GMOs: Bias and Credibility in Media Messages
Lesson Plans
Grades9, 10, 11, 12, APChemistry, Biology, English Language Arts
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Provided by Project Look Sharp
What it is
- In this lesson, students learn about persuasive writing, bias, and credibility by analyzing three videos about GMOs by a corporation, a non-profit organization, and an academic group.
- Students practice their media decoding skills and are taught how media can be used to influence public opinion.
Teaching tips
Positives
- This is an excellent exercise to introduce students to how media is used to sway public opinion, an issue especially relevant to the climate crisis.
- Teachers can use this lesson to introduce the concept of greenwashing.
- The lesson plan includes a list of objectives, a preparation and materials guide, activity procedures, additional resources, discussion questions, and an answer key.
Additional Prerequisites
- Teachers will need to register for a free account to access the materials.
- The activity should take 30-60 minutes to complete.
- Both the documents and videos must be downloaded.
- The "How to Use These Materials" document is a more in-depth guide for teachers.
Differentiation
- This lesson can also be used in science and health classes during lessons about the effects of the chemicals used in or on GMOs on human health or the environment.
- History classes could connect this to lessons about the impacts of the green revolution on society.
- For science students, have them research a scientific paper about some aspect of GMOs or look at research related to the health effects of the insecticides and herbicides used within or on GMOs.
- As an extension, have students bring to class an example of biases in media related to climate change and the environment.
From the scientist review
This resource from Project Look Sharp at Ithaca College tasks students with analyzing three short films about genetically modified organisms (GMOs) from three very different sources. They include an activity plan, which provides a great deal of direction for teaching students to analyze media messages (featuring an extensive list of questions and possible answers to foster classroom discussion). The three short videos come from industry, advocacy, and educational sources and each video provides a very different take on GMOs. This activity forces students to think about how to determine the credibility of a media source and includes thorough direction for educators. This resource is recommended for teaching.
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