Who Do You Trust? Getting the Right News
Learning Goals:
- Learn new words about news and where it comes from.
- Talk about why it’s important to be careful about what news you believe.
- Read about the changes happening in how people get news.
- Listen to a conversation about getting news from social media.
- Write about why it’s important to check if news is true.
Key Words:
- News: Information about events that are happening.
- Source: Where the news comes from (newspaper, website, TV station).
- Bias: When news is written to favor one side of an issue over another.
- Fact-checking: Checking if information is true.
- Credible: Believable and trustworthy.
- Fake news: News that is false or misleading.
Types of News Sources:
- Newspaper: Printed papers with news articles.
- Website: A place on the internet with news articles.
- Social media: Websites and apps where people share news and opinions. (Examples: Facebook, Twitter)
- Television news: News programs shown on TV.
Let’s Talk About It!
- Where do you usually get your news? (Newspapers, websites, TV, social media, friends?)
- Have you ever seen a news story and wondered if it was true?
- Why is it important to get news from trustworthy sources?
Let’s Read!
These days, many people get their news from the internet and social media. This is easy and fast, but it’s important to be careful. Not all information online is true. Some people might try to spread fake news to confuse you or make you believe something that isn’t correct.
Listen and Learn!
(Teacher plays a short conversation about the challenges of getting news from social media.)
Talk with a Partner!
One of you is a journalist. The other is a reader questioning if a news story is true. The journalist explains how they checked their facts.
Example:
- Reader: “I saw this story online, but it sounds too good to be true. How do I know if it’s real?”
- Journalist: “I checked the information with several sources and experts to make sure it was accurate.”
Homework:
Write a short paragraph about why it’s important to fact-check information you see online.
Extra Fun:
Choose a current event. Try to find the same story from two different news sources. How are the stories similar? How are they different?
