

Staying Focused in a Fast-Changing News World
Who's it for?
High School and College/University
Contributing Author:
LibraryUp
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.
Staying Focused in a Fast-Changing News World
Objective:
Students will reflect on the "flood the zone" strategy's impact on public discourse, using Ground News to identify bias and patterns, and assess changes in their media literacy with a pre- and post-activity survey.
Downloads:
Standard(s):
Not applicable
Vocabulary:
Saturation Strategy
Media Blitz
Rapid-Fire Media Approach
High-Volume Messaging Tactic
News Cycle Overload
Information Saturation
Materials:
Staying Focused in a Fast-Changing News World: Pre/Post Activity Questionnaire Template
Access to Ground.News
Implementation:
Prior to Lesson
Ensure students have access to Ground.News
Pass out student response worksheets
Guided Practice – Day 1
Have students access the Pre-Survey Questionnaire
Review Vocabulary with students
Allow students to have the opportunity to pick the topic. Choose 2 or 3 key issues you of interest (e.g., climate change, local school policies, sports regulation).
Independent Practice
Students can work independently or in pairs
Day 1 - Students will access and search these issues on Ground News.
Students will check the bias meter of articles and see how different outlets cover the same story. Find two similarities and two differences you notice in coverage. Have students record their findings on the Student Response Worksheet.
(Remind students to avoid reading any more updates on the topic for one day)
Day 2 (Optional) - The following day, the students will review any new details on their topic via Ground News. Have students record their findings.
Group students and assign each person in the group to track one issue they discussed the previous day.
Closing
Instruct students to summarize their findings (i.e., what’s new, who’s talking about it, what patterns do they notice? what’s the bias?)
Time Permitting allow students to share their findings as a whole group.
Assessments:
Students will need to write down one lesson they learned about how the news changes over time.
Students will create and share a short message or post with peers or family to spread awareness and keep each other informed.
Students will take the Post-Survey Questionnaire linked above
Downloads:


Your Contributing Author
LibraryUp
At LibraryUp, we aim to bring media literacy to the masses by partnering with librarians and educators. We’ve created a collaborative community space for sharing lesson plans and curricula developed with Ground News—freely available and ready to be adapted for each institution’s unique needs. Our in-house educator reviews every resource, who brings 14 years of teaching and 7 years of district-level experience, ensuring high-quality, consistent materials. While Ground News is not involved in this programming, LibraryUp proudly partners with Ground News to deliver the platform and support that brings libraries, educators, and the revolutionary news comparison tool together to further the cause of media literacy.