In Palermo, paying “pizzo” or protection money used to be common practice. But now businesses say to the Mafia: Addiopizzo! This article, by high school students Keya Dutt and Lusha Greer, was produced out of News Decoder’s school partnership program....
Weekly protests in France are now about more than pensions. For French citizens it is about democratic ideals and a government that represents its people. Protesters in Rennes, France march over pension reforms and more, April 2023. All photos by Clover Choi. This...
When the business model for news corporations depends on blurring the lines between fact and opinion, how can we move from partisanship to problem solving? Photo illustration by News Decoder. In 2017, the political landscape collectively scoffed at Donald...
With news media inundating our feeds with content, youth guest author Skyler Kelley Duval dissects the blurred lines between fact and fiction. Central to being able to responsibly consume media is investment in critical thinking and media literacy education in schools. Are your students media literate?
Exercise: Read the article with your class, then introduce the CRAAP test to your students as a tool to evaluate media sources. The CRAAP test assesses sources for Currency, Relevancy, Authority, Accuracy and Purpose — with a goal of determining trustworthiness. You can find an example of the CRAAP test here. Consider analyzing a media source together as a class using the test.
The galgo is a popular hunting dog in Spain. But a worldwide network of dog lovers march each year to stop a practice they believe is inhumane. On the left Eden, a rescued Spanish Greyhound, was found covered by ticks when rescued from a pound in Almeria, Spain. On...
Women and girls across the world are lobbying to make menstrual products free or at least tax-free. Illustration: News Decoder This article, by high school students Samantha Crystal and Phoebe Diamond was produced out of News Decoder’s school partnership program. The...
France has spent hundreds of millions to help refugees with housing, schooling and jobs. But for those who aren’t fluent in French, life remains difficult. The Eiffel Tower is illuminated with the colors of Ukraine to mark the one-year anniversary of...
Daniele Gatti of School Year Abroad in Italy wins this month’s Faculty Spotlight award for his commitment to youth literacy and News Decoder’s local-global mission. News Decoder’s SYA Italy faculty point person, Daniele Gatti. (Daniele Gatti) Daniele Gatti is a...
Overdevelopment has caused so much destruction. It is time to replant the trees we have cut down and be better stewards of our land. Volunteers search for bodies after heavy flooding and mudslides just outside of Freetown, Sierra Leone, 15 August 2017. (AP...
Extracurricular activities and sports can help students gain admission to university. But is the need to ace exams and win one for the team too much pressure? Photo illustration of teen athletes against a backdrop of grades and college application. This article, by...
Youth correspondent Micah Earnest of News Decoder partner The Tatnall School gives us a glimpse into the life of a student athlete in an article that asks us to redefine “success” for young people. With mounting pressure to succeed in academics and extracurricular activities, some student athletes with college aspirations are seeing declines in mental health. What can we do to change that?
Exercise: Have students read the article, then launch a discussion to answer the question that appears at the end of the text: “What can we do for people now and future generations to make schooling a better learning space for high schoolers who want to succeed without feeling inferior to others if they do not do a sport or reach the top 1% of their class?” You may consider using the Think-Pair-Share protocol for this discussion (i.e. Students think and jot down notes independently, discuss with one partner and finally, volunteers share ideas with the class.).
With the killing of six sex workers in Lima this year already, people are calling on the government to address the unequal treatment of transgender people. A group of transgender women protest outside the police station in downtown Lima, Peru. Since the beginning of...