Students meet historical claims in videos, social posts, and search results far more often than in textbooks. The skills Loewen wants them to use on a textbook apply just as well to a viral clip. Asking who made something and why is the same question in both places.

That connection makes history class a natural home for media literacy. It also makes the skills feel relevant, which helps with motivation. A student who evaluates an online claim about the past is doing real historical work.

The approach is to teach a small set of habits and apply them to different formats. Textbook, documentary, meme, and news article all get the same questions. Over time, students begin to ask them automatically.

Writing gives you a way to see whether they do.

A Portable Set of Questions

Keep the questions short enough to memorize. Post them in the room and reuse them on every source. Students should be able to recite them by October.

• Who created this, and what do they want the audience to think?
• What evidence is shown, and what is only claimed?
• What perspective or group is missing?
• How does this compare with at least one other source?
• What would I need to check before repeating this claim?

Assignments That Test the Skill

Give students a popular online claim about a historical event and ask them to verify it. They should find at least two sources, compare them, and write a short evaluation. The writing should state a conclusion and explain the evidence.

A second option is a paired analysis: a textbook passage and a documentary clip on the same topic. Students argue which is more reliable and why. This gets at Loewen's core point that no single source deserves automatic trust.

Grading Media Literacy Writing

Assess how well students explain their verification process, not just whether they reach the right conclusion. A student who checks sources carefully and admits uncertainty should score well even if the answer is unclear. Build that expectation into the rubric.

Comments should point to specific steps that were missing, such as "What could you have checked to confirm this?" Rubric-driven AI feedback can help deliver those prompts across a large class, and you can adjust them before students see them.

Keeping It Age Appropriate

Choose examples that fit students' maturity and avoid content that is graphic or needlessly inflammatory. There is plenty of material that is engaging without being disturbing. The goal is to practice the skill, not to shock.

Involve students in finding examples once they understand the process. They often bring in claims you have not seen. That ownership makes the work more real.