Media Literacy: How to Watch the Debates

The debates provide rich teaching opportunities in social studies, language arts and media literacy. In addition to helping students understand the role of the debates in our election process, using the debates as a teaching tool will help students examine the candidates’ use of language and word choice, and analyze the media’s influence on both the debate process and on the electorate.

In this post for MiddleWeb, Frank W. Baker and Karen Zill use media literacy as an approach to provide an in-depth look at preparing students to watch the debates and debriefing with them afterward. The post also includes lesson resources, discussion questions and follow up activities.