Idaho Social Studies 9-12.GOV.17
The Standard
Evaluate the role of the media/social media as a means of communicating information/misinformation and how it influences the importance of issues and public opinion.
Idaho Content Standards: K-12 Social Studies · Citizenship and Civic Participation
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students compare news reports and social posts about the same issue. They check claims against records and explain how headlines, repeated posts, and story placement can affect what people believe and which issues get attention.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can separate a verified fact from a false or unsupported claim and name the record used to check it. They can explain how a headline or widely shared post might change public opinion or make one issue seem more urgent.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may assume that a widely shared post is true or that every headline is a neutral summary. They may also think a claim is false just because they disagree with the opinion attached to it.
How to Assess It
- Give students this prompt: “Council minutes say two bus routes will change. A post says all buses are canceled. What is false in the post, and how might it affect what people believe and discuss?”
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give groups six mock posts and a one-page council record; have them sort accurate claims from false ones and build a front page.
Ask, “Why might a dramatic headline about a council vote get more shares than a careful report, and whose opinion might change?”
Play Source Check: show three posts about a council vote and award points for checking a claim against the minutes and explaining its framing.
Have students compare a local news headline and a social post about a city vote, then check both against the council minutes.
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