Media Literacy Resources

From class activities to news articles, here is an evolving list of resources shared by teachers from across the state of Illinois. We are constantly updating this collection, and if you would like to share an artifact that you have used in your own classroom, write to us at imedia@illinois.edu.

You can access these resources by clicking on the links in the table, or downloading them from the list at the bottom of this page.

Type of ResourceResourceSubmitted/Created BySubject Taught
Activities & AssignmentsPresentation on RhetoricAndrew HandleyEnglish
Activities & AssignmentsDigital Citizenship CurriculumBrandon ThompsonLibrary
Activities & AssignmentsVideo Essay Creation AssignmentBriana HendricksonEnglish
Activities & AssignmentsPresentation on Digital Revolution and its Impact on Our BrainCarol-Lynn ComparettoArt
Activities & AssignmentsThe “3-2-1” Class ActivityHannah YeamEnglish
Activities & AssignmentsAll Sides Website
Internet Troll and Disinformation Quiz
Museum of the Moving Image
Media Bias Assignment
All Sides Media Bias Assignment
Melissa SchoepleinSocial Studies
Activities & AssignmentsAssignment: Bias Questions
News Article: Risk of Dying While Taking a Selfie
News Article: Colin Kaepernick Had No Choice but to Kneel
News Article: Colin Kaepernick Doesn’t Have a Clue About What ‘Sacrificing Everything’ Really Means
Mikel MatthewsEnglish, Theatre
Activities & AssignmentsCurriculum: Sophomore English – Media Literacy UnitShauna OakwoodEnglish
Activities & AssignmentsPresident George W. Bush’s Address to the Nation & Rhetorical Analysis QuestionsElizabeth A SinclairEnglish
Activities & AssignmentsDocket on Media LiteracyLaurie HendricksonEnglish
Media Literacy Guides & InformationALA Media Literacy Guide for Library PractitionersJessica JohnsonLibrary
Media Literacy Guides & InformationNoise vs. NewsAlyssaEnglish
Media Literacy Guides & InformationMedia Bias ChartLaDonna WilsonEnglish
Media Literacy Guides & InformationNews Literacy Project: CheckologyRich MortonSocial Studies
News Articles, Books, & VideosHow to Lie with Statistics (Book)Andy WilsonHistory
News Articles, Books, & VideosComicAndie TownhouseLibrary
News Articles, Books, & VideosHow 25 Years of Photoshop Changed Our Perception of RealityJill LagerstamArt
News Articles, Books, & VideosThe Complicated Truth About China’s Social Credit SystemRoberta BennettArt

Citations & links to original resources:

Handley, A. (2021). Rhetoric and Media Lessons. PDF. 

Common Sense Education. (2022). Digital Citizenship Curriculumhttps://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-citizenship/curriculum

Hendrickson, B. (2022). Video Essay. PDF.

Comparetto, C. (2022). The Digital Revolution’s Impacts on Our Brain. PDF.

Yeam, H. (2022). The 3-2-1 Class Activity. PDF.

AllSides.Com. (2022). Unbiased Balanced News. https://www.allsides.com/unbiased-balanced-news

Clemson University Media Forensics Hub. (2022). Spot The Troll. https://spotthetroll.org

Museum of the Moving Image. (2022). The Living Room Candidate. http://www.livingroomcandidate.org

Schoeplein, M. (2022). Media Bias Assignment. PDF.

Schoeplein, M. (2022). All Sides Media Bias Assignment. PDF.

Matthews, M. (2022). Bias Questions Assignment. PDF.

Nationwide News. (2015, September 23). You are now at more risk of dying while taking a selfie than being killed by a shark. https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/wtf/you-are-now-at-more-risk-of-dying-while-taking-a-selfie-than-being-killed-by-a-shark/news-story/b1aefd98649cf82c3c962c6ff20913d0.

McWhorter, J. (2016, September 22). Colin Kaepernick Had No Choice but to Kneel. https://time.com/4504014/colin-kaepernick-kneel/.

McHenry, Britt. (2018, September 4). Colin Kaepernick doesn’t have a clue about what ‘sacrificing everything’ really means. https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/colin-kaepernick-doesnt-have-a-clue-about-what-sacrificing-everything-really-means.

Sinclair, E.A. (2022). President George W. Bush’s Address to the Nation & Rhetorical Analysis Questions. PDF.

Oakwood, S. (2022). Sophomore English – Media Literacy Unit Curriculum and Scope and Sequence. PDF.

Hendrickson, L. (2022). Media Literacy. PDF.

American Library Association. (2020, November). Media Literacy in the Library: A Guide for Library Practitioners. PDF.

Illinois Valley Community College. (2022). Noise vs News: What’s Your Source? https://libguides.ivcc.edu/noisevsnews.

Ad Fontes Media. (2022). Static Media Bias Chart. https://adfontesmedia.com/static-mbc/

The News Literacy Project. (2022). Checkology. https://get.checkology.org.

Huff, D. (1954). How to Lie With Statistics. W. W. Norton & Company. https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393310726/about-the-book/reviews.

Inman, M. (2020). Believe. The Oatmeal. https://theoatmeal.com/comics/believe.

Brändlin, A. (2015, February 27). The Impact of Photoshop. DW. https://www.dw.com/en/how-25-years-of-photoshop-changed-our-perception-of-reality/a-18284410.

Kobie, N. (2019, July 6). The Complicated Truth About China’s Social Credit System. Wired UK. https://www.wired.co.uk/article/china-social-credit-system-explained.