Three Little Pigs

Talk about examples of fake news, disinformation and misinformation.

Cancel culture. If a million or more people like or share something, does that make it believable?

Does truth really exist, or is truth just a point of view?

What do the terms ‘balanced’ and ‘fair’ mean in the media?

Which do you trust more: traditional legacy media news or social media news? Why?

Pick your viewpoint.

You could be a reporter for CNN or the BBC, an investigative journalist for the Guardian or New York Times, a crime sleuth podcaster, an Instagram, TikTok or Snapchat news channel host, a whistle-blower, or a social media influencer promoting your brand.

Consider who your audience is.

Rewrite the story of the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf from modern day viewpoint with your audience in mind.

Talk about how to tell the difference between bias and balance in reporting, and practice spotting facts vs opinions in news articles. 

Model effective headlines and their purposes. Is your headline designed to inform, provoke, inflame or get a click?

Compare how tabloid and broadsheet newspapers cover the same story very differently. 

• BBC’s Young Reporter website offers lots of ideas for young people writing news reports. 
• The Pulizter Center’s Programs for K-12 Teachers and Students include lesson plans and a skills builder lesson series.
• CEA has published a useful journalism resource for teachers of older students, covering caption writing, writing headlines, comparing news sources and decision making in the newsroom.