Overview

In today’s digital world, students are constantly surrounded by information, from social media feeds and news headlines to viral videos and AI-generated search results. But not all information is accurate, fair, or trustworthy. Students need strong information literacy, media literacy, and news literacy skills to tell fact from fiction and make sense of the content they see every day. 

Our Information & Media Literacy lessons tap into students' natural curiosities while also developing their capacity to think critically about online content, spot misinformation, and understand the role of media in influencing opinions and behaviors. Rather than settling for quick, surface-level answers, students learn to dig deeper, ask thoughtful questions, and seek diverse perspectives. Students learn how to question sources, recognize bias, and evaluate news stories with a careful, thoughtful approach. Through interactive, age-appropriate activities, they'll build the essential skills to navigate today’s media landscape with confidence, and move from passive acceptance to active engagement with the media and information that shape how they understand the world.

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Our Instructional Approach

Seek, Evaluate, and Contextualize

Our curriculum approaches information and media literacy through three interconnected areas:

• Seek: Students develop the curiosity and skills to actively search for a range of information sources rather than accepting whatever appears first. These lessons nurture students' sense of wonder and inquiry, encouraging them to look beyond surface-level answers and initial search results. Students learn to ask deeper questions, identify different types of sources, and persistently investigate topics from multiple angles – essential habits in a world where information is often served up by algorithms rather than discovered through true exploration.
• Evaluate: Students build the critical thinking skills needed to assess the credibility and quality of information they encounter. These lessons help students apply frameworks like "SIFT" to determine trustworthiness, recognize manipulated media, identify bias, and distinguish between facts and opinions. Students practice looking for evidence, checking sources, and questioning claims rather than automatically accepting what they see, read, or hear – whether from traditional media, social media platforms, or AI-generated content.
• Contextualize: Students learn to understand information within broader historical, social, and media contexts. These lessons help students recognize how information is framed, how emotional appeals influence perceptions, and how their own experiences shape interpretation. Students explore how the same event can be portrayed differently across sources, how trends affect what information receives attention, and how to consider multiple perspectives when forming their own understanding of topics and events.

Cultivating Wonder in the Age of Instant Answers

Our approach recognizes that today's information environment often discourages deep inquiry. When search engines, social media, and AI tools provide immediate answers, students can lose the motivation to investigate further or question what they're given. Our curriculum deliberately cultivates the disposition to look beyond these initial responses, fostering the intellectual curiosity that drives meaningful learning.

Our lessons engage students in authentic exploration that makes the process of seeking information rewarding in itself. Through activities that spark wonder, encourage questioning, and reward discovery, students develop intrinsic motivation to go beyond surface-level information. This approach helps counteract the passive consumption habits reinforced by many digital platforms, preparing students to be active, thoughtful participants in information ecosystems rather than mere consumers of whatever content an algorithm serves them.

Grade-by-Grade Progression

Each grade level addresses all three dimensions of information and media literacy through developmentally appropriate lessons:

• Grades K-2: Young learners begin developing a foundation of curiosity and critical thinking with the help of our Digital Citizens characters, and particularly our "Head" character who helps them question information and think carefully about what they see and read online. Students learn to wonder about where information comes from, recognize that digital content can be created or altered by anyone, and develop the habit of asking questions rather than accepting everything at face value.
• Grades 3-5: Older elementary students explore more complex concepts like identifying the sources of online information, recognizing altered media, and understanding how trends influence their decisions. They learn structured approaches like the "SIFT" method for evaluating credibility, examine how media affects their emotions through persuasive techniques, and practice responsible creation and remixing. Students also begin analyzing media influence and framing, developing the habit of seeking multiple perspectives on topics and events.
• Grades 6-8: Middle school students tackle more sophisticated topics like the economics of media platforms, the role of algorithms in information discovery, and the complexities of misinformation in digital spaces. They analyze how various media institutions shape public understanding, examine how different contexts affect interpretation of the same information, and learn strategies for deeper research beyond search engine results. Students also explore ethical participation in information ecosystems, including responsible sharing practices and creation of media that respects intellectual property while expressing original ideas.

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