Free Online Resources for the U.S. Election
??????????? As November 5th approaches, says Kara Yorio in this School Library Journal article, “Students are likely seeing a mix of mainstream media stories, influencer takes, memes, clips from speeches, and more. There is no way to avoid it.” An important contribution librarians and other educators can make is to build the skill of discerning where information is on a continuum from reliable to unreliable – and think about the motives of those who spread bogus information, “the motivation and methods of political messaging.” Some helpful websites:
? The Living Room Candidate – Political commercials from 1952 to 2024, with lesson plans comparing and contrasting approaches to political persuasion over the years.
? National Association for Media Literacy Education – Includes downloads of core principles and key questions about media literacy, including “Meet the Media Monsters,” a lesson plan for grades 3-5 on consuming and sharing media.
? News Literacy Project Misinformation Dashboard – Tracks 2024 election misinformation, helping students see the tactics and narratives that influence public opinion.
? PBS NewsHour Classroom: Media Literacy – Lessons on debates, political polarization, and violence, and specific topics, including the Kendrick Lamar-Drake feud.
? Project Look Sharp – Ithaca College provides elementary, middle-, and high-school lessons on media analysis and decoding.
? Teaching Elections – Inquiry-based lesson plans, curriculum links, an election map, election news updates, and fact-checking sites.
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“More Than Just the Facts” by Kar Yorio in School Library Journal, October 2024 (Vol. 70, #10, pp. 12-14), summarized in Marshall Memo 1058