This year, for Media Literacy Week, help empower young people to think critically, communicate effectively, and engage as active citizens.

Media Literacy Week, an annual event hosted on October 27-31, is a great opportunity for kids, teens and adults to consider what it means to be a “good digital citizen” while practicing being thoughtful consumers and producers of media. Media Literacy is our ability to put into action the set of skills required to navigate today’s complicated digital world. From social media posts and captions to advertisements, editorials, memes, and infographics, we read, view and listen to media across a variety of platforms. To operate in this constant stream of information we need to equip the young people in our lives (and ourselves) with the ability to think critically, analyze content, identify misinformation, evaluate sources, and create using the technology that’s shaping our world. This means building on the foundations of traditional literacy with new perspectives and tools that help us use technology wisely.

Strengthen students’ media literacy skills, inspire conversation about how we use technology, and cultivate ethical behavior and personal responsibility with the videos, activities, and lesson plans below.

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WHAT Is Media Literacy and HOW Can Simple Shifts Center It?

All Grades
Media literacy empowers students to engage critically with information and amplify their voices as creators and digital authors. Learn about how teaching fundamental media literacy skills prepares students for the present and future.

Technology and You! | RUFF RUFFMAN: HUMBLE MEDIA GENIUS

Grades 3-5
How can we use technology wisely? Explore media literacy with students as Ruff Ruffman uncovers the wonders (and pitfalls) of tech in this animated video from RUFF RUFFMAN: HUMBLE MEDIA GENIUS.

Be MediaWise—Lessons to Teach Media Literacy collection

Grades 3-12
Explore the Be MediaWise collection, a series of media literacy lessons that teach specific fact-checking skills to help students sort fact from fiction online. Students learn about becoming a good digital citizen while engaging with topics like the fundamentals of fact-checking, evaluating sources, recognizing “Fake News,” and navigating artificial intelligence. Lessons were developed by PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs in partnership with MediaWise and the Teen Fact-Checking Network, which are part of the Poynter Institute.

Media Literacy | Compact Civics

Grades 9-12
Reflect on the evolving world of technology and how it connects—and divides—us. Learn how media literacy can help you navigate misinformation and stay informed online. Use the provided teaching tips and discussion questions to continue the conversation.

AI Unlocked: Using AI Responsibly | PBS News Hour

Grades 6-12
Kick off the school year with a timely, thought-provoking lesson that will get your students practicing their media literacy skills and thinking critically about the technology that’s shaping our world. Use this engaging resource from PBS News Hour Classroom to introduce your students to the ethical use of artificial intelligence and how it can be used as a tool (when appropriate!) for the classroom.

Using A.I. for Cancer Detection | NOVA

Grades 6-12
Learn how artificial intelligence tools can improve patient care by looking for patterns in body scans to predict the probability of cancer with this video excerpt from NOVA: A.I. Revolution. Use this resource to provide students with opportunities to recognize how A.I. can analyze images and to communicate how it can serve as a health care tool.

Scientists Track Humpback Whales with AI | PBS News Hour

Grades 6-12
Humpback whales are some of the largest creatures on Earth and live in every one of the planet’s oceans, with their seasonal migrations among the longest of any mammal. And now, scientists are using AI-powered facial recognition technology to track the whales on their journeys that stretch thousands of miles long! Watch this short video and then use the accompanying discussion questions to encourage deeper exploration of how AI can be used to help advance scientific understanding.

Training Artificial Intelligence | NOVA

Grades 6-12
Explore recent advances in artificial intelligence (A.I.) and learn how artificial neural networks function with these video excerpts from NOVA: A.I. Revolution. Use this resource to provide students with opportunities to recognize how A.I. models learn from data and to communicate the importance of training data.

The Future of Speech: AI and New Technologies | Floyd Abrams: Speaking Freely

Grades 9-12
Learn how conversations about new technologies, privacy, and free speech intersect in this media gallery from the American Masters film Floyd Abrams: Speaking Freely. With the rapid emergence of AI-based technologies such as biometrics, civil discourse about rights and liberties protected by the Constitution and law become increasingly important.

Expanding Narratives Using Media: A Planning Kit | PBS LearningMedia

All Grades
This planning kit has resources, tips, and professional development opportunities rooted in skills supporting critical media literacy. Use these media-rich resources, lesson plans, and worksheets to engage your students with media analysis and media making in new ways.

AI Poetry Lesson | RUFF RUFFMAN: HUMBLE MEDIA GENIUS

Grades 3-5
Ruff wants to create a new poem for his fans, but he has writer’s block. He ends up using artificial intelligence to help write the poem in this animated video about media literacy from RUFF RUFFMAN: HUMBLE MEDIA GENIUS. After watching the video take it further with an activity using an AI tool to create a poem about Ruff, Lupine or Chet.

How2Internet: How to Produce a Fact-Check Video | Be MediaWise

Grades 6-12
Teach media literacy through media creation! Inspire students to be good digital citizens as they create fact-check videos and learn to spot misinformation.

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