Project offers comprehensive resources for educators, students, and the general public. It includes lesson plans, interactive tools, and tips for spotting misinformation.
  • MediaWise (Poynter Institute)
    • Description: MediaWise is a project of the Poynter Institute that focuses on teaching digital literacy skills to consumers. It offers fact-checking techniques, educational videos, and a Crash Course on Media Literacy.
    • Website: MediaWise
  • FactCheck.org
    • Description: A nonpartisan, nonprofit “consumer advocate” for voters that monitors the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews, and news releases.
    • Website: FactCheck.org
  • Snopes
    • Description: A widely-known fact-checking website that investigates rumors, urban legends, and misinformation. It covers a wide range of topics and provides in-depth analysis of popular claims.
    • Website: Snopes
  • AllSides
    • Description: AllSides provides balanced news from multiple perspectives. It rates news sources based on their bias and provides articles on the same topic from sources with different political leanings.
    • Website: AllSides
  • Center for Media Literacy
    • Description: This center provides media literacy education resources and professional development for educators. It offers comprehensive materials to help individuals critically analyze media messages.
    • Website: Center for Media Literacy
  • Center for News Literacy at Stony Brook
  • Duke University Reporters Fact-Checking Lab
    • Description: Focuses on journalism innovation, fact-checking, and developing technology to assess the credibility of information.
    • Website: Duke University Reporters Lab
  • Information Futures Lab: Brown University
    • Description: Engages in research and education on media and technology’s future, including its impacts on society. IFL Fellows currently piloting “Eight Solutions to Meet the Information Crisis”
    • Website: Brown School of Public Health
  • Media Education Lab (University of Rhode Island)
    • Description: Provides resources, research, and professional development for educators.
    • Website: Media Education Lab
  • National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE)
    • Description: Promotes media literacy education through resources, conferences, and networking opportunities.
    • Website: NAMLE
  • NewseumED
    • Description: Offers educational resources on media literacy, journalism, and the First Amendment.
    • Website: NewseumED
  • NiemanLab (Nieman Foundation at Harvard)
    • Description: Publishes articles and research on journalism, media innovation, and the future of news.
    • Website: NiemanLab
  • Project Look Sharp (Ithaca College)
  • RAND Corporation
  • Stanford History Education Group (SHEG)
  • The Media Literacy Clearinghouse
    • Description: Created by Frank W. Baker, a former broadcast journalist and media literacy instructor, in 1998 to give educators for students in kindergarten through 12th grade (ages 5-18) a site offering age- and grade-appropriate resources for teaching media literacy. It provides tools and information for educators who want to learn more about media literacy and integrate the topic into the classroom.
  • Media Literacy Now
    • Description: Media Literacy Now leverages the passion and resources of the media literacy community to inform and drive policy change at local, state, and national levels in the U.S. to ensure all K-12 students are taught media literacy so that they become confident and competent media consumers and creators.
  • News Co/Lab
    • Description: An initiative from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. It was created in 2017 to help the public find new ways of engaging with news and other information. Its offerings include a “cookbook” of best practices related to education, equipment, tools and transparency.
  • The New York Times Learning Network
    • Description: Uses articles, essays, photos, videos and graphics from The New York Times as the basis for a variety of classroom resources — lesson plans, writing prompts, quizzes and student contests — that are published daily during the U.S. school year. Check out “Promoting Literacy with Journalism Education”

News Literacy Courses and Curricula
The providers below offer comprehensive resources for news literacy, from courses for teachers and students (from just a few hours to weeks) to a curriculum linked to a scope and sequence and standards.

  • Checkology (by the News Literacy Project): Free lessons focusing on fact-checking and journalistic skills, all hosted by experts. NLP also offers “The Sift” newsletter, News Lit Nation and a News Literacy Certificate Course available online for educators
  • Civic Online Reasoning (by the Stanford History Education Group): This research-based curriculum features foundational lessons and smart assessments for building students’ critical thinking skills.
  • CTRL-F (by CIVIX): This seven-hour course features four lessons that give students an expert-backed approach to fact-checking news and media on the web.
  • Ground News: a course that explores a host of media literacy terms, skills, and concepts. Program resources include explainer videos, vocabulary pages and guided activities for using Ground News in the K-12 classroom. 
  • Media Literacy Clearinghouse Media Literacy Clearinghouse is Frank Baker’s extensive database of classroom resources organized by medium, concept and teaching standard. MLC provides a curated list of PBS Learning Media videos that would be helpful for any teacher who wanted to teach media literacy.
  • MediaSmarts Journalism and News section: searchable by grade level
  • Navigating Digital Information (Crash Course): Entertaining and engaging video series hosted by John Green and produced in partnership with MediaWise, the Poynter Institute, and the Stanford History Education Group.
  • NewsU (by the Poynter Institute): While a lot of these courses will cost you and are more directed at adults pursuing careers in journalism, there are a few free, shorter courses that could work well for K-12 educators and students. For instance, Hands-On Fact-Checking: A Short Course is a 90-minute, free intro to fact-checking.
  • NewsWise (UK) cross-curricular lesson plans, online resources, a teacher guide and journalism workshops for 9-11 year-olds. Materials are mapped to the PSHE Programme of Study and are free to all schools across the UK.
  • Project Look Sharp (by Ithaca College): Over 500 lessons across all grade levels that support an open-ended, inquiry-driven approach to “media decoding.” Take note that you’ll need an account to access the materials. For school librarians: Media Decoding Course (9 weeks) To apply, email: [email protected]
    Teaching with the News Choices Program, Brown University
  • Common Sense Education: A best-of-the-best collection of resources for teaching and learning about news literacy, organized by key topic areas.

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