What is Evaluate?
In media literacy, Evaluating media content involves drawing one’s own meaning, judgment, and conclusions about media messages based on the information gathered during media access, thoughtful analysis, and self-reflective interpretation. This includes (but is not limited to):
- Synthesis of the various components of media analysis allows consumers to draw conclusions such as:
- Is this message credible or not credible?
- Is this message effective?
- Is this message creative?
- Is this message manipulative?
- Is this message propaganda?
- Critical analysis of media messages helps consumer investigate deeper meanings and effects of media messages such as:
- Understanding the hidden and unhidden messages (text vs. subtext),
- Considering the influence of media on self, others, groups, cultures, and society,
- Processing the role of media in regards to power and privilege
- Self-reflective media analysis allows individuals to consider the connections between media and beliefs/actions by understanding:
- that how we know the world is how we see it represented in media,
- that we gather knowledge about people, cultures, and communities with which we don’t have direct interaction through media,
- that our own values, beliefs, biases, and experiences influence how we interpret media messages we encounter.
Key Questions to ask when Evaluating media messages:
- How credible is this and how do I know?
- Is this fact, opinion, or something else?
- Can I trust this source to tell me the truth about this topic?
- Who might benefit from this message? Who might be harmed by it?
- How does this make me feel and how do my emotions influence my interpretation of this?
- How might different people understand this message differently?
- Is this message good for me or people like me?
Additional Resources
Curriculum
Civic Online Reasoning
Demonstration Video – Decoding Climate Change
Project Look Sharp
Evaluating Evidence: Navigating Digital Information #6
Crash Course
Evaluating Online Sources: Checking Facts and Identifying Misinformation
KQED Teach
Media Literacy & Misinformation: Evaluating Sources
Monmouth University
Rx for an Infodemic: Media Decoding, Covid 19 and Online Teaching
Project Look Sharp
Teaching Adolescents How to Evaluate the Quality of Online Information
Edutopia
Activities
Advertising – Power of Persuasion
Water / Fruits and Vegetables
Project Look Sharp
Grades PK-2
Decoding Media Bias
PBS NewsHour Extra
Grades 7-12
Evaluating Online Sources
Teaching Tolerance
Grades 9-12
Google Image Results: Do they Promote or Counter Stereotypes
Project Look Sharp
Grades 6-12
Tweet Activity
Civics of Technology
Questions?
Email us: medialiteracyweek@namle.org!
A special thanks to Christopher Sperry and Cyndy Scheibe of Project Look Sharp, Jimmeka Anderson, Ph.D., and Natasha Casey, Ph.D. for their contributions in developing this content. Resources were updated in advance of MLW25 by Dan Krutka, Ph.D.