Insider Spotlight: Tracy Raasch
Welcome to the Insider Spotlight, where we feature real questions from our team and answers from educators who are making a difference teaching news literacy. This month, our featured educator is Tracy Raasch, a library media specialist in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Q: Libraries are hubs for inquiry, curiosity and critical thinking. How do you incorporate news literacy education into your lessons, activities or programming?
A: I started the year by hanging news literacy infographics in the library and around the building to promote curiosity and discussion. Students of all ages enjoyed the eye-catching infographic Impostor alert: Don’t fall for fake Labubus or news knockoffs. I recently created a library display including the First Amendment poster to promote the freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution. I also encourage news literacy in the broader community by sharing Scroll Smarter with families in the school newsletter.
Want to access the free classroom resources Tracy mentions in this Q&A?
Register for or sign in to the Checkology® virtual classroom to get more than 250 standards-aligned lessons, activities, infographics and more — it’s completely free!
Q: You recently presented resources from The News Literacy Project’s Checkology virtual classroom to 85 public school librarians in Milwaukee and 50 WEMTA attendees. From your experience, what elements or features of Checkology do school librarians find most valuable?
A: Librarians love the grab-and-go, high-quality content found in the RumorGuard slides. The animated slides provide librarians with powerful, engaging and relevant opportunities to demonstrate how to determine the credibility of an online claim. These slides are a perfect bell ringer and/or transition activity that teens find engaging and relevant.
Q: How does understanding the role of a free press in society help students become more thoughtful and responsible consumers of news and information?
A: The free press allows people and organizations to report news, information and opinions free from government censorship. This freedom allows for diverse perspectives, which inevitably can lead to bias and misinformation. Students must learn that it is not the government’s job to decide what is or isn’t biased. It is the people’s job to learn the skills necessary to interpret information and identify bias themselves so they can be responsible consumers across platforms.
Q: In what ways does news literacy education empower students to participate more fully in civic life?
A: News literacy helps develop an informed citizenry, which is vital for democracy. Without informed citizens, the truth can be distorted by people in power. News literacy education helps students discern fact from opinion, avoid the spread of misinformation, and empowers teens to think critically about the content they consume and how it can shape the future of society. Nearly half of teenagers admit to being online almost constantly, making news literacy education more important than ever.
Q: Can we get a librarian’s recommendation? What’s your favorite book of all time?
A: I am passionate about empowering students with news literacy knowledge, but I also want to help them discover the joy and freedom that can be found off of screens! So, my current favorite nonfiction book for students is The Amazing Generation by Jonathan Haidt and Catherine Price. Amazing Generation is a highly illustrated, engaging book that helps our tweens and teens understand the methods and intentions of big tech companies and learn to break free from screens and enjoy friends in real life.
My favorite fiction title, The Girl Who Drank the Moon, by Kelly Barnhill, is a heartwarming middle-grade fantasy that encourages readers to think critically about how storytelling can be harnessed to maintain power and control in society. Acquiring knowledge, free speech and telling truthful stories are powerful forces for good in this fictional world (and in ours)!
