CDE

Overview: Equipping the youth of Colorado with the critical thinking skills necessary to analyze the information, claims, and sources presented to them through traditional and digital media will empower them to make more informed decisions. The basis for this resource bank was developed by a committee created through HB 21-1103 (PDF) which will include classroom resources for K-12, educator professional development, instructional tools for teaching media literacy, and student & parent resources. If you are an educator in Colorado and have suggestions for a great free resource, please email Stephanie Hartman.

Note: If you are unable to access any portion of this resource bank, please contact Stephanie Hartman, 720-498-2084.

Suggest a Resource

Questions? Please contact Stephanie Hartman with any questions. View the Media Literacy Resource Bank landing page for more information.

Legend - Type of Resource
Elementary - Middle - High - Adult - Free resource Free - Professional Development

#DigCitCommit Resources for teaching digital citizenship. #DigCitCommit is a coalition that consists of multiple organizations to provide educators tools to...	(Checkology) Newsroom to Classroom Journalist Visits Newsroom to Classroom journalist visits are an opportunity for students to receive news literacy instruction straight from the experts. These...	10 Creative Ways to Teach Media Literacy (Canva) Media education is now required in many curricula across the world. Schools are working hard to help teachers prepare students for changes in the...
Allsides for Schools Helping educators prepare students to participate thoughtfully in democracy – and in life. AllSides for Schools gives educators tools, resources,...	Bad News - Interactive Simulation Shows Students How Misinformation is Spread A website that offers simulations that show visitors how misinformation is spread through social media. Bad News is available in two versions. The...	Be Internet Awesome! (Google) An online resource with curriculum and activities created by Google in partnership with Family Online Safety Institute.
Brainpop: Digital Citizenship This five-month Digital Citizenship unit, features 10 BrainPOP topics: Digital etiquette, social media, media literacy, online sources,...	Brainpop: Evaluating Online Sources Lesson Plan: Is Everything on the Internet True? In this online sources lesson plan, which is adaptable for grades K-8, students use BrainPOP resources to learn how to conduct effective Internet...	C.S. Mott Children's Hospital: Kids and Digital Media Tips and strategies for keeping kids safe and informed regarding the use of digital media.
Checkology Checkology’s lessons and other resources show you how to navigate today’s challenging information landscape. You will learn how to identify...	Checkology®️ Laying the foundation for students to think critically, our free lessons help educators equip students with the tools to evaluate and interpret...	Common Sense Education - Family Engagement Toolkit Covering a range of topics -- from online safety to learning with technology -- this toolkit has helpful bilingual resources that you can use in...
Common Sense Media Literacy Resources In this collection, you'll find hand-picked, regularly updated resources to help you better understand and practice media literacy. There are...	Common Sense Media: Four Ways to Integrate Media Literacy in the Classroom A few framing ideas, planning tools, and media-literacy-infused project examples that can help you expand media-literacy education in your...	Crash Course: Navigating Digital Information A ten-episode course on YouTube for evaluating online information.
Create to Learn: An Introduction to Digital Literacy This book/program offers teachers with resources to guide students in analyzing, exploring, and creating media.	Critical Media Project Critical Media Project (CMP) is a free media literacy web resource for educators and students (ages 8-21) that enhances young people’s critical...	Cyber Civics This Cyber Civics program can be adopted for one full school year to teach students about ethics, technical, and cognitive skills to navigate,...
Digital Citizenship Utah Cyberbullying Teaching Resources Contains curriculum, videos and interactive games, student projects, educator training and helpful resources and tips sorted by grade level from...	Digital Citizenship Utah Digital Footprint Teaching Resources Digital Footprint Teaching Resources (Digital Citizenship Utah) contains curriculum, videos and interactive games, student projects, educator...	Digital Citizenship Utah: Media Literacy Teaching Resources Includes curriculum, videos and interactive games, student projects, educator training and helpful resources and tips sorted by grade level from...
Digital Inquiry Group: Civic Online Reasoning The COR curriculum provides free lessons and assessments that help you teach students to evaluate online information that affects them, their...	Digital Resource Center: Get Lessons ...	Exploring Critical Media Literacy- What is it, and why is it more important now than ever? UCLA’s Jeff Share and Doug Kellner help Neil and Carol understand why Critical Media Literacy is the gold standard in media literacy learning.
FactCheck.org FactCheck.org are a nonpartisan, nonprofit “consumer advocate” for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S....	ICivics: News Literacy This unit teaches students to recognize high-standards journalism so they can make informed judgments about the information coming at them....	International Literacy Association: Read-Alouds for Digital Literacy Fun A listing of 10 books that align with various digital citizenship skills.
International Society for Technology on Education (ISTE) ISTE provides articles, lesson plans, and other resources for teaching digital citizenship, media literacy, AI, etc.	Into the Cloud - NetSmartz Kids An interactive educational program from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The program offers age-appropriate resources to...	ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) 11 Resources to Boost Student Media Literacy Reading carefully and thinking critically have always been the basic tenets of media literacy, but those skills become more vital in the age of...
KQED Teach ...	KQED: Above the Noise Above the Noise, a YouTube series for teens, cuts through the hype and dives deep into the research behind the issues affecting their daily lives...	Learning for Justice: Digital and Civic Literacy Skills The Learning for Justice Digital Literacy Framework offers seven key areas in which students need support developing digital and civic literacy...
Literacy Week Event + Lesson Ideas (National Association for Media Literacy Education) A list of activities and lesson plans in support of Media Literacy week	Media Education Lab: Multimedia Curriculum Resources Free multimedia curriculum materials to help learners of all ages advance knowledge, skills, and competencies.	Media Lit.org Tips and ideas for parents (or grandparents) about media in the lives of children. Plus, practical pointers for introducing media literacy...
Media Smarts: Media Literacy 101 To help teachers introduce the key concepts of media literacy to elementary students, MediaSmarts has partnered with Companies Committed to Kids (...	MediaSmarts Cyberbullying Contains general digital citizenship resources and teaching materials. Each resource is labeled by age group.	National Association for Media Literacy Education The National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE) is a professional association for educators, academics, activists, and students with...
National Association for Media Literacy: A Parent's Guide to Media Literacy NAMLE and their partner Trend Micro created a parent’s guide to assist families in starting media literacy conversations at home. They focus on...	Nearpod: Digital Citizenship Week lessons Nearpod has curated free lessons you can use to teach about online safety, cyberbullying, digital literacy, and more. They compiled their most...	News Literacy Project The News Literacy Project is a nonpartisan education nonprofit building a national movement to create a more news-literate America. Founded in...
News Literacy Project A nonpartisan national education nonprofit, provides programs and resources for educators and the public to teach, learn and share the abilities...	News Literacy Project Resource Library The News Literacy Project’s resource library includes lesson plans, classroom activities, posters and infographics, quizzes, training materials,...	News Literacy Project's Framework for Teaching News Literacy The Framework for Teaching News Literacy is designed to support educators in working toward this mission by providing common standards, essential...
News Literacy Project's Gradeband Expectations for News Literacy The News Literacy Project developed this living document to accompany our Framework for Teaching News Literacy as a guide of scaffolded skills,...	NewseumEd: Media Literacy Free resources on fighting fake news and developing your students' media literacy skills. These are some highlights from NewseumEd's activities,...	NewsLitNation®️ Professional Learning An innovative platform for media and news literacy educators, NewsLitNation Professional Learning offers free, on-demand lessons on quality...
NPR: In Case You Missed It: Media Literacy 101 The podcasters discuss media literacy and how it should be taught. We also discuss what you need to know if you didn't learn about it in school....	PEN America Media Literacy Toolkit PEN America’s Knowing the News project offers media literacy trainings to equip the public to identify and prevent the spread of false and...	Project Look Sharp A curriculum for teachers for incorporating media documents into instruction.
Project Look Sharp Infographics Infographics on all topics related to media literacy including media analysis and media decoding.	Ruff Ruffman: Humble Media Genius (PBS Kids) A set of videos for children to explore digital media literacy. It was the winner of a Parents’ Choice Gold Award and includes resources for...	RumorGuard The News Literacy Project’s RumorGuard platform highlights misinformation and stops it in its tracks. RumorGuard fact-checks timely examples of...
Schmoop Media Literacy This core of courses teaches students to identify bias and determine the legitimacy of digital media by introducing them to fundamentals of mass...	Snopes Snopes’ fact-checking and original investigative reporting lights the way to evidence-based and contextualized analysis. They always link to and...	Teach Good Digital Citizenship With Great Books A list of books to raise students' awareness and understanding of digital citizenship.
Teacher.org: 20 of the Best Anti-Bullying Picture Books for Teachers Provides a list of books appropriate for students in preschool through fifth-grade.	Teaching Digital Citizenship with Picture Story Books A list of books to raise students' awareness and understanding of digital citizenship.	Teaching Tolerance: Digital and Civic Literacy Offers a framework for teaching digital literacy with seven key areas for developing digital and civic literacy skills. These include online...
The Media Education Lab The Media Education Lab is a public benefit corporation that advances the practice of media literacy education through leadership development,...	The Real Fake News: How to Spot Misinformation and Disinformation Online An article that explains difference between misinformation and disinformation and defines several other terms such as deepfake, manipulated...	The Sift®️ The Sift is a free weekly newsletter for educators delivered during the school year that offers a rundown of the latest topics in news literacy —...
The Smart Talk A free tool that helps families set digital safety ground rules together.	We Are Teachers: 28 Must Read Anti-Bullying Books for Kids Contains reviews of books appropriate for students at all grade levels.	We Teach NYC Media Literacy Toolkit This collection provided by NYC Department of Education shares resources designed to inspire students to think critically about the complex...
Webliteracy for Student Fact-Checkers A guide for students on how to check the veracity of information they find on the internet.