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Lesson Plans

Lesson plan: Zombie facts — How to bury misinformation that keeps coming back to life

January 18, 2023

 

Overview

Misinformation about “zombie” viruses thawing in the Siberian permafrost keeps coming back to life, which can evoke strong emotions like fear and cause us to share information without checking it out first. Students will learn media literacy skills, such as why they should hit “pause” before sharing posts that stir up strong emotions, how to conduct an effective keyword search and how to sort through search results.

These lessons was developed by PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs in partnership with MediaWise and the Teen Fact-Checking Network, which are part of the Poynter Institute. This partnership has been made possible with support from Google.”

Objectives

 Students will be able to answer the questions:

  • Why should I fact-check information online when it triggers strong emotions?
  • What makes an effective keyword search to find information about a topic online?
  • How can I determine if a search result is a reliable source?

Subjects

media literacy, social studies, language arts, journalism

Estimated Time

45 minutes

Full Lesson

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REVIEW KEY VOCABULARY

  1. Reading upstream — going right to original source of information to verify it
  2. Lateral reading — finding other credible sources that back up the a claim being made
  3. Missing context —  a statement that is quoted or a photo or video that is used out of context or altered so that it seems to mean something different than what was intended
  4. Keyword search — words and phrases that users type into search engines to find information on a particular topic
  5. Click restraint — resisting the urge to immediately click on the first search result

FIVE FACTS ABOUT THE VIDEO

Watch the MediaWise Teen-Fact Checking Network (TFCN) video and answer the questions about zombie viruses being released from melting ice caps. 

According to the video…

  1. What red flags indicate that you should fact-check information found online or on social media?
  1. What keyword search words or phrases were used to find a credible second source of information?
  1. What sources were used for lateral reading about the topic? Why are they reliable sources?
  1. What source was used to read upstream about the topic? Why is it a reliable source?
  1. What two pieces of important missing context about the ability of zombie viruses to infect humans did you discover by reading laterally and reading upstream?

FOCUS QUESTIONS

  1. Why is it important to pause before sharing information online that evokes strong emotions?
  1. What makes a good keyword search?
  1. How can you determine if a source from a keyword search is reliable and credible?
  1. Why is it important to practice “click restraint” when sorting through keyword search results?
  1. Why is it important to read laterally and read upstream to check for missing context?

IF YOU WANT TO GO DEEPER

  1. Watch this MediaWise TikTok and explain the difference between a “zombie virus” and a “zombie claim.”
  1. The MediaWise Teen-Fact Checker practiced “click restraint” when sorting through the keyword search results to select the most credible sources. Click on and read the “About” page of a source to check its reliability. The “About” link is usually at the bottom of the webpage or in the menu at the top. If people are cited, search for them online and read about their background. Find and click on the “About” page for each source and research the person cited in this fact-check. Summarize what makes each one seem reliable.

BACKGROUND READING LINKS


These lessons were developed by PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs in partnership with MediaWise and the Teen Fact-Checking Network, which are part of the Poynter Institute. This partnership has been made possible with support from Google.

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