Teaching Students to Recognize Bias Jody Passanisi Heschel Day School Access slideshow on Twitter @21centuryteachr

Can you identify each bias? how can you tell?

What IS Bias? Before teaching how to recognize it, the students have a conversation about the nature of bias.

I ask them: Turn to question one in the Test Before You Trust handout. What issue is this addressing? What does it instruct you do when you discover that a source presents an opinion? Why do you think it's question number one? What sources would not have bias? (not necessarily a negative)

Definition & Clarification We talk about each of these terms, and students define in their own words: Bias Perspective Author’s Goal/Intent

So, How Can We Tell? I ask the students: Brainstorm a list of characteristics you can look for to help you identify the bias of a source (not just IF it's biased, but HOW it's biased), or the intent/goal of the author. Whip around.

Formative Assessment After reading Howard Zinn, I ask students to explain in one to two sentences: What are some positives/benefits of this bias? What are some drawbacks of this bias?

Comparing Perspective(s) What was similar about these two sources? What was different? What is Johnson's perspective? How is it different from Zinn? What does this tell you about history?

Student Examples

Identifying Nuance in Tone

Current Events Choose an article about a current event. Write one paragraph explaining the event. Identify the bias of your source. Write one paragraph describing your family member's view about the topic, and on the way in which it was reported. Write one paragraph describing your own views about the topic and why you think that way. Also, describe what you think about the way in which it was reported.

Challenges Inherent challenges: Teaching from YOUR perspective? Balance Pushback

Brainstorming and Sharing What content, units do you already use to compare sources/teach bias? What units could you use to do this?