About This Lesson
Thinkalong.org is a free, evidence-based interactive tool for students to develop media literacy skills by applying the 5 Key Questions of Media Literacy to public media content. Importantly, the tool does not require registration for teachers or students, abides by student privacy laws, and is advised by a board of both youth and educators.
Each module consists of:
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a compelling and timely question;
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related current and age-appropriate public media content including audio, video, and text;
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extension resources for advanced or highly-interested students;
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student graphic organizers;
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a simple debate tool;
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a teacher's guide to the module;
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and a guide to the 5 Key Questions of Media Literacy.
This Teacher's Guide supports the Should we label genetically modified foods? module on thinkalong.org. Here is the full module and below is a summary.
Genetically modified foods have been a topic of controversy for years and while most would agree that GMOs have led to a greater amount of available crops, some would say that the benefit doesn’t outweigh the cost of foods engineered with pesticide intolerance. The U.S. recently passed a law requiring foods with genetically modified ingredients to be labelled. This policy falls in line with many European countries, but critics of the law say that genetically modified foods don’t have proven health risks and requiring them to be labeled will imply that they are dangerous.
To use this module with learners in any setting, we recommend using one of the structured discussion formats outlined at thinkalong.org/structuring-discussions. You can find options for a small or large group, so that all students or just a few participate, and examples of some discussion formats.
