Teacher Resource Packet

Misinformation & Media Literacy: Navigating the COVID-19 “Infodemic”

As misinformation about COVID-19 proliferates online, and as remote learning and social distancing cause students to spend even more of their time on social media and other platforms, media literacy skills have taken on greater importance.

To address this need, NewsGuard has created a suite of plug-and-play resources for educators to teach a media literacy lesson through the lens of COVID-19 misinformation.

Overview:

  • PowerPoint slides (PPT and PDF): Broken into four parts, educators may pick which section to present to students, or teach the entire lesson over the course of a few days.
    • Part 1: Coronavirus Conspiracies & Other Health Hoaxes (20-30 minutes)
    • Part 2: Evaluating Sources (20-30 minutes)
    • Part 3: Evaluating Claims (10-15 minutes)
    • Part 4: Exercises (20-30 minutes in class or assign as homework)
  • Presentation guide: This document walks through each slide of the presentation, providing talking points, discussion questions, and other tips for educators.
  • Exercises: This worksheet contains a source evaluation exercise and a claim evaluation exercise designed for students to complete after learning the material from the presentation slides.
  • Vocabulary supplement: Students should be provided this document ahead of the lesson so that they may reference it when they encounter any challenging terms.
  • Tip sheet: Follow these tips to help you and your family spot false claims, verify the accuracy of online information, and stop the spread of misinformation.
  • Request a virtual class visit from NewsGuard: Fill out this form to request a virtual media literacy presentation for your class from one of NewsGuard’s experts.

Suggested grade levels:

This guide is designed for a high school audience (9th – 12th grade) but may also be used for middle school (6th – 8th grade) and university-level classes.

Outcomes:

These resources are aligned with the Common Core anchor standards and the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) standards for technology use, including:

  • Research
    • “Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.” — Common Core CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.7
    • “Students evaluate the accuracy, perspective, credibility and relevance of information, media, data or other resources.” — ISTE 3b
  • Writing
    • “Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.” — Common Core CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.8
  • Technology
    • “Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.” — Common Core CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.6
    • “Students choose the appropriate platforms and tools for meeting the desired objectives of their creation or communication.” — ISTE 6a