Virginia SOL CE.9.a
The Standard
explaining the role and rights of the press in reporting events
Virginia Standards of Learning for History and Social Science · The student will apply history and social science skills to explain the role of the media and social media and the influence on local, state, and national levels of government by
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students explain how journalists inform the public, investigate government actions, and provide a forum for different views. They connect freedom of the press to the First Amendment and limits such as libel laws.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students can examine a news example and identify how it informs citizens or holds officials accountable. They can explain why government cannot block reporting simply because it is critical.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think freedom of the press allows reporters to publish false claims without consequences. They may also confuse news reporting with opinion or assume all media sources cover events in the same way.
How to Assess It
- Give students a short article about a city council decision. Ask them to name one role of the press and one right that protects the reporting.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs reporter notes from a mock town meeting, then have them create a factual headline and choose two details for publication.
Ask students to write whether reporters should be allowed to criticize government officials, using the First Amendment in their response.
Play a card sort where students label examples as informing citizens, investigating government, expressing opinion, or publishing an unsupported claim.
Compare local and national coverage of one government decision, then list differences in sources, details, and intended audience.
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Printable CE.9.a Worksheet
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Related Standards
- CE.6.b
describing the rights and privileges guaranteed by the First Amendment, including freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition, the rights guaran...
- CE.9.b
describing the effect biased reporting can have on public opinion;
- CE.9.c
explaining the role that individuals play in the political policy-making process by expressing their opinions formally or informally via print media, electronic...
- 3.1.b
describing the rights guaranteed to citizens in the First Amendment
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