Fact or Fake? Media and Digital Literacy

You need: media diary sheet or notebook · a pencil

1. For two days, write down every media text you notice: ads, videos, posts, songs, signs, news, packaging.
2. For each one, note where you saw it, who made it (if you can tell), and whether it wanted to inform, entertain or persuade.
3. Mark with a star anything you didn't choose to see (it just appeared).
4. Total your diary: how many texts? What share were ads?
5. Write two sentences about what surprised you.

How you'll know: Your diary has at least 20 entries and you can point to patterns, not just a list.

Go further: Graph your diary by purpose and platform and compare it with a classmate's.

You need: a phone, tablet or camera · a subject (a toy, a classmate who agrees, a school object) · shot cards

1. Take a long shot, a medium shot, a close-up and an extreme close-up of the same subject.
2. Take three more from a high angle, eye level and a low angle.
3. Take one with the subject in the centre and one with it at the edge of the frame.
4. Lay the photos side by side. For each, write one word for how it makes the subject seem.
5. Choose the photo that best suits a 'hero' poster and explain why.

How you'll know: You can explain how a low angle makes a subject look powerful and a high angle makes it look small or weak.

Safety: Only photograph people who agree, and delete the photos at the end if they ask.

Go further: Recreate a famous film poster pose with a toy and match the angle and lighting.

You need: two printed copies of the same busy photo (such as a crowd at a beach or a sports game) · scissors · paper and glue

1. Study the whole photo. What is going on?
2. Crop the first copy to tell a happy story. Keep only what supports it.
3. Crop the second copy to tell a worrying story.
4. Write a headline for each.
5. Show a partner only the crops. What do they think happened?

How you'll know: Your partner believes two different stories, which proves that framing alone can change meaning.

Safety: Pass scissors handle first and cut on the desk, away from hands.

Go further: Find a real news photo and discuss what might be just outside the frame.

You need: a teacher-chosen ad (print, video or packaging) · ad autopsy sheet · highlighters

1. Name the product and the target audience. What clues tell you?
2. Find the techniques: bright colours, a famous face, a catchy jingle, 'everyone has one', a free gift, before-and-after, a special offer.
3. Write down every claim the ad makes. Which can be checked?
4. Note what the ad leaves out (price, sugar, how long it lasts).
5. Check it against one rule from the ASA Children's Advertising Code.

How you'll know: You can name at least three techniques and explain what each is meant to make the audience feel or do.

Go further: Design an honest version of the ad that still makes people interested.

You need: three versions of one local story (two news outlets and a community or council page) · comparison table

1. Read all three versions once for the gist.
2. Fill the table: headline, main photo, first sentence, who is quoted, strong-feeling words.
3. Circle anything that appears in one version only.
4. Decide which version is most neutral and which most emotional.
5. Write a short paragraph explaining why the versions differ (purpose, audience, platform).

How you'll know: Your paragraph uses evidence from the texts, such as quotes and word choices, not just opinions.

Go further: Write a fourth version from the view of someone who was not quoted.

You need: five teacher-prepared claims or images · a class device for searching · fact-check record card

1. Stop: before believing or sharing, note how the claim makes you feel.
2. Investigate the source: who made it? What else have they made?
3. Find better coverage: do trusted sources (RNZ, a council, a science organisation) report the same thing?
4. Trace it back: where did the photo or quote first appear? Is it from a different place or year?
5. Decide: true, false, misleading or not sure yet, and write your evidence.

How you'll know: Your verdict is backed by at least two pieces of evidence from outside the original post.

Safety: Search only on the class device with the teacher's guidance, and tell an adult straight away if something upsetting appears.

Go further: Create a new tricky claim for another group to check, with an answer key.

You need: storyboard template · a phone or tablet · simple props · free editing app approved by the school

1. Write your message in one sentence a six-year-old understands.
2. Draw 6–8 frames. Label each with the shot type and what we hear.
3. Film each frame in order, with at least three different shot types.
4. Edit, then add credits for any music or images, with their licence.
5. Test on one younger student and adjust.

How you'll know: A younger student can tell you the message after watching once.

Safety: Film on school grounds with permission. Don't share faces or names online without school and whānau consent.

Go further: Make a second version for whānau and compare how you changed it for a different audience.