With the passing of California’s Assembly Bill 873, authored by Assemblymember Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park), the conversation around Media Literacy is in the spotlight. The rise of social media and a constant stream of information presents the need for everyone, our youngest learners included, to learn essential skills for information processing and critical thinking. 

“We have a responsibility to teach the next generation to be more critical consumers of online content and more guarded against misinformation, propaganda, and conspiracy theories. In addition, this instruction will help students to be more responsible digital citizens, more intentional about what they put online, and better understand online safety and privacy. Media literacy instruction is essential to keeping our students safer online and to safeguarding the future of our democracy.” - Marc Berman, CA Assemblymember, 23rd Assembly District

Students can practice media literacy while developing fundamental writing skills. As writers construct responses to text, identify author’s purpose, and point out biases, they think critically about the media they consume and develop a sense of understanding about the world around them. 

Here at Pressto, we agree that media literacy is incredibly important! We want to help students develop empathy and understanding of the world around them. Here are some ways you can use Pressto to support your students in developing the skills needed to think critically about the content they consume: 

Start with a prompt:

Use the Assignment Assistant to develop prompts that ask students to think critically about pieces of media they are consuming. 

Try these topics: 

• Identifying bias 
• Author’s purpose
• Evaluating sources 
• Representation in media

Consider text structure:

Select a Writing Plan to guide students towards organization and structure in their writing.

Students can use graphic organizers to take notes as they read a newspaper article or watch an advertisement. 

As they write, students use Blocks to develop an argument or describe their findings. 

The more students write with a focus on text structure, the stronger they will be at identifying text structure and its purpose in the media they consume. 

Engage the Writing Process :

Have students engage with each other’s writing in revision and editing stages. Students can give peer feedback based on their learnings about media literacy. Support students as they frame the revision and editing process with questions such as Who is the intended audience of this work? or Are my sources sound? 

Emphasize the publishing and sharing stages of the writing process! Have students share their writing with one another by publishing it or creating zines.