Alaa's Lesson: Identifying Bias in Media

7th and 8th Grade Writing

55 minutes

Ms. Yousef

Nonfiction Research Across Text Sets

Essential Question: How can we read in such a way that we develop more nuanced understandings of an issue, learning to weigh and evaluate evidence, compare perspectives, and analyze arguments?

Objectives:

Students will be able to:

• Understand different types of bias that need to be considered when analyzing nonfiction texts
• Evaluate a text's credibility and reliability based on its existing biases
• Analyze how two or more authors writing about the same topic shape their presentations of key information by emphasizing different evidence or advancing different interpretations of facts

CCLS

Reading Standards: R7.6, R7.9

Writing Standards:

Speaking and Listening Standards:

Materials:

• Clip 1 (CNN): http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/03/us/muhammad-ali/
• Clip 2 (NBC): http://www.nbcnews.com/news/sports/muhammad-ali-greatest-all-time-dead-74-n584776
• Clip 3 (Democracy Now!): http://www.democracynow.org/2016/6/6/just_take_me_to_jail_remembering
• DN! Transcript on Drone Strikes: http://www.democracynow.org/2016/5/3/the_assassination_complex_jeremy_scahill_glenn
• New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/24/world/asia/drone-strikes-reveal-uncomfortable-truth-us-is-often-unsure-about-who-will-die.html?_r=0
• Copies of “Finding the Bias” graphic organizer
• Google slides presentation: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1qQ0r5ggqcqq8b_kHLS7MRydywVqGOy3NIKFsgi-QCjU/edit?usp=sharing

Procedure:

1. Do now: In your notebook, write as much as you can about the following topic: Drake (the musician/rapper). You'll have two minutes.
2. Vocabulary: Bias- prejudice against or for one thing, person, or group. Example: I'm prejudiced or have a bias for Drake because I really like his music so when someone criticizes him, I defend him.
3. Teach/demo: Looking at clip and filling out one side of graphic organizer.
4. Active Engagement: students fill out other side of graphic organizer using the Democracy Now!
5. Workshop: Each table or group is assigned to a nonfiction topic and they will be using the graphic organizer to figure out the bias in articles from each topic.
6. Wrap up: With the class, come up with a summary of what we learned and a few strategies for how to move forward knowing what we know about bias.
7. Exit slip: What other topics or current events have you seen in the news that people might have a bias for or against? How do you think you will get “the whole truth” about your topic when you’re researching?

Teach/Demo:

Today you will learn that Information we get from nonfiction texts almost always has a bias or prejudice. We need to learn to recognize that bias so that when we research a topic, we make sure we are getting whole picture. Once we have the whole picture, we can make up our minds about what we think.

Discuss types of bias then watch clip of Muhammad Ali and fill graphic organizer in CNN column.  

Active Participation:

Now that you have an idea of how to go about it, we will watch another clip and fill in the other side of the graphic organizer.

Watch clip and allow students time to finish graphic organizer. Share out what they got from watching both videos and what bias they could identify using the chart.

Workshop:

In groups of four have two students read the New York Times article about Drone strikes and two read the Democracy Now! Transcript, particularly of Glenn Greenwald’s segment at the end of the hour. After reading or during, students should fill out graphic organizers and when everyone is finished, compare notes and discuss what they read.

After discussion (whole class) students should try to answer the two questions at the bottom of the graphic organizer sheet.

What bias did each source have? How did that bias affect the information you were given or your opinion of the issue?

Assessment:  

• Class discussion
• Graphic organizers
• Answers to Exit question
• Conferencing with students during group work