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Is Seeing Believing? Lesson Plan Age 8-9

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Is Seeing Believing? Lesson Plan Age 8-9

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Is Seeing Believing? (UK) | Common Sense Education

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Why do people alter digital photos and videos? Check out Is Seeing Believing? (UK), a free digital citizenship lesson plan from Common Sense Education, to get your grade 3 students thinking critically and using technology responsibly to learn, create, and participate.

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Reading News Online - Lesson Plan Age 10-11

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Reading News Online - Lesson Plan Age 10-11

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Children and young people find and read news in lots of different ways. But studies show they're not very good at interpreting what they see. How can we help them get better? Teaching your learners about the structure of online news articles is an important place to start.
See the US version of this resource

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Reading News Online (UK) | Common Sense Education

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What are the important parts of an online news article? Check out Reading News Online (UK), a free digital citizenship lesson plan from Common Sense Education, to get your grade 5 students thinking critically and using technology responsibly to learn, create, and participate.

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Finding Credible News - Lesson Plan Age 11-12

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Finding Credible News - Lesson Plan Age 11-12

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The web is full of questionable material, from rumours and inaccurate information to outright lies and so-called "fake news". So how do we help learners weed out the bad and find what's credible? Help learners dig into why and how false information ends up on the internet, and then practice evaluating the credibility of what they're finding online.
See the US version of this resource

Learn reasons that people put false or misleading information on the internet.

Learn criteria for differentiating fake news from credible news.

Practise evaluating the credibility of information they find on the internet.

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How do we find credible information on the internet? Check out Finding Credible News (UK), a free digital citizenship lesson plan from Common Sense Education, to get your grade 6 students thinking critically and using technology responsibly to learn, create, and participate.

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This Just in! How should we react to Breaking News? Lesson Plan Age 13-14

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This Just in! How should we react to Breaking News? Lesson Plan Age 13-14

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With mobile phone alerts, social media updates and 24/7 news cycles, it's hard to escape the daily flood of breaking news. But do young people really understand what they're seeing when stories first break? Help learners analyse breaking news with a critical eye for false or incomplete information and discuss the downsides of our "always-on" news media culture.

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This Just in! (UK) | Common Sense Education

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How should we react to breaking news? Check out This Just in! (UK), a free digital citizenship lesson plan from Common Sense Education, to get your grade 8 students thinking critically and using technology responsibly to learn, create, and participate.

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Kids of all ages are getting news from a variety of places. Whether it's from friends, TikTok, YouTube, or home, they can be inundated with information, different perspectives, and even graphic images and videos of breaking news. Kids in elementary and middle school may have trouble fully understanding news events. And though older teens are better able to understand the gravity or complexity of situations, even they face challenges when it comes to sifting fact from opinion-or misinformation. News comes at a speed that can have a dramatic impact.

No matter how old your kids are, threatening or upsetting news can affect them emotionally. Many can feel worried, frightened, angry, or even guilty. And these anxious feelings can last as additional details are revealed and reported. So what can you do as a parent or caregiver to help your kids process all this information?

Addressing News and Current Events: How to Start

Consider your own reactions. Your kids will look to the way you handle the news to determine their own approach. If you stay calm and rational, it's likely they will, too. And if the news is affecting you to the point of not being able to console others, share and discuss everyone's feelings-including your own.

Get informed. Kids will have lots of questions. Prepare yourself with the latest reports from credible news sources so you can decide what to share and ways to share it. Not all kids will need the details, but they will be looking for reassurance. It will be easier to have a position, share your family's values, and discuss things with a potentially overwhelmed child once you've taken the time to gather accurate, up-to-date info and assess your child's needs.

Take action. Depending on the issue and kids' ages, families can find ways to help those affected by the news. And showing kids how they can support a cause is a positive way to ease their fears while getting involved. Families can attend meetings or protests; kids can help assemble care packages or raise money to donate to a rescue or humanitarian effort. Check out websites that help kids do good in the world.

Tips for kids age 7 and under

Keep the news away. Keep the news out of range of young eyes that can be frightened by the pictures and videos. Kids may respond strongly to images of other kids who are in danger. Remember that news comes through a variety of platforms and sources, from pop-up notifications on your phone to your kids' favorite YouTuber. Preschool kids don't need to see or hear about something that will only scare them silly, especially because they can easily confuse facts with fantasies or fears.

Tell them that your family is safe, loved, and valued. At this age, kids are most worried about safety and separation from you. It's important to help them feel safe and cope with their feelings, even during troubling times. Try not to downplay their concerns and fears. Reassure your kids by explaining all the ways they can find protection and help, like reaching out to family and loved ones. If the news event happened far away, you can mention the distance to comfort them.

For kids who live in communities that experience higher rates of violence, news of tragic events may trigger extra fears. If that happens, share a few age-appropriate tips for staying and feeling safe, such as staying close to a trusted adult, knowing who to contact in case of an emergency, and avoiding police activity.

Be together. Though it's important to listen and not belittle their fears, distraction and physical comfort can go a long way. For younger kids, watching something cheery or doing something together may be more effective than logical explanations.

Tips for kids age 8-12

Carefully consider your child's maturity and temperament. Many kids can handle a discussion of threatening events, but if your kids tend toward the sensitive side, be sure to keep them away from overexposure to the news. Repetitive images and stories can make dangers appear greater, more widespread, and closer to home. Remember that kids this age are getting news from social media influencers and friends. Simply turning off the official news will not shut them out from current events.

Be available for questions and conversation. At this age, many kids will see the morality of events in stark terms and are in the process of developing their moral beliefs. You may have to explain the basics of prejudice, bias, civil and religious strife, or military conflict. Likewise, providing historical context can clarify that not all incidents are random, and that they're often tied to larger, longer chains of events. This is a good time to ask them what they know, since they'll probably have gotten their information from everywhere but the experts, and you may have to correct the facts.

Talk about-and filter-news coverage. You might explain that even news programs compete for viewers and clicks, which sometimes affects decisions about the content they show. Images online or on TV can be graphic and shocking-for anyone. Monitor where your kids are going online, and consider setting new rules or parental controls if they aren't able to control their curiosity.

Tips for kids age 13+

Check in. In many instances, teens will have absorbed the news independently. Talking with them can offer great insights into their developing politics and their senses of justice and morality. It will also help you get a sense of what they already know or have learned about the situation from their own social media. And it will give you the opportunity to throw your own insights into the mix. Try not to dismiss their opinions, since that will shut down the conversation immediately.

Let teens express themselves. Many teens will feel passionately about events, and may even feel coonected to them if someone they know has been directly affected. They'll also probably be aware that their own lives could be affected by violence. Try to address their concerns without dismissing or minimizing them. If you disagree with media portrayals or influencer perspectives, explain why so your teens can separate the sources they get news from and the messages they convey.

It's also important to remember that teens aren't just consuming news on social media platforms like TikTok and YouTube, they're also expressing their own views and opinions on current events. Talk to them about ways they can express themselves safely and responsibly.

Additional resources

For more information on how to talk to your kids about a recent tragedy, please visit the National Association of School Psychologists or the American Psychological Association.
Caroline Knorr, former Common Sense senior parenting editor, and Marie-Louise Mares, Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, contributed to this article.

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Disturbing news events can leave us speechless. Knowing how and when to talk with kids-and when to listen-can help. Advice from Common Sense Media editors.

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Hoaxes and Fakes - Lesson Plan Age 14-15

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Hoaxes and Fakes - Lesson Plan Age 14-15

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We know not to believe everything we hear, but what about what we see? Advancements in computer-generated graphics, facial recognition and video production have led to a world of viral videos that are often difficult to identify as fake. Help your learners learn to read what they see on the web "laterally" by showing them how to get off the page, check credibility and find corroboration.

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Hoaxes and Fakes (UK) | Common Sense Education

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How can you avoid being fooled by fake videos and other information online? Check out Hoaxes and Fakes (UK), a free digital citizenship lesson plan from Common Sense Education, to get your grade 9 students thinking critically and using technology responsibly to learn, create, and participate.

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How to Help Kids Spot Misinformation and Disinformation

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How to Help Kids Spot Misinformation and Disinformation

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How to Help Kids Spot Misinformation and Disinformation

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Clickbait, biased opinions, and false information are common online. Teach your child strategies to identify fact from fiction. Advice from Common Sense Media editors.

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How to help your child understand upsetting news

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How to help your child understand upsetting news

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How do you explain upsetting news - be it natural disasters, the death of a public figure, violent crime or war - to your child? Do you need to?
Many parents will ask themselves these questions, not knowing what to do for the best. Should they cover everything up and tell them it's all going to be fine or should they be fully open and honest about the situation?

Young people have access to a huge amount of news information, particularly in this age of social media, and will probably already be well aware of the details surrounding certain news events - from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, to the death of a public figure or celebrity.
It is important to help children process these events, but in a way that doesn't overwhelm them.
There is no benefit to a child of any age to pretend that these negative, often traumatic, events in the news are not real. However, it is important to put these events into the context of the rest of the child's life. If they are anxious about implications in their own life, some reassurance about how removed these events actually are, in contrast to how news or social media outlets might be representing it, will be helpful.

Whilst it is important to reassure children that events might not have a direct effect on their own lives, it is equally important to encourage children to show compassion for others in a different circumstance to their own.
This is an important part of supporting them in their emotional development and will help them to feel connected to others.

If your child's friend or classmate is distressed by a headline, maybe the death of a public figure or celebrity, you might also encourage them to show compassion by being kind, understanding and available to talk during school.

It might not always seem apparent, but children do take cues from their parents and carers.
If we are constantly watching the news, anxiously scrolling our phones for the latest bulletins, and referring to an event all the time, they will immediately pick up on this and their anxiety will escalate.

Talk to your friends and adult family members when you need to manage your own feelings, to model calm and normality around your child as much as possible. When they see you coping normally, it's highly likely they will follow suit.

If you are having a strong grief reaction to a news event, it is important to make sure that these feelings are managed in an appropriate way.

For example, if you are particularly upset about a death in the news because you too have had a recent significant bereavement, then it will be important to explain this to your child so they can understand what the feelings are about.

If the anxiety is more about your own mortality, it might be best to keep this fear away from children. Instead, manage it separately with other adult family members or friends.

After any traumatic event, it is important that children and young people return to a normal routine as quickly as possible. It is no different if you are hearing about something, rather than directly experiencing it, and you should try to make sure that your child doesn't stop doing anything they would normally do.

So, whether it's going to a swimming club, meeting up with friends, or just keeping to normal routines around getting up in the morning and mealtimes, these should continue.

Children may want to do something to make their views about world events known to others. This can help to instil a sense of control over the situation and their feelings, which is useful to managing any growing anxiety.
It will also help them to connect with other people who share the same feelings about a conflict, disaster, or a bereavement.

Some of the most helpful ways to instil a sense of control over the situation include encouraging young people to talk to their friends and family about their feelings. Or they can channel their concern into a piece of community action, such as helping a neighbour who is unable to get out of the house, donating clothes, or volunteering at the local food bank.

In the wake of a disastrous headline, the world can feel uncontrollable and hard to make sense of.
Without making it too obvious, take time to instil the feeling that home is a safe environment where they are not under threat. Nothing has changed at home, in school or in their immediate environment. Life goes on as normal, as far as you and they are concerned. Try hard not to catastrophise about the future, as the ambiguity of 'anything could happen next' will send their anxiety soaring through the roof.

The topic of death is always going to feel extremely difficult for children, but if it is explained in a straightforward and non-frightening way, children can accept the facts and incorporate them into a narrative about their lives.

Your child may come to you with all kinds of 'facts' which they have picked up through social media and conversations with their friends at school. They might quote these to you, without it being obvious that part of what they want to do is check whether you think they are true. Try asking, 'Where did you hear that?' and 'Tell me a bit more about that', rather than saying simply, 'That's not true'.

Depending on the impact these 'facts' have - and this will partly depend on their age - also try going back to them a few days later. Ask if they are still thinking about it, or if they want to know anything more.

Many young people will be engaged in conversations about world events and will be worrying about them. Others will simply be more interested in their position in the next football match or their forthcoming exams, and this is fine.
Don't force a conversation or try to get them to engage in concerns about these events, if it isn't something they want to think about or discuss. Let their response and interest levels guide you.

We hope these practical tips will help you to keep communication and connection going with your child or teenager through challenging times.

If you have any doubt at all about whether you have done or have said the wrong thing, it's best to be honest about it. Perhaps say something like, 'Actually, it's scary, isn't it - when we don't know what's going to happen? I'm not certain either.' But reassure them that you can support each other through this.

It can be hugely helpful during difficult times if we, as parents and carers, can model how best to live with uncertainty - while also showing the capacity to name and talk about complex feelings.
Dr Sheila Redfern is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist at the Anna Freud Centre

Further help and resources:
The BBC Headroom campaign has links to lots of helpful content around mental health. You can also visit the YoungMinds website for more advice.

The NHS offers advice for parents around difficult times .

King's College London/the Maudsley charity have some great animated resources with celebrity voices as part of their Families Under Pressure campaign .

For helplines and information on other mental health services, look at BBC Action Line .

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How to help your child understand upsetting news

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How do you explain upsetting news - be it natural disasters, the death of a public figure, violent crime or war - to your child? Do you need to? Many parents will ask themselves these questions, not knowing what to do for the best.

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How to talk to your child about death - BBC Bitesize

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Death, bereavement, grief, sadness, loss, parenting, parents

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BBC Children in Need Emergency Essentials Programme

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BBC Children in Need Emergency Essentials Programme

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BBC Children in Need Emergency Essentials Programme - Family Fund Business Services

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Together with our parent charity, we deliver the BBC Children in Need Emergency Essentials Programme.

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Helping Kids Understand Natural Disasters: A Parent’s Guide

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Helping Kids Understand Natural Disasters: A Parent’s Guide

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Your children might have questions after receiving tragic news about major earthquakes and natural disasters striking parts of the globe, such as the devastating natural disaster that struck Taiwan in 2024. Here are some age-appropriate facts and guidance on how to help children understand natural disasters.

Spanish search and rescue team searching for victims under a collapsed building on 12 September 2023, in Anougal, Morocco. The devastating earthquake, striking beneath villages in the High Atlas mountains, has left nearly 3,000 people presumed dead. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

What is an earthquake?

Earthquakes are a natural disaster and occur when the tectonic plates that make up the Earth's surface crash into or brush past each other. It can cause the ground to shake and open up large cracks in the earth's surface. They happen somewhere in the world every day. But most of them don't cause any damage.

The severity of earthquakes is measured using the Richter scale. It is a system used to measure the strength or magnitude of an earthquake. It measures the amount of ground shaking and energy released from an earthquake.

What is a natural disaster?

A natural disaster is an event caused by nature that results in devastation. These include deaths, injuries, and damaged buildings. Examples include: hurricanes, floods, drought, forest fires, volcanoes, earthquakes, landslides, and tsunamis.

Do we get earthquakes in the UK?

In the UK, earthquakes do occur, but they are so small, you most probably won't even realise one has happened. The geology of much of the UK is pretty old - hundreds of millions of years - and it is riddled with ancient fault lines that were once very active but are virtually extinct now. That means there have been 39 small earthquakes recorded around the British Isles in the last 60 days, says the British Geological Survey, but they are hardly felt.

Experts say there is no reason to expect any increase in the strength of UK earthquakes over the coming decades.

What is a flood?

When there is too much water in one place, often because of heavy rainfall, it can cause a flood. There are different types of floods. River flooding is when rivers 'burst their banks' and overflow, spilling water in the surrounding area. Groundwater flooding is when the soil is so wet, it can't absorb any more moisture. Coastal flooding is when the land gets flooded by sea water - this can be caused by high tides or extreme weather.

A flash flood is when flooding happens very quickly, often leaving people with little or no time to get to higher ground.

A damaged vehicle stuck in debris in the aftermath of the floods triggered by Storm Daniel in Derna, Libya, on 12 September 2023. The death toll from the destructive floods in Derna has reached 5,300, with thousands still missing, according to the country's official news agency. (Photo by Abdullah Mohammed Bonja/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Do we get floods in the UK?

Yes - but certainly not on the sort of scale as the one which has struck Libya. It rains a lot in the UK. Extremely heavy rain can cause river and groundwater floods that impact communities. Our streets have drains to collect rainwater, but sometimes they fill up, or get blocked and clogged by litter and debris, meaning that water can't wash away.

The North Sea flood of 1953 was a result of high tides and strong storms and affected the east coast of the UK, killing hundreds. More recently, the wettest May-to-July period on record in 2007 led to widespread flooding across the country that affected millions of households. The military were called in to help with rescue efforts, and a total of 13 people were killed.

Turkey-Syria 2023 Earthquakes: One year on

It's almost one year since a series of devastating earthquakes struck southern Turkey and northwest Syria. Thanks to the generosity of people across the UK, the DEC (Disasters Emergency Committee) Turkey-Syria Earthquake Appeal has raised more than £155 million. While rebuilding will take years, donations are helping hundreds of thousands of people in both countries on their long road to recovery.

DEC charities and their local partners have been providing food, clean water, warm clothes, psychological support, cash cards and supermarket vouchers to help people who've been affected. Many schools in Turkey and Syria were damaged in the earthquakes. Amira, the school principal at a school in Aleppo, Syria, said: "When the earthquake happened, major cracks appeared in the entrance and walls, and this worried us. Some parents stopped sending their children to the school for fear of aftershocks; other families left the city."

DEC charity Action Against Hunger and its team completely renovated the school, providing new doors, windows and water tanks, and they painted the classrooms in bright colours. "Now we don't have those worries any more. From the first day of the new academic year, we were able to notice the positive change," says Amira.

Months later, children in both countries are still suffering from the distress caused by the earthquakes. DEC charity Save the Children is making sure children are properly supported. In the photo below, a group of children in a village in Adıyaman, Turkey, are having a drama workshop with psychologists to help them recover. They do activities to understand their rights and to help them heal. Save the Children has reached more than 2,100 children and their families with these support activities.

Sky Kids - Natural disasters: why do they happen? video

Sky Kids FYI presenter, Declan, shows us in this video, different types of natural disasters, focusing on volcanoes, earthquakes, and tsunamis; explaining what they are and why they happen.

How to talk to children when the news is scary

Written by First News Editor-in-Chief, Nicky Cox MBE, click here to read useful information and tips on how to discuss scary new stories such as natural disasters with your children.

Find out more!

If you wish to read more insightful pieces that could be discussed with your children, visit the Talking Points section of our website.

Find out all the ways you can access First News at home and at school!

Interested in First News?

First News reaches millions of young readers every week, at home and at school. Our age-appropriate news stories and activities spark curiosity, build media and information literacy skills and empower children with the tools to navigate the world.

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Helping Kids Understand Natural Disasters: A Parent's Guide

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A guide for parents on discussing natural disasters with kids in a sensitive and informative manner. Covers the basics of earthquakes, floods & other natural disasters.

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Talking about extreme weather events with your kids

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Talking about extreme weather events with your kids

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Talking About Extreme Weather Events With Your Kids

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Your children might have questions following the news about hurricanes currently devastating parts of the United States. Here are some age-appropriate facts and questions to help you discuss extreme weather and the news with your children.

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Health information is all around us, from news stories to social media campaigns. But it can be hard to know what to trust. Here are our top tips for your family on finding trusted health information.

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Navigate discussions about scary news with tips from First News' Editor in Chief. Help your children understand events like war and address their concerns.

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Here are our top tips to help kids understand fake news and how to spot it.

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Why it’s Important for Children to Read the News

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Why it’s Important for Children to Read the News

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Why it's important for children to read the news

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Learn why it's important for children to read the news. First News offers unbiased, reliable information to help young minds stay informed and engaged.

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How to understand Misinformation, Disinformation and Malinformation

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How to understand Misinformation, Disinformation and Malinformation

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How to understand Misinformation, Disinformation and Malinformation

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Full Fact is the UK’s independent fact checking organisation

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Distressing content - Australian Government

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Distressing content - Australian Government

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The Guardian Foundation - News literacy for children aged 7-11

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The Guardian Foundation - News literacy for children aged 7-11

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NewsWise generates curiosity and critical engagement with news, equipping children with the skills and knowledge to make sense of the world

Bringing together news literacy, primary English and PSHE specialists from The Guardian Foundation, National Literacy Trust and PSHE Association, NewsWise offers free lesson plans, resources and workshops for schools, activities for families, high quality teacher training and opportunities to connect with real journalists.

We offer the full NewsWise package, including workshops, to primary schools with a free school meal rate above the national average. The package is free to qualifying schools. Register via the link below.

All of our lesson plans and other resources are free for anyone to download.

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Award-winning news literacy for children aged 7-11. Classroom resources, activities for families, high quality teacher training and opportunities to connect with journalists

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Fake news and misinformation facts & advice

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Fake news and misinformation facts & advice

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Fake news and misinformation advice hub - Internet Matters

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Explore our fake news and misinformation advice hub to learn more about what fake news is and how to protect your child from it.

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Journalists literally “make” news. They do not find it. They do not publish transcripts of reality. Even in their best efforts, they would not provide a copy of reality, but reality in a frame, reality enhanced, reality reconfigured by being heightened on a page or a screen, reality retouched by the magic of publication itself. […]

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"Why Headlines Matter." "Misleading Headlines Can Lead You Astray." "How What You Read Affects What You See." "How Bad Headlines Make Bad Memories." "Eleven Reasons Headlines Are Important." "You'll Never Believe How Important an Accurate Headline Is."

Those are all possible titles for this piece that I discussed with my editor. And, actually, the one that we picked may be the most important part of this article. By now, everyone knows that a headline determines how many people will read a piece, particularly in this era of social media. But, more interesting, a headline changes the way people read an article and the way they remember it. The headline frames the rest of the experience. A headline can tell you what kind of article you're about to read-news, opinion, research, LOLcats-and it sets the tone for what follows.

Psychologists have long known that first impressions really do matter-what we see, hear, feel, or experience in our first encounter with something colors how we process the rest of it. Articles are no exception. And just as people can manage the impression that they make through their choice of attire, so, too, can the crafting of the headline subtly shift the perception of the text that follows. By drawing attention to certain details or facts, a headline can affect what existing knowledge is activated in your head. By its choice of phrasing, a headline can influence your mindset as you read so that you later recall details that coincide with what you were expecting. For instance, the headline of this article I wrote-"A Gene That Makes You Need Less Sleep?"-is not inaccurate in any way. But it does likely prompt a focus on one specific part of the piece. If I had instead called it "Why We Need Eight Hours of Sleep," people would remember it differently.

As a result of these shifts in perception, problems arise when a headline is ever so slightly misleading. "Air pollution now leading cause of lung cancer," ran a headline last year in the U.K. paper Daily Express. The article, however, said no such thing, or, rather, not exactly. Instead, it reported that pollution was a leading "environmental" cause; other causes, like smoking, are still the main culprits. It is easy to understand a decision to run that sort of opening. Caveats don't fit in single columns, and, once people are intrigued enough to read the story, they'll get to the nuances just the same. But, as it turns out, reading the piece may not be enough to correct the headline's misdirection.

It's these sorts of misleading maneuvers that Ullrich Ecker, a psychologist and cognitive neuroscientist at the University of Western Australia, was pondering when he decided to test how slight-and slightly misleading-shifts in headlines can affect reading. In Ecker's prior work, he had looked at explicit misinformation: when information that's biased influences you, no matter what you're subsequently told. This time around, he wanted to see how nuance and slight misdirection would work.

In a series of studies, out this month in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, Ecker had people in Australia read either factual or opinion pieces, where the only shifting variable was the headline. (He had his subjects read a total of four articles-two factual, two opinion.) One factual article, for instance, talked about a change in burglary rates over the last year-a rise of 0.2 per cent-that ran counter to a ten-per-cent decline over the past decade. The slight rise, the article pointed out, was an anomalous side note; the longer trend was what was important. The accompanying headline highlighted either the smaller or the larger of the two trends: "Number of burglaries going up" and "Downward trend in burglary rate," respectively. The opinion pieces pitted the thoughts of an expert against those of a layperson-for instance, one piece contrasted a citizen's concerns about the safety of genetically modified food with the opinion of a scientist from the fictional company Organic Food Science Australia. The headline focussed on one of the two sides. In this case, it read either "GM foods may pose long-term health risks" or "GM foods are safe." Each participant read all four articles.

Ecker's goal was to test whether the degree of the slant would matter. With the factual piece, the misdirection was obvious-the entire piece was about a broader trend, with one tiny deviation. In the opinion piece, it was much more subtle. The article was, first of all, opinion, and each voice was given its own space; it was up to the reader to judge how the opinions should be considered.

After reading each article, the University of Western Australia students rated it on five different scales, to gauge things like interest and ease of reading. Once a student had read the complete set of pieces, she was given a surprise six-question quiz, with questions concerning both recollection and inference.

The headline, it turns out, had done more than simply reframe the article. In the case of the factual articles, a misleading headline hurt a reader's ability to recall the article's details. That is, the parts that were in line with the headline, such as a declining burglary rate, were easier to remember than the opposing, non-headlined trend. Inferences, however, remained sound: the misdirection was blatant enough that readers were aware of it and proceeded to correct their impressions accordingly. According to the study, "No matter which headline they saw, they predicted that, next year, the crime rate would go down."

In the case of opinion articles, however, a misleading headline, like the one suggesting that genetically modified foods are dangerous, impaired a reader's ability to make accurate inferences. For instance, when asked to predict the future public-health costs of genetically modified foods, people who had read the misleading headline predicted a far greater cost than the evidence had warranted.

Ecker and his colleagues then replicated the results in a second study-this time, the discrepancies were between the headline and the image, rather than between the headline and the text. Each headline would, or would not, match a photograph of a face that was prominently featured in the piece: it either mentioned the name of the person in the photo or of someone else. The pieces, sixteen in total, all dealt with a crime, and described one "good" person (the victim or a police officer or the prosecutor) and one "bad" (the culprit). The headline, in turn, mentioned either one or the other, for instance, "Man charged over Thornlie murder" versus "Grandfather killed in Thornlie." The photo would then be of either the murderer or the victim.

After the students read the articles, they were asked to rate the faces that they had seen based on attractiveness, trustworthiness, dominance, and aggression-ratings that are often influenced by initial perceptions of personality. Then, after seeing the faces a third time, the students had to simply rate them as "good" or "bad."

Here, too, Ecker found that initial impressions both mattered and were not easily corrected. When the photo matched the headline, the criminal received more negative ratings, and the victim more positive ones. If, however, the headline diverged from the photo, the victim was rated more negatively when the headline had been about the criminal, and the criminal was rated more positively when the headline had been about the victim. Initial expectations of who would be pictured affected subsequent ratings-even though, theoretically, the misperception had been corrected twice, in the text itself and in the caption.

For conscientious readers and editors, Ecker's findings across the two studies give cause for concern. First, misinformation appears to cause more damage when it's subtle than when it's blatant. We see through the latter and correct for it as we go. The former is much more insidious and persistent. It is also, unfortunately, much more likely to be the result of sloppiness or inconsideration rather than a deliberate effort to lead readers astray. Take this article from the Times in May. "Selling a Fake Painting Takes More Than a Good Artist," reads the headline. Alongside it: a photograph of a gallery owner who is not actually one of the culprits. A criminal implication is paired with a photograph, and the photograph may inadvertently be tainted as well.

Here's the other thing: almost every journalist has experienced the aggravation of having readers give aggrieved, enraged, dismissive, or, really, any other type of negative reaction to an article based solely on a headline. "Read the article!" the writer often wants to scream. What Ecker's work shows, though, is that with the right-or, rather, wrong-headline, reading the article may not be enough. Even well-intentioned readers who do go on to read the entire piece may still be reacting in part to that initial formulation.

If I had titled this column "Why Headlines Matter," I would be picking the broadest possible option. Next week, you might be able to remember that headlines are important but not be able to tell your friend exactly why. If I had called it "Misleading Headlines Can Lead You Astray," you might have forgotten the details of the study showing that we can actually overcome factually misleading headlines. "Eleven Reasons Headlines Matter"? More people might have clicked, but they might not have retained the information. It's not always easy to be both interesting and accurate, but, as Ecker's study shows, it's better than being exciting and wrong.

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"Why Headlines Matter." "Misleading Headlines Can Lead You Astray." "How What You Read Affects What You See." "How Bad Headlines Make Bad Memories." "Eleven Reasons Headlines Are Important." "You'll Never Believe How Important an Accurate Headline Is." Those are all possible titles for this piece that I discussed with my editor.

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How does internet advertising contribute to the spread of disinformation?

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Well-crafted headlines benefit everyone. They help readers digest information and publishers sell news stories. But what if the headline is misleading? What if it's crafted just to get clicks or even to spread disinformation? "Clickbait" headlines may benefit advertisers and publishers, but they don't benefit readers. Help learners recognise and analyse clickbait when they see it.

Describe how advertisers and publishers make money through online advertising.

Describe how clickbait can contribute to the spread of fake news and disinformation.

Use the "Take a Stand" thinking routine to consider different perspectives about whose responsibility it is to fight fake news and disinformation.

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Clicks for Cash (UK) | Common Sense Education

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How does internet advertising contribute to the spread of disinformation? Check out Clicks for Cash (UK) , a free digital citizenship lesson plan from Common Sense Education, to get your grade 11 students thinking critically and using technology responsibly to learn, create, and participate.

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Filter Bubble Trouble - Lesson Plan Age 17-18

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Filter Bubble Trouble - Lesson Plan Age 17-18

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How can filter bubbles limit the information we're exposed to?

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When we get news from our social media feeds, it often only tells us part of the story. Our friends -- and the website's algorithms -- tend to feed us perspectives we already agree with. Show learners ways to escape the filter bubble and make sure their ideas about the world are being challenged.

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Filter Bubble Trouble (UK) | Common Sense Education

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How can filter bubbles limit the information we're exposed to? Check out Filter Bubble Trouble (UK) , a free digital citizenship lesson plan from Common Sense Education, to get your grade 12 students thinking critically and using technology responsibly to learn, create, and participate.

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Uncensored is not uncommon

As much as you might try to ensure your child receives information from reliable sources, misinformation and uncensored content will be encountered across the internet.

Explain that established news sources, like the BBC, are much more trustworthy places to get the truth.
Click to watch a short video about misinformation
Uncensored live streams can include individuals vlogging in war zones and graphic terrorist executions. These can also become shared videos within messaging forums and group chats.

Many chat forums and messaging groups are unmoderated, meaning that nobody is stopping misleading, violent, extreme or racist content being shared.

It may not be possible to filter everything your child sees online - either by accident or by searching - but do try to understand where they go and what they do. This could be the groups they are in or the sites they regularly visit. Knowing and understanding this may help give you the warning signs.
Click to read our parent guide to live streaming
Stop, look, listen

It's important that your child doesn't feel they are just receiving a lecture on why what they have discovered online is wrong - or that they were wrong for wanting to understand.

Remember to listen to what they have to say.

It might be uncomfortable for you to hear or see what your child has found, but asking them to show you allows you to talk through it together, without making them feel ashamed about showing you.

The most important thing is that you are talking.

Getting further help

Trust yourself, and your personal parenting style, to explain upsetting online news and media to your child. Parent Zone has other resources that might be helpful.

Ollee

Ollee is a virtual friend that your child can talk to for curated expert advice. Ollee will ask your child how they are feeling about certain things, including upsetting or confusing world events. You can also create an adult account for supporting parent advice.

Help and support

Parent Zone has a recommended range of support organisations. These include support for mental health and wellbeing.

Click to visit the Help and Support page

Everyday Digital

Understanding the online world and the content in it can be difficult. Everyday Digital is a programme featuring simple habits that can build your media literacy and confidence in parenting around digital.
Click here to learn more about Everyday Digital

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As much as you might try to ensure your child receives information from reliable sources, misinformation and uncensored content will be encountered across the internet. Explain that established news sources, like the BBC, are much more trustworthy places to get the truth.

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Discussing terrorist attacks with primary pupils

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Discussing terrorist attacks with primary pupils

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Terrorist attacks: discussing them with primary pupils

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Coram Campus, 41 Brunswick Square, London WC1N 1AZ. The PSHE Association is a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee. Charity number: 1127056 Company number: 6551975 © Copyright 2023 PSHE Association All Rights Reserved.

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Discussing terrorist attacks with secondary pupils

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Discussing terrorist attacks with secondary pupils

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Terrorist attacks: discussing them with secondary pupils

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Although we normally advise that teaching and learning in PSHE education is built into a planned progressive programme, there are times when you may need to respond immediately to unforeseen events, such as terrorist attacks.

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How to address difficult news with your students

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How to address difficult news with your students

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How to address difficult news with your students   In partnership with The Day

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Discover how film can make a lasting impact on your pupils’ literacy skills.

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How to understand Misinformation, Disinformation and Malinformation

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How to understand Misinformation, Disinformation and Malinformation

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Video: Now more than ever, media literacy (the ability to critically analyse information) is critical for us as citizens and for our democracy to function. This video explains the difference between Misinformation, Disinformation and Malinformation and presents you with some examples!

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How to understand Misinformation, Disinformation and Malinformation

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Stop, Pause, Think then Share: How to review information before you share it

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Stop, Pause, Think then Share: How to review information before you share it

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Video: How can you verify if something is real or not? Now more than ever, media literacy (the ability to critically analyse information) is critical for us as citizens and for our democracy to function. This video explains how you should REVIEW any information received, what to watch out for and how to guard yourself against possible misinformation.

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How to REVIEW information before you share it

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How can you identify what each type of information is trying to do? Now more than ever, media literacy (the ability to critically analyse information) is critical for us as citizens and for our democracy to function. This video explains what Information neighbourhoods exist and how to identify them.

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In the digital age, online radicalisation is a constant threat.

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Free teaching resources about positive news and why good news matters

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Help students explore positive news through fact-checked, high-quality classroom lessons. Suitable for children aged 10+.

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Debate: Should Social Media be Banned for U16s?

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Debate: Should Social Media be Banned for U16s?

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Go-to place to support young people through their studies and other life challenges.

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Bitesize Study support is the go-to place to support you through your studies and other life challenges. With tips and advice to help with revision, exam stress, bullying and more... we've got you.