Suggestions can be adapted for different class levels. Gustavus library faculty enjoy collaborating with you—reach out to your library liaison to explore or refine assignment ideas. When relevant, assignments are tagged with the corresponding Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education frames. You can also point students to our Fake News & Fact Checking guide and explore resources from the News Literacy Project.
Research a Source / Social Platform – Have students examine organization or platform purpose, reporting, and civic impact. Frame(s): Authority is Constructed and Contextual; Research as Inquiry
Behind the News – Prompt students to analyze a current event using secondary sources to establish context. Have them analyze the success of various sources in providing context. Frame(s): Authority is Constructed and Contextual; Information Creation as a Process; Research as Inquiry
Trace the Conversations – Have students track sources cited in a news story and analyze how effectively they were used. Frame(s): Information Creation as a Process; Research as Inquiry
Lateral Reading – Assign students to map how a news event is covered across multiple sources. Encourage them to wxamine language, headlines, ledes, and imagery to see how interpretations vary. Frame(s): Authority is Constructed and Contextual; Information Creation as a Process
Complicating Beliefs – Have students investigate a common news topic in groups. Require them to track search strategies and examine confirmation bias. Then have them find sources that contradict or complicate claims. Frame(s): Authority is Constructed and Contextual; Information Creation as a Process; Research as Inquiry
March of Time – Assign students to examine how an issue has been dsicussed across time (current vs. 25–75+ years ago). Analyze how news and secondary sources, framing, and societal values shaped interpretations. Frame(s): Authority is Constructed and Contextual; Information Creation as a Process
Research a Social Platform – Have students examine news coverage on a topic on various social media platforms. Encourage them to discuss differences between sources, and reflect on implications for public knowledge and civic engagement. Frame(s): Authority is Constructed and Contextual; Information Creation as a Process
Analyze a Meme – Prompt students to choose a political or social meme and write an interpretation that contextualizes and analyzes its rhetorical impact. Frame(s): Research as Inquiry
SIFT Approach – Stop, Investigate, Find trusted coverage, Trace claims to original sources. Introduce students to this frame and have them apply the approach to assess questionable sources in daily life. Frame(s): Authority is Constructed and Contextual; Information Creation as a Process
Questionable Information – Assign students to examine a dubious web claim, locate the source, critique it, and verify facts. Frame(s): Authority is Constructed and Contextual; Information Creation as a Process
From Editorial to Academic Article – Transform an editorial into a scholarly argument.
Frame(s): Authority is Constructed and Contextual; Information Creation as a Process
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