Feb. 3-7, 2025
NATIONAL NEWS LITERACY WEEK BEGINS IN
- START HERE
Teens face the most complicated information landscape in history. In a single day, they might encounter memes, influencer-created videos, cleverly concealed marketing campaigns and articles by partisan pundits, while lacking the ability to distinguish one type of content from another.
But this doesn’t have to prevent them from becoming empowered and civically engaged. With news literacy education, students can more skillfully judge for themselves what information to trust, believe, share and base decisions on.
- JUMP TO
TAKE ACTION
- Educators
- Not an educator?
You can still get involved – click here.
WATCH OUR PSA
WHAT IS NEWS LITERACY?
News literacy is the ability to determine the credibility of news and other information and recognize the standards of fact-based journalism. It is an essential 21st century skill, central to any media literacy, digital literacy or civics program.
EVENTS
Evaluating News Media Bias: A Nuanced Approach to a Vital Topic
Hard hits, hidden truths: How investigative journalism tackled the NFL’s concussion problem
RESOURCES
Did you know the News Literacy Project uses five primary standards to define the core competencies students need to be news-literate? This week, we suggest using activities from our educator newsletter The Sift®, Checkology® virtual classroom and resource library to focus on a different standard each day.
Learn more about the five standards in our Framework for Teaching News Literacy.
- Add news literacy to your curriculum
DAILY
Use the Daily Do Now slides from The Sift for quick and easy bell ringer prompts each day of the week.
MONDAY
“InfoZones” (Checkology lesson, 60+ minutes)
Standard 1:
Students distinguish news from other types of information and can recognize both traditional and nontraditional advertisements.
TUESDAY
“The First Amendment” (poster)
“The First Amendment” (Checkology lesson; 60+ minutes)
Standard 2:
Students acknowledge the importance of the First Amendment in American democracy and a free press to an informed public.
WEDNESDAY
“Breaking News Checklist” (infographic)
“Understanding Bias” (Checkology lesson; 70+ minutes)
Standard 3:
Students understand why professional and ethical standards are necessary to produce quality journalism, and they can apply understanding of those standards to discern credible information and sources for themselves.
THURSDAY
“6 things to know about AI” (poster)
“Introduction to Algorithms” (Checkology lesson; 60+ minutes)
Standard 4:
Students demonstrate increased critical habits of mind, including effective verification skills and the ability to detect misinformation and faulty evidence.
FRIDAY
“News Diary” (worksheet)
Standard 5:
Students express and exercise civic responsibility by seeking, sharing and producing credible information as effective participants in a democracy.
BEYOND NATIONAL NEWS LITERACY WEEK
- Infographics
Infographics poster bundle at We Are Teachers
“How to teach news literacy in polarizing times” (infographic)
- Classroom visits
Newsroom to Classroom journalist visits (program available through Checkology)
MORE INFO
National News Literacy Week provides educators with free tools and resources to equip their students with the news literacy skills they need to become better informed and more civically engaged.
- For everyone
- View our PSA.
- Learn more about what teens think of news literacy education: read our News Literacy in America report.
- Are you a librarian?
- Subscribe to The Sift for NLP’s guide to the week in news literacy, including resources and discussion prompts.
- Are you a parent or caregiver?
- Read our Frequently Asked Questions.
- Subscribe to Get Smart About News for NLP’s guide to the week in news literacy, including guidance on how to engage with the young people in your life.
- Interested in partnering with NLP?
- Please contact Claudia Borgelt, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Impact.
THANK YOU
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