New media literacy pupil learning activities and materials are being released today. This is the first phase of an exciting new project supported by the US Embassy in London.
ACT has been funded to develop a series of media literacy education interventions designed to counter misinformation and build young people's capacity to critically engage with news and information.
These resources have been developed by ACT to support the teaching of media literacy through citizenship.
1: Teaching Media Literacy - Covid-19
Put together by experienced secondary citizenship teachers, this first learning activity is designed for use with pupils in key stages 3 and 4. Pupils are introduced to basic media literacy concepts and terms and encouraged to develop their knowledge, source analysis and critical thinking in relation to the different types of information they encounter.
Helen Blachford, Curriculum Leader PSCHE, led work on The ACT Building Resilience Project at Priory School in Portsmouth.
This project focused on critical thinking, problem solving and enquiry skills through three Citizenship lessons with two Year 9 classes. Pupils explored concepts of democracy, rule of law and rights and responsibilities in the context of media bias/falsification in reporting about Islam and Islamophobia.
The recent discussions about British identity, the success of UKIP in the European elections in May and the Trojan Horse incidents in Birmingham have all focussed attention on the importance of high quality Citizenship being a core part of education for young people and also at the heart of the way the school relates to the community it is set in. Citizenship teachers can initiate conversations with colleagues in school about these matters and also create powerful lesson opportunities to help pupils explore the complexity of living together in the UK.
