GMOs: Bias and Credibility in Media Messages

• In this lesson, students learn about persuasive writing, bias, and credibility by analyzing three videos about GMOs by a corporation, a non-profit organization, and an academic group.
• Students practice their media decoding skills and are taught how media can be used to influence public opinion.

Positives

• This is an excellent exercise to introduce students to how media is used to sway public opinion, an issue especially relevant to the climate crisis.
• Teachers can use this lesson to introduce the concept of greenwashing.
• The lesson plan includes a list of objectives, a preparation and materials guide, activity procedures, additional resources, discussion questions, and an answer key.

Additional Prerequisites

• Teachers will need to register for a free account to access the materials.
• The activity should take 30-60 minutes to complete.
• Both the documents and videos must be downloaded.
•  The "How to Use These Materials" document is a more in-depth guide for teachers.
  

Differentiation

• This lesson can also be used in science and health classes during lessons about the effects of the chemicals used in or on GMOs on human health or the environment.
• History classes could connect this to lessons about the impacts of the green revolution on society.
• For science students, have them research a scientific paper about some aspect of GMOs or look at research related to the health effects of the insecticides and herbicides used within or on GMOs.
• As an extension, have students bring to class an example of biases in media related to climate change and the environment.

This resource addresses the listed standards. To fully meet standards, search for more related resources.