

Blind Spots and Silences
Who's it for?
High School and College/University
Contributing Author:
Stephanie A. Hallock, Ph.D.
We’ve created a community space for sharing lesson plans and curricula built around the Ground News tool—freely adaptable to each institution’s needs. While the Ground News platform fuels these materials, the Ground News company itself remains neutral and does not sponsor or author this content. LibraryUp is the facilitator, bringing together librarians and educators and this powerful news-comparison tool to advance media literacy.
Blind Spots and Silences
How do you know what you don't know?
Objective:Â Â
Students will be able to utilize Ground News to use the bias bar and Blindspot features effectively.Â
Downloads:Â
Lecture Slides PowerPoint / PDF
Standard(s):Â
Not applicable Â
Vocabulary:Â Â
Bias
Lie
Political Ideology
Knowledge
Materials:Â Â
Access to Ground.NewsÂ
Lecture Slides PowerPoint / PDF
Implementation:Â Â
Prior to LessonÂ
Ensure students have access to Ground.NewsÂ
Pass out student response worksheets.Â
Guided PracticeÂ
Present Blind Spots and Silence PowerPoint to students.Â
Review Vocabulary with students.Â
Allow students access to Ground.News.
Review Slide 5’s task with students before releasing students to work independently or in pairs.Â
Independent Practice Â
Students can work independently or in pairs. Â
Instruct students to complete the activity on Slide 5 using Ground.News. Â
Provide student response worksheet for students to record their findings. Â
ClosingÂ
Have students share their findings and discuss the whole group.Â
Assessments:Â
Students will complete the activity on the student response worksheet and be able to utilize the bias bar and blind spots of news articles.Â
Downloads:Â
Lecture Slides PowerPoint / PDF


Your Contributing Author
Stephanie A. Hallock, Ph.D.
Dr. Stephanie Hallock, a professor of political science and coordinator for global education and engagement at Harford Community College, integrated the innovative tool, Ground News, into her coursework starting in 2022. With over 22 years of experience in higher education, she is dedicated to advancing news literacy and empowering educators and students through experiential learning. Ground News, with its unique approach, is a key part of her strategy.