Classroom Activities
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»Here you will find activities you can use with your students to help cultivate their skills and proficiency in media literacy, critical thinking, and respectful conversation across difference. We have organized the activities to scaffold student skills, starting with teaching students how to examine their own bias, followed by applying their critical thinking skills, and finally practicing the skills they have learned.
ACTIVITIES TO EXAMINE BIAS
Read the News
See news from Left, Right and Center media sources at AllSides.com. Stories come from credible sources across the political spectrum and are curated daily.
Dictionary
The AllSides Balanced Dictionary reveals how people across the political spectrum define, think and feel differently about the same term or topic.
Topic Pages
Find a list of all of AllSides’ featured topics. See news, background information, conversation guides and more to get a balanced perspective on the most important topics.
Schools Blog
Interviews with teachers, deeper explanations of featured services, and explorations of education-related topics.
Perspectives Blog
Perspectives from across the political spectrum provided by AllSides.com.
Story of the Week
Right- and left-leaning news outlets often cover the same stories in drastically different ways. The AllSides Story of the Week provides a weekly media bias breakdown.
ACTIVITIES TO APPLY CRITICAL THINKING
Rate Your Own Bias
Take our bias quiz to find out where you fall on the Left-Center-Right spectrum.
Bias Survey Comparison
Compare your results to classmates and see where your leanings fit into the wider scope of national bias.
Analyze Editorial Cartoons
Learn how to analyze political cartoons. From the Herb Block Foundation
Balanced Search
Search for the latest news across the political spectrum on any topic or issue. AllSides Balanced Search reveals more diverse perspectives so you can decide for yourself.
ACTIVITIES TO PRACTICE SKILLS
Conversation Guides
Structured conversation guides to encourage deep listening, connection and understanding around differences. Provided by LivingRoomConversations.
Mismatch
Connect with students across the country with different backgrounds and political perspectives for a respectful video conversation.
Online Debates
See the ongoing digital debate on socially salient issues and add your voice. A collaboration between AllSides and Consider.It.
My Front Page
Post articles for your students to read, along with homework assignments, contextualizing information, announcements, and more.
Conversation & Listening
Practice being open and curious about all perspectives, with a focus on learning from one another, rather than trying to debate the topic at hand.
iCivics Games
Play games and learn civics at the same time. From iCivics.
