Topical Talk

Media literacy lessons

Download our free teaching resources for students aged 10-16. We cover the biggest topical issues of our time to help students learn, think critically and talk about the issues affecting their lives.

As a teacher, you might be hearing the terms "news literacy" and "media literacy" an increasing amount. But what exactly do they mean? We believe news literacy is the ability to understand and think critically about the media you consume.

How do you help students determine whether a news story is real or fake? What's the safest way to consume mass media? And why do we hear such little good news? Explore the answers to these questions, as well as a host of other media-related queries, in your classroom.

Ready-to-teach lessons to improve media literacy skills

Our lessons save you time, so you can focus on the teaching.

Collage of pages from our News Literacy resources

Each lesson contains

  • Ready-to-use, clear teacher instructions that are easy to follow and get started with
  • An accessible PowerPoint that's colourful, clear and student-friendly
  • Printable, engaging resources with instructions for how to present them
  • Keywords and definitions to break down new or challenging vocabulary
  • Icon sharing opinions and oracy

    Oracy-focused activities about media literacy 

  • Video camera icon

    Bitesized, reliable information about how the media operate

  • Star icon

    Innovative ways to develop critical-thinking and communication skills: speaking, listening, problem-solving and creativity

Content you can trust

Our lessons are produced by experienced teachers, with support from The Economist's senior editors and fact-checkers. That means you can trust our resources to give an accurate and balanced picture for your students to unpick. Learn more

News and media literacy resources