LibGuides: Media & Information Literacy in the Sciences: Teacher Resources

Lesson Plans & Teaching Resources

(NSTA High School Professional Journal)

Making Science Relevant: Using Socio-Scientific Issues to Foster Critical Thinking
Many of today's most important scientific challenges also have substantial social components. Investigating these socio-scientific issues helps students develop socio-scientific reasoning, a type of critical thinking consistent with the Next Generation Science Standards.
Science Journalism: Students learn lifelong science literacy skills by reporting the news
The "Science Literacy Through Science Journalism" project explores how the practices of good science journalism can inform high school science education. As high school students report science news, they learn to gather and contextualize information and bring critical eyes to that which they read and write.
Teaching Scientific Literacy
Short commentary article explores how Science teachers can help English and Language Arts teachers-and students-by assigning science-related articles from newspapers and magazines, or even books, including high-quality fiction.
Just Say No! Teaching Students to Resist Scientific Misinformation
Science--with its accepted methods for verifying new claims and building common knowledge--provides an ideal domain for honing the skills needed to be a critical consumer of information. Teachers can use experimentally tested approaches that will help students learn to separate science fact from science fiction .

(NSTA Middle School Professional Journal)

Climate Change Photosynthesis Misleading Information
Students draw on their knowledge of photosynthesis to examine and evaluate the argument that increased CO2 levels are good for plants. Because some knowledge of photosynthesis is required, we recommend that students at least be introduced to the chemical equation for photosynthesis before this lesson.
Teaching Critical Thinking Through Media Literacy
Students live and learn in a media-saturated environment where information abounds, but wisdom is often lacking. As teachers, we must tie our science curricula to students’ real-life experiences: When our students see the utility of scientific thought and reason in helping them make sense of their world, then our classrooms will be truly relevant.
Viral News: Media Literacy for the 21st Century
In the past decade, mass media have become increasingly significant mediators of modern society, including science. It is essential for students to understand the constructed nature of media and become better prepared to make critical decisions regarding how to find, interpret, and evaluate the messages delivered through media.
Data Literacy 101
This short article presents interdisciplinary ideas for integrating data skills and graphs in the science classroom.
Using critical thinking to counter misinformation
Short commentary on the role of teaching critical thinking and media literacy to counter misinformation in the science classroom.

(NSTA Elementary School Professional Journal)

Analyzing Media Representations of Animals
Images of animals or objects in media may not contain clues about scale. Illustrations are valuable tools in helping children judge whether an image is an accurate representation of the animal, an accurate image enlarged or reduced in size, or even an altered photograph. Here, Ashbrook talks about media literacy education and its application in teaching children to analyze and interpret illustrations to determine sizes of pictured animals.
Becoming Scientifically Literate
Scientific literacy is having an understanding of what science is and how to use scientific information in daily decision making. Educators support children's developing scientific literacy so that we all have some knowledge about natural phenomena, can make informed decisions and evaluate claims, and can figure out how to answer our questions.
From Facts to Solutions
Describes an 8-10 week problem-based learning unit for fifth graders that introduced them to the facts underlying global climate change. This unit was inspired by the lack of awareness around this threat to our global ecosystem and takes on this goal: to provide students (our future advocates and voters) with a firm understanding of the data and science related to climate change.
Absorbing Visual Literacy
Introduces the concept of visual literacy into the science classroom by using diaper advertisements. Students investigated\ how polymers affect diapers by working in pairs to compare diaper absorbency in regards to companies' absorbency claims of their products..

AAAS Voices: Countering Science Misinformation

The AAAS Voices: Countering Science Misinformation video series features experts explaining the challenges of misinformation on addressing timely topics such as climate change, technology and health, including the COVID-19 pandemic.

TED-Ed: Hone your media literacy skills

This playlist of short, engaging videos from TED-Ed covers a variety of topics related to media and information literacy, and many focus specifically on health and science topics, as well as videos on statistics and graphs.

More Teaching Resources & Articles

Confront science misinformation in your classroom with NOVA
This article from PBS NOVA includes an overview of issues in preparing students to evaluation science information, and includes links to further resources and several embedded videos on misinformation, clickbait, and trust in science.
How to teach news literacy in polarizing times
Outline from the News Literacy Project of eight strategies for teaching important issues while navigating potentially sensitive social and political differences. Includes downloadable PDF infographic.
Know the Science
An initiative from the National Institutes of Health to help consumers better understand complex scientific topics that relate to health research and make well-informed decisions about their health.
Lateral reading: College students learn to critically evaluate internet sources in an online course
Article from the Harvard Kennedy School Misinformation Review exploring how students may learn to evaluate Internet sources in an asynchronous online course.
Like reporting, science is a process of uncovering facts
Short article from the News Literacy Project which outlines how news headlines and reporting might miss the nuance of the scientific process.
News literacy education in a polarized political climate: How games can teach youth to spot misinformation
Article from the Harvard Kennedy School Misinformation Review exploring a game designed to help students learn to identify misinformation.
NOAA Classroom-ready data resources
Explore NOAA data collected around the globe in formats designed just for educators. These resources take information from our atmosphere and ocean and package it in easily accessible, classroom-friendly lesson plans, activities, and curricula.
Prebunking interventions based on “inoculation” theory can reduce susceptibility to misinformation across cultures
This study finds that the online “fake news” game, Bad News, can confer psychological resistance against common online misinformation strategies across different cultures.

Confronting Health Misinformation
The 2021 U.S. Surgeon General's Advisory on Building a Healthy Information Environment.
Evaluating Information: The Cornerstone of Civic Online Reasoning
Executive summary of the 2016 study from the Stanford History Education Group.

Knowledge Quest

Data Literacy in the Library
Blog post which shares several resources and activities for supporting data literacy.

Evaluating Science Information with Thinking Routines
Students use the following criteria to assess these potentially award-winning science books: language, visual presentation, organization/text structure, presentation of facts, supplemental materials (index, table of contents, maps, timelines, bibliography), gender and racial representation, interest to middle schoolers.
School Librarians, Science Teachers, + Optimal Learning Environments
Explores strategies and opportunities for collaboration between science teachers and school librarians to develop strong learning environments.