Presenter: Name: Kelsey LaPort

Title: Library Teacher
Organization/School: Sayville Public Schools

Program Description
In today's digital world, students are constantly bombarded with media messages that can be misleading, biased, or just plain wrong. This session focused on giving educators fun, practical ways to teach media literacy skills to students from elementary to high school. You'll walk away with ideas for hands-on activities that get kids thinking critically about the information and images they see, especially on social media.

The session will dive into key topics like media bias, misinformation, and how echo chambers and algorithms shape what we see online. Through interactive discussions, real-world examples, and engaging group activities, attendees will learn to help students recognize how headlines, visuals, and social media influence emotions, opinions, and the world around them.

One of the highlights of this session is a behind-the-scenes look at a 5th-grade media literacy project where students created spoof news broadcasts to expose media manipulation techniques. The session will take attendees step by step through the planning process, the lessons leading up to the project, and the final student-created broadcasts. Examples of student work and strategies to help kids reflect on their responsibilities as digital citizens will also be discussed.

The session will also tie in the AASL Shared Foundations such as Inquire, Include, Curate, and Engage. By the end, attendees will leave with ready-to-use resources, flexible lesson plans, and tons of inspiration for bringing media literacy into your library program or classroom. The ultimate goal is to help our students become thoughtful, informed, and savvy digital citizens.

Learning Objectives
1. Understand Media Literacy Concepts: Attendees will learn core principles of media literacy, including how misinformation, bias, algorithms, and visual manipulation impact perception.

2. Integrate Video Production into Media Literacy Lessons: Participants will explore methods for incorporating video production into media literacy instruction, enhancing student engagement and understanding.

3. Develop Critical Thinking Activities: Participants will gain access to lesson plans and activities that promote critical evaluation of media messages, especially on social media platforms.

4. Apply Practical Classroom Strategies: Educators will leave with actionable ideas and resources to implement media literacy projects that align with curricular goals and AASL standards.

Program Outline
1. Welcome and Introduction: Brief introduction of myself and my background as an elementary librarian but also my 15+ years working in advertising, sales, and digital marketing. I will ask the audience to complete a quick poll asking what challenges they see with their students when it comes to media literacy.

2. Importance of Media Literacy: The presentation will include a section about the impact of misinformation, disinformation, and media bias on students and the world around them. Compelling real-world examples will be shared, and participants will be asked to share where their students get their information.

3. Media Literacy Lessons with Interactive Activities: The presentation will review important media literacy skills through five engaging lessons that will help students analyze media critically. The lessons will cover an overview of media literacy, media bias and misinformation, image and video manipulation, advertising and clickbait, and sharing on social media. Each topic provides attendees with a variety of real-world examples, engaging discussion activities, and information on how the lessons align with AASL standards and assessment ideas. The lessons and activities build on each other as students progress through primary and secondary school. The audience will have the opportunity to participate in some of these media literacy activities, such as a reverse image search, evaluating media sources for bias, and a News Literacy Project quiz.

4. Case Study: 5th-Grade Spoof News Project: To bring these ideas to life, the second half of the presentation will walk the audience through a case study with 5th-grade students. The students were tasked with creating a spoof news report that highlights one of the media literacy skills they learned during the media literacy lessons. The audience will receive step-by-step instructions on how to execute the project as well as resource lists and material templates. Additionally, there will be a discussion on how to adapt this project for different grade levels, available resources, and students with different needs.

5. Conclusion (Next Steps, Resources, and Key Takeaways): This section of the presentation will provide an overview of the key takeaways from the presentation. There will also be a question and answer session. Attendees will be encouraged to provide their ideas for programs or resources to use to teach media literacy skills. The presentation will end with a giveaway. Two attendees will have the opportunity to win a copy of the book Killer Underwear Attack by Elise Gravel or a pair of portable microphones for their own video production project.
Lights, Camera, Question: Teaching Media Literacy Skills Through Video Production

Grade Level: 3-5, 6-8, 9-12

Session Strand: Teaching & Learning

Presenter
Kelsey LaPort

Kelsey LaPort is a Library Teacher in Sayville, New York. She transitioned into this career after spending more than 15 years in marketing and digital advertising, ultimately earning her MS in Information Science School Library from the University at Albany. In 2023, Kelsey was named to the American Library Association's Emerging Leaders cohort and also received the New York State Educational Media & Technology Association grant for media literacy. Additionally, she was the second elementary librarian in the country to become Certified Sustainable by the Sustainable Libraries Initiative (SLI). She is currently writing a book that focuses on how librarians can support young people in navigating eco-anxiety, with an expected publication date in 2026.


Description: In today’s digital world, students are constantly exposed to media messages that can be misleading or biased. This session provides educators with engaging, hands-on strategies to teach media literacy from elementary to high school. Topics include media bias, misinformation, and the influence of algorithms and echo chambers. Attendees will explore interactive activities that help students critically evaluate headlines, visuals, and social media. A session highlight features a behind-the-scenes look at a 5th-grade project where students created spoof news broadcasts to expose media manipulation techniques. Educators will walk through the planning process, lessons, and final broadcasts while connecting to AASL Shared Foundations such as Inquire, Curate, and Engage. This session offers ready-to-use resources and lesson plans to bring media literacy into any classroom or library, empowering students to think critically and navigate today’s media landscape with confidence.