NewsLit Nation Insider: Share, grow and thrive with us

With Black History Month well underway, NLP has been highlighting Black journalists on social media and on our website all month. But we would be remiss if we failed to take a moment to note the contributions to our nation by pioneering Black educators. From W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington to Nannie Helen Burroughs and Anna Julia Cooper, groundbreaking Black teachers have had a significant impact on the lives of their students and in the communities they served. This month is a good time to remember and honor them.

No matter the community where you teach or how you identify yourself culturally and demographically, you can be certain that NLP is here to support you. In fact, we just launched NewsLit Nation, the News Literacy Educator Network. Are you ready to be part of a movement to bring news literacy education to schools nationwide? Register here.

We want to better understand your needs and to design materials that work best for you, so please complete this brief anonymous survey about the impact of NLP resources. And when you do, we’ll enter you in a drawing for a $100 gift card. The survey will remain open until March 16.

edWeb Webinar: Empowering Students with News Literacy
Date: Feb. 24, 2021
Time: 4 p.m. ET

When students connect strongly to what you are teaching, they become motivated to turn assignments into action. If you want to ignite a spark in your students, you won’t want to miss this free webinar, Empowering Students with News Literacy, featuring the News Literacy Project’s ambassadors. They’ll describe how their students have elevated classroom lessons to the next level. You will learn how to inspire your students as well.

During the session, we will also provide instructional resources for integrating news literacy concepts into your classroom, explain NLP’s free educator resources, including Checkology®, and introduce you to NewsLit Nation, our virtual professional learning community (PLC) that allows you to connect with and be inspired by other educators across the nation. Register today.

Are you interested in having a professional journalist share their expertise with students during a virtual or in-person visit with your students? The Newsroom to Classroom program and its directory of journalist volunteers are available through Checkology and can help you set up engaging news literacy conversations.

More than 100 vetted journalists are willing to speak with you and your students on dozens of topics, including political coverage, standards of quality journalism, misinformation, the First Amendment and social media issues. Using your Checkology account, you can filter journalists by areas of expertise, languages spoken and location. Check out the Classroom Connection Planning Sheet for ideas on how to structure your visit around specific learning objectives. Connecting with the journalists behind the headlines can serve as a powerful news literacy learning experience for students. Learn more about the Newsroom to Classroom program here.

Don’t forget, the “TRUST ME” documentary and classroom viewing guide are still available. The documentary delves into manipulation and misinformation by exploring human nature, information technology and how news and media literacy can engender trust. Use password “NLP-Teacher” to access the film. Our classroom viewing guide helps you use the film as a teaching tool and can be adapted to your needs. You can find the registration link and more information on Page 7 of the viewing guide.

Best regards,
Ebonee Rice, Vice President, Educator Network

P.S. Don’t forget to register for Office Hours — held the last Thursday of the month at 1:30 p.m. PT/ 4:30 p.m. ET — for tips and updates on using Checkology and getting answers to your questions.