This Just In!

How should we react to breaking news?

With mobile phone alerts, social media updates, and 24/7 news cycles, it's hard to escape the daily flood of breaking news. But do kids really understand what they're seeing when stories first break? Help students analyze breaking news with a critical eye for false or incomplete information, and discuss the downsides of our "always-on" news media culture.

Objectives:

• Define breaking news, and understand why individuals and news outlets want to be first to report a story.
• Analyze breaking news alerts to identify clues of false or incomplete information.
• Reflect on the consequences of reacting right away to breaking news alerts.

Vocabulary 

• bias 
• 24/7 news cycle 
• breaking news

Select the Green Resource Library button to access the lesson