Teaching Activities for: ‘In Italian Schools, Reading, Writing and Recognizing Fake News’
This lesson plan is from The New York Times.
Before reading the article:
Does your school teach you how to spot fake news or how to judge a reliable news source from an unreliable one? What sort of instruction have you received in school about fake news? Would you like more information on the topic? Should instruction on fake news be part of every student’s school curriculum? Why or why not?
Now, read the article, “In Italian Schools, Reading, Writing and Recognizing Fake News,”
Here is a summary of the article “Italy Takes Aim At Fake News With New Curriculum For High School Students” from NPR:
The Italian government has launched a new curriculum to teach high school students how to spot fake news. The curriculum, which is supported by Facebook, will cover topics such as how to identify false information, how to evaluate news sources, and how to think critically about the information they consume.
The curriculum was developed in response to the growing problem of fake news, which has been blamed for influencing elections and other important events around the world. In Italy, there have been several high-profile cases of fake news being spread on social media, including a story that claimed that two black celebrities were migrants who were spending their welfare checks on luxury goods.
The new curriculum is intended to help students develop the skills they need to be discerning consumers of news. It is also hoped that the curriculum will help to reduce the spread of fake news in Italy.
The curriculum is being piloted in a few schools in Rome and will be rolled out nationwide in the coming months. It is also being translated into other languages so that it can be used in other countries.
The Italian government is not the only one that is taking steps to combat fake news. In the United States, there have been calls for social media companies to do more to remove fake news from their platforms. Some countries have also passed laws that make it illegal to spread fake news.
The spread of fake news is a complex problem, but the Italian government’s new curriculum is a step in the right direction. By teaching students how to spot fake news, the government is helping to ensure that they are not misled by false information.
Here are 10 questions from the article, 5 that are easy and 5 that are more complex:
General questions about fake news
- What is fake news?
- How is fake news created?
- How can we identify fake news?
- What are the consequences of fake news?
- What can be done to combat fake news?
- What role do social media platforms play in the spread of fake news?
- What role do governments play in the spread of fake news?
- What role do individuals play in the spread of fake news?
Complex:
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- How effective do you think the new curriculum will be in combating fake news?
- What are some of the challenges that the government will face in implementing the curriculum?
- What are some of the ethical considerations involved in teaching students how to spot fake news?
- How can we ensure that the curriculum is accessible to all students, regardless of their background or resources?
- What are some of the ways that we can combat fake news outside of the classroom?
General essay questions
- What are the challenges of teaching students how to spot fake news?
- What are some other ways to combat fake news?
- What is the role of social media platforms in combating fake news?
- What is the role of governments in combating fake news?
- What is the role of individuals in combating fake news?