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: 

• Pre/Post Activity Questionnaire Template 

• Teacher Lesson Plan 

• Student Response Worksheet 

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

• Student Response Worksheet 

• 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: 

• Pre/Post Activity Questionnaire Template 

• Teacher Lesson Plan 

• Student Response Worksheet