DAY 1

¨ Choose one story from the news, preferably local. Make copies for each student. Discuss the article, writing the facts on the board. Discuss how to verify facts.

DAY 2

¨ Record the news from a morning TV news program and another from an evening show on another channel.

Show both of these programs, asking the students to look for discrepancies.

Discuss why and how these discrepancies occur. Ask the students to write their findings, using one column for "Seems True" and another for "Seems Untrue".

HOMEWORK: The students must choose one story from either TV or the newspaper. They must follow it for at least 5 days, completing a written form on "Seems True" and "Seems Untrue" for each day, culminating in a one-page summary, including where, when the shows occurred and explains any discrepancies or controversies and their final resolutions, if any.

DAY 3

¨ Ask students, in groups of two, to go to Internet sites as listed on board. You need to select sites that are vastly different in quality. Or, choose sites that offer very different points of view. Or, use sites from TV stations. Be sure that you have looked at these sites beforehand. Hand out sheets with the criteria for evaluation.

DAY 1

¨ Are these facts accurate?

How can you find out? What’s your hunch?

What do you do next to ascertain the truth?

DAY 2

¨ Look at the main stories on these shows. What

facts are the same? How are they different? Is there

a different "slant" from the two stations?

Write your findings in the format provided by the

teacher.

DAY 3

¨ Look at the two sites provided by your teacher.

You are to decide what is real and what is not.

You are also to write down the reasons you think

one is real or not.