Detecting Media Bias Article & Review Activities for Civics

This Detecting Media Bias Article & Review Activities for Civics & American Governmentintroduces students to media bias and its influence on public opinion. A three-page Detecting Media Bias article is accompanied by a comprehension review reinforcing vocabulary and key concepts. An Interpreting Bias political cartoon activity and Reporting Bias creative writing assignment provide further application. Finally, an optional Bias in the Media internet activity has students analyzing bias in Left- and Right-leaning news articles online. Perfect for middle and high school students studying bias in Civics, American Government, Media Studies, and even English Language Arts classes! 

Aligned to the Florida State Standard for Middle School Civics:

• SS.7.CG.2.9 Analyze media and political communications and identify examples of bias, symbolism and propaganda: “Students will evaluate how bias, symbolism and propaganda can impact public opinion.”

This resource includes:

✯ 3-page Detecting Media Bias Article. Read as a class or independently, encouraging students to highlight key vocab and main ideas! 

This article covers:

• Vocabulary such as media, news media, bias, unbiased, Freedom of Press, censor, and tone. 
• News media as an institution, including the various forms of media: print media, broadcast media, internet media, and social media.
• News media as government watchdogs, including information on the Watergate Scandal as an example of watchdog journalism.
• What bias is and how it can seep into news media, through tone, information included or omitted, stories chosen to tell, and perspectives chosen to share. Lots of examples are given to illustrate these points. 
• the CRAAP test for gauging trustworthiness of a news sources. 

✯ Detecting Media Bias Comprehension Review. This worksheet reviews vocabulary and key concepts from the article. 

Questions include:

• What are two types of bias that can be found in media? (Political Bias and a Bias towards Scandal and Conflict.)
• Define vocabulary words such as media, news media, bias, unbiased, and freedom of press.
• Explain what the CRAAP test is used for. (To gauge the reliability and trustworthiness of a news source.)

✯ Interpreting Bias Political Cartoon. Students analyze Ben Franklin’s historic “Join, or Die” political cartoon and identify the author’s bias and purpose in creating the cartoon. They then take on the opposing bias and draw a new version of the political cartoon, one that is biased against the American Revolution. Exercises creative and critical thinking skills!

✯ Reporting Bias Activity. To better understand how bias in a piece of media can affect public perception, students report on a football game from three different perspectives: biased for the winning team, biased against the winning team, and from an unbiased perspective. A creative writing activity that provides great hands-on application for interpreting bias! 

✯ Two Detecting Bias Internet Activities. These final two activities are purely optional, but if your class has internet access, you can choose one of these worksheets for a great internet research activity. Students find Left- or Right-leaning articles on AllSides.com and fill out a chart gauging the article’s tone, bias, and author’s purpose. Students must make claims and cite evidence as they detect bias in major media news sources! 

This resource is presented as a non-editable, printable PDF. It includes answer keys. It is also available digitally through TPT Easel, as well! The digital TPT Easel version can be assigned directly through Google Classroom, or you can generate a link that can be shared with your students over email or through your school’s LMS!

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