| By Cynda Wood, K-12 Training Consultant |
In an era of information overload and media saturation, learning to critically analyze news sources and identify bias is more essential than ever. During a presidential election, news cycles are full of coverage displaying conflicting viewpoints on the same stories and highlighting media bias across political lines. Not to mention, misinformation and disinformation are at an all-time high on social media.
Take this election season as an opportunity to equip your middle and high school students with valuable information literacy skills.
Here are five strategies to keep the election topical in your classroom and help students develop essential skills through respectful civil discourse. By teaching students how to compare news stories across media sources, analyze the credibility of those stories, and reflect on media bias, we can empower them to become more confident and discerning consumers of information.
1. Compare News Stories Across Media Sources
The presidential election sets the stage for national commentary about candidates, their political agendas, events, and more. From national to local news sources, thousands of stories are available that share multiple viewpoints of the same information. Use this coverage to your advantage to give students a lesson in comparing various perspectives and understanding media bias.
Have students select a news story related to the 2024 presidential election from one media source, whether a newspaper article, a website, or broadcast news coverage. Then have them find additional news stories on the same topic from other sources. Instruct students to compare how the story is presented across these sources.
To visualize this comparison, have students create a chart to document differences, noting each source along with their key points and discrepancies from other stories. Ask them to note the differences in each story’s headline, first paragraph, language, and tone. What is the author of each piece trying to say and how does each story differ from the others? Have students discuss these discrepancies and why they think each news story is different.
2. Teach Students to Analyze Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning
To take the comparison lesson even further, ask students to determine the credibility of news stories by using the claim, evidence, and reasoning process (CER). Teach students to identify what the writer is trying to prove, the facts behind their claim, and the logic they’re using to support it.
See if students can find two news articles about the same topic that have conflicting claims. Then have students compare how those sources present their claims with different evidence and reasoning to support their conflicting perspectives. Afterwards, ask students to discuss if both conflicting stories are credible, taking additional steps to check each author’s credentials and whether the authors have cited reliable sources for their evidence.
3. Have Students Practice Identifying Media Bias
You can also take the opportunity to teach students about different types of bias when analyzing news sources, including political bias, coverage bias, sensationalism, and visual bias. Have students search for news articles that display various types of bias, such as an article that only covers part of a story when comparative articles provide a fuller picture, or articles that use images that could potentially mislead readers about the story’s content.
By acknowledging that bias is ever-present, you can help students get into the habit of approaching information thoughtfully and cautiously. Once they can identify different types of bias and openly discuss the influence it has, they’ll be equipped to use the tools at their disposal to actively consider and critique information in their everyday lives.
4. Practice Lateral Reading for a Complete Picture
Once students understand that unbiased news is practically nonexistent, it’s easier to grasp the concept that getting the full view of a story may require reading multiple articles. Help students make it a habit of lateral reading to compare multiple news stories instead of only checking one source. This becomes particularly useful when considering potential disinformation on social media—students will be less likely to take the information they read in their social feeds as fact because they’re already attuned to checking multiple sources.
Guide students to identify reliable and reputable sources, such as established news organizations with histories of journalistic integrity, but acknowledge that even these sources hold their own biases. Have students discuss the benefits of reading multiple viewpoints from various media sources to get a comprehensive understanding of a topic, cross-verify details, and develop their own informed opinions.
5. Reflect on National Media Disagreements and Political Differences
Political tension is particularly high during the 2024 presidential election season. Students can see this in the media just as easily as they can see it in their everyday lives. Encourage students to reflect on how disagreements in the media mirror differing opinions in the world.
Consider having an open discussion about how it’s okay to have different opinions from your peers, other people in your life, and national media sources. Work with students to establish classroom ground rules to respectfully discuss and debate conflicting opinions. Focus on how it’s important to consider diverse opinions before developing your own based on all the facts.
While election season is top of mind, take the opportunity to engage students with relevant topical content while developing critical thinking and information literacy skills. By incorporating 2024 presidential election coverage into the classroom, teachers can help students build essential skills to navigate the complex landscape of news and media throughout election season and well into the future.
Looking for a reliable resource to help students compare conflicting perspectives in the news? See how Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints equips students to explore all sides of an issue with rich, up-to-date topic guides and reputable news stories.
About the Author
A former social studies teacher, Cynda Wood is now an education training consultant at Gale, part of the Cengage Group. She can be contacted via LinkedIn.