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Read the News Well

Four short lessons on reading the news: telling report from opinion, checking who is behind a claim, reading past the headline, and keeping a number in proportion.

For grown-ups, from what NewsForge teaches children at Spark & Anvil.

  1. Lesson 1Report or opinion?
  2. Lesson 2Who is behind it?
  3. Lesson 3Past the headline
  4. Lesson 4Keeping a number in proportion
At the table · 2 or more, any ages

The headline table

You'll need: A newspaper or a few printed stories.

  1. One person reads only a headline aloud. Everyone guesses what the story will say.
  2. Read the first three paragraphs together. How close were the guesses? What did the headline leave out?
  3. Sort a few stories into "report" and "opinion" piles and say what gave each away.
  4. Pick one number from a story and ask together: compared with what, and out of how many?

Print the guidebook (all lessons + the table activity) →