Prepare Students to Think Critically about the Digital World

From misinformation going viral on social media feeds to the rise of doctored images made from generative AI, it’s more important than ever for students to learn to recognize fact from fiction. There’s no question media literacy is an essential skill set for all students in the digital age. Building media literacy skills from a young age gives students a strong foundation to think critically about information sources. By teaching students to be mindful of what they read on the internet, recognize fake news, and practice good digital citizenship, we can help establish a healthy, productive relationship with media that will serve them throughout their education, careers, and entire lives.

Designed to support the media literacy learning process over time, Gale resources develop the skills students need to access, evaluate, and analyze digital messages from a variety of diverse sources. Educators and students will find primary and secondary sources, opinion articles, photos, infographics, videos, and more digital content relevant to students. Explore how educators can use Gale resources to teach media and digital literacy skills across all grade levels and subjects in your school community.

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Provide Cross-Curricular, Real-World Content & Lesson Plans

Gale In Context resources allow students to practice essential media literacy skills with inquiry-based lessons that drive critical thinking during everyday learning. Teaching students to ask questions helps them develop a habit of assessing the credibility of all the information they read—where did it come from and is it current? Introducing students to sources from diverse perspectives also helps them learn to recognize bias.

Teachers use the wide variety of content types in Gale In Context to get students used to asking questions, familiar with diverse perspectives, and consuming media safely and responsibly. Additionally, pre-built lesson plans help educators with ready-made media literacy activities and teaching strategies.

Here’s how using Gale In Context resources in classroom instruction and independent student learning sharpens your media literacy strategy: 

  • Show students how to scan, evaluate sources quickly, and determine key concepts with authentic texts from the real world.
  • Teach students to verify the credibility of a publisher or author by checking what else they have written and identifying trends with a single click.
  • Encourage students to examine and think critically about claims using nuanced viewpoint articles.
  • Help students identify differences between fact and opinion and understand bias using primary and secondary sources from history and today.
  • Make it easy for students to compare and contrast content and headlines with unique topic pages that organize information from reliable sources.
  • Increase student engagement with relevant, current content so they can make informed decisions about the world around them.
  • Make it easier for educators to integrate media literacy activities into the existing curriculum by offering customizable lesson plans and built-in critical-thinking questions.
  • Provide teachers with tailored media literacy lessons about judging media bias, fake news, propaganda, social media, cyberbullying, and more.

Help Students Understand the Big Picture

New content is added daily so teachers and students have credible information and can keep up with current events. 

How can you help teachers equip learners as they navigate today's virtual world and understand the media’s role in democracy? Enable educators to teach media literacy across various subjects with trustworthy, current digital media content in a student-friendly platform. With Gale In Context, teachers have resources to help students grasp the big picture, understand the context of what they’re reading online, and consume information responsibly.

Here's how teachers drive student understanding with Gale In Context:

  • Introduce students to topic pages to quickly find an overview of popular subjects and browse additional related resources.
  • Encourage them to read organized background information and explore related content to strengthen their understanding of a topic. 
  • Show students how to access varied source types, including primary and secondary sources.

Practice Media Literacy Skills with Built-In Features

Built-in features allow students to evaluate sources in-depth to truly understand where content is coming from, whether they should trust it, and how it will influence their opinions and views. Gale In Context makes it easier for students to practice media literacy in a safe environment with features that guide them through analyzing texts. Students build media literacy and critical thinking by:

  • Citing: Students can quickly evaluate and cite sources while viewing content.
  • Viewing All Related Articles: Students can compare and contrast sources. 
  • Answering Critical-Thinking Questions: Students can consider built-in prompts.
  • Checking Publisher & Author Info: Students can easily find publication information about their sources to confirm credibility and currency.
  • Highlighting and Taking Notes: Students can add highlights and notes to actively read.
  • Translating: Students can translate articles into 50+ languages to increase readability and understanding for English learners.

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