1. Shepard Academy Senior Block
News Literacy and 1984
Shepard Academy Senior Block

2. Discuss:
“To be news literate is to build knowledge, think critically, act civilly and participate in the democratic process.” —Robert R. McCormick Foundation

3. News Literacy Tenets
1.      Informed citizens are essential to good government and free society. 2.      There is a public value to sharing accurate, newsworthy information. 3.      The Internet has changed how people receive news information and now people have to take a more active role in becoming well informed and sharing accurate information.

4. 4.      Accurate information is available online, but so is poor quality, misleading information. 5.      The Internet makes it possible to independently fact check and verify information by looking at multiple information providers. 6.      In assessing accuracy of information, it is important to consider who is providing it and their sources and whether the information includes verifiable facts and key perspectives as opposed to opinions and unsubstantiated conclusions.

5. 7.      To be well informed, one should get news from multiple outlets representing different perspectives. 8.      It’s important to follow a story over time to be able to trust the information. 9.      Some news and information has a strong bias, and there are ways to recognize this.

6. 10.  One should be skeptical of information based purely on anonymous or biased sources. 11.  It’s important to be aware of one’s own biases and assumptions and seek reliable information that challenges one’s own views. 12.  It is important to be open minded rather than having fixed opinions that can’t be changed even with new facts.

7. News Literacy Practice
As a class, select one article from either a local media outlet or a national/international one: BBC, PBS, or NPR. Use the ActivInspire desktop annotation software to highlight:
Sources (both names and descriptions) in green
Attribution in red
Any questionable information or unsubstantiated opinion (if found) in gray

8. Analyze Your Findings What potential biases might the source have?
Is the source qualified?
Is the information accurate and verified by other sources or by the writer?
Is the writing transparent?
Is the information verified?
Is emphasis placed on the truth?

9. Homework
Write down every media you consume over the next 24 hours, as well as how long you used it:
News sites or apps TV
Netflix
Twitter (social media)
Sports
Radio

10. Day Two

11. Reflection Reflect on your media consumption.
What conclusions can you draw about your level of news literacy from this journal?
How did visual techniques and design elements influence the messages you chose to receive? Compare print vs. online news media.
What impact does your news consumption have on you? On the public?

12. As a class, review the 12 tenets of news literacy earlier in this PowerPoint.

13. Final Assignment
Pick one of the twelve tenets of news literacy and apply it to 1984 and your own life. If you choose tenet one (Informed citizens are essential to good government and free society), for example, you should explicate this statement, discuss how it relates to the novel (be sure to cite at least three specific, poignant examples), then discuss how it relates to your own life (media consumption, awareness, etc.) and society in general.