In this media literacy activity, students analyze how a news article, an opinion article, a tweet, an Instagram post, and a Facebook post provide information about activists Greta Thunberg and Malala Yousafzai meeting one another.
Students will evaluate how each media form conveys information about an event and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each form.
Teaching Tips
Positives
The activity plan provides discussion questions for several academic subjects.
Students will enjoy analyzing social media posts along with news articles.
Additional Prerequisites
Teachers must create a free account to open the resources.
Teachers may want to provide some background information about Greta Thunberg and Malala Yousafzai, as some students may not be familiar with them.
Differentiation
The questions can be answered by an entire class, in small groups, or individually.
English language arts and social studies classes could use this activity in a larger discussion about the role that social media plays in delivering information to people.
Other resources on this topic include this video of Greta Thunberg's speech at the UN's Climate Action Summit and this ClimateScience activity on climate activists.
Scientist Notes
The resource contains media reports and information that can spur students to be creative in climate conversations and advocacies. It is recommended for teaching.
Standards
English Language Arts
Reading (K-12)
R.6-8.5 Provide an accurate summary of various texts; determine the central idea(s) or theme(s) and analyze its development throughout each text.
R.9-12.9 Assess how perspective or purpose shapes the content and style of various texts.
