English · Grade 8

Compare Text and Multimedia Accounts

Learners compare four fictional accounts of a new bridge's opening day: a newspaper article, a TV news script, a podcast transcript and an interactive map. They evaluate what each medium does well and poorly, separate disagreements about facts from disagreements about interpretation, resolve factual conflicts by checking sources, methods and definitions, and recommend the best medium for a given purpose and audience.

4 lessons
About 100 minutes
Media and conflicting accounts check: 8 questions
Ways to answer: choose an answer, highlight a text, match pairs, type a number, put in order and sort into groups

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What learners will discover

Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of print, video, audio and interactive media for presenting a topic.
Identify where accounts disagree on matters of fact and where they disagree on matters of interpretation.
Resolve factual conflicts by checking sources, methods, definitions and timing, and judge interpretations by their evidence.
Recommend and justify the best medium for a specific purpose and audience.

Lessons

What each medium does well 6 steps3 practiceabout 26 min
Disagreements of fact and of interpretation 5 steps3 practiceabout 24 min
Resolving factual conflicts 5 steps3 practiceabout 25 min
Choosing the right medium 5 steps3 practiceabout 25 min
Media and conflicting accounts check 8 questions at the end

Keep exploring

Games to practice with

Memory LanternsFlip glowing lanterns to find pairs that belong together.
Editor's DeskGrab the red pen: find every mistake, then fix it.
Reading DetectiveRead the case file, crack the question, and prove it with evidence.

Guide for grown-ups

How to improve reading comprehension: strategies that work for kidsA guide for parents and teachers · 7 min read