Learning Media Literacy with LAMBOOZLED!

Media literacy education emphasizes the importance of teaching students to think critically about content and sources in order to determine whether the information they are receiving is credible. It seeks to develop an active, engaged community, able to participate in a global media environment. The non-profit National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE) describes media literacy as “an essential life skill.”

More and more states are adopting requirements to include media literacy in their standard curricula. Here’s how LAMBOOZLED!™ fits in:

LAMBOOZLED! introduces middle and high schoolers to strategies they can use to critically evaluate news content. This innovative media literacy card game fosters skills in line with all quality state standards environments and is applicable to a wide range of subjects, including social studies, civics education, government, language arts, journalism, and science/STEM. It can be played in quick rounds that are easy to implement with varying class sizes, instructional periods, and disciplines.

LAMBOOZLED! teaches critical thinking and source evaluation. Students must use Evidence cards to evaluate both the news and its context. They are encouraged to use a mix of strategies and a variety of evidence—as much as possible—in order to win the game. They must focus on the strategies used to make a “real vs. fake” determination, such as: Are multiple outlets reporting this news? Are there typos or grammar mistakes? Does the domain name look suspicious? Has the source posted similar stories in a way that indicates bias? Is there an expert we can ask?

LAMBOOZLED! enables students to better understand the social, economic, and political context of the news. Evidence cards give information about the motivations and affiliations of the news sources in Green Meadows. Players come to understand news as a complex ecosystem where (sometimes competing) forces interact within larger social, economic, and political contexts. Meanwhile, the sheep theme enables players to engage with the concepts of fake news and media literacy in a neutral, non-political context.

LAMBOOZLED! helps students understand the relationship between people, technology, and society. Cards illustrate abstract concepts that are key to contemporary digital news and technology literacy, such as echo chambers and filter bubbles.

Common Core Standards met:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.1	Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.7	Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.8	Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.SL.1	Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.SL.3	Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.6	Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author’s point of view or purpose (e.g., loaded language, inclusion or avoidance of particular facts).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.8	Distinguish among fact, opinion, and reasoned judgment in a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.8	Evaluate an author’s premises, claims, and evidence by corroborating or challenging them with other information.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.8	Evaluate an author’s premises, claims, and evidence by corroborating or challenging them with other information.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.6-8.8	Distinguish among facts, reasoned judgment based on research findings, and speculation in a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.6-8.9	Compare and contrast the information gained from experiments, simulations, video, or multimedia sources with that gained from reading a text on the same topic.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.2	Determine a central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.6	Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and explain how it is conveyed in the text.