Home›Lesson Plans›English Language Arts›Media Literacy · Grade 12

Your Media Diet

Twelfth graders finish their media-literacy journey by designing a healthy “media diet” for life — a balanced mix of trusted, diverse sources, fact-checking, breaks, and openness to other views — versus the unbalanced habits that leave us misinformed and drained.

Grade 12Your Media Diet55 minutes1 class periodMedia Literacy · CCSSExplicit teaching4 StandardsCCSS / NAMLE
Start the Lesson
Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Design a media diet.
  • ✓Tell balanced from not.
  • ✓Sort the habits.
  • ✓Stay literate for life.
Essential Question

What we consume shapes how we think. What does a healthy, lifelong media diet look like?

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Lesson Phases
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Vocabulary Terms
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Standards Aligned
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Interactive Task
Sort It · Interactive

Balanced or Unbalanced Media Diet?

Project this and sort each habit into a Balanced or Unbalanced media diet.

🥗 Sort each — a balanced or unbalanced habit?Try it
✅ Balanced
⚠️ Unbalanced
Tap a habit, then tap a box.
The Lesson · Literacy Flow (Hook · Explore · Practice · Apply · Reflect)

55 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Hook — You Are What You Read

6 min

What we consume shapes how we think — what’s a healthy media diet?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Ask about media habits.
  • Ask which feel healthy.
  • Set the goal.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Reflect.
  • Think.
  • Get ready.
2

Explore — Your Media Diet

13 min

Students explore.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send students to the sorter.
  • Sort each one.
  • Explain each.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Sort.
  • Say.
  • Explain.
3

Practice — Practice

15 min

Students practice.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Name a balanced habit.
  • Name an unbalanced one.
  • Explain the difference.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Name it.
  • Name it.
  • Explain.
4

Apply — Apply

15 min

Students apply.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Audit your own media diet.
  • Plan one improvement.
  • Share your plan.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Audit.
  • Plan.
  • Share.
5

Reflect — Reflect

6 min

Students close.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Name a balanced habit.
  • Name an unbalanced one.
  • Complete the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Name one.
  • Name one.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the Common Core ELA Standards (informational literacy) & NAMLE media-literacy competencies.

CCSS
SL.11-12.1

Reflect & discuss collaboratively.

CCSS
W.11-12.6

Use media thoughtfully.

NAMLE
Act

Practice lifelong media literacy.

CCSS
RI.11-12.7

Evaluate diverse sources.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Habit cards.
  • Sentence frame: “A balanced diet includes ___.”
  • Use examples.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with diverse sources vs one feed.
  • Sort one at a time.
  • Use examples.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Design a personal media plan.
  • Track your diet for a week.
  • Make a literacy pledge.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Screen / board
  • 🥗Habit cards
  • 💻Balanced or Unbalanced Media Diet?
  • 📋A media-diet planner
  • ✏️Notebooks
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

media dietwhat media you consumebalancedvaried & healthytrusted sourcesreliable outletsfact-checkto verifydiversemany kindsmoderationnot too muchlifelong learninglearning for lifecritical consumera thoughtful user
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
Name one habit of a balanced media diet.
Reading diverse trusted sources, fact-checking, or seeking other views.
QUESTION 2
Name one unbalanced habit.
Getting all news from one feed, or endless doom-scrolling.
QUESTION 3
Why does your media diet matter?
What you consume shapes how you think — a balanced diet keeps you informed and healthy.

Reflect: your media diet.

Have students design one improvement to their personal media diet and explain why. A printable media-diet sheet is in the ELA library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 Your Media DietFlip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
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Nice work!

Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 Your Media DietQuiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
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Nice work!

Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ Your Media DietPrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: balanced, critical consumer, diverse, fact-check, lifelong learning, media diet, moderation, trusted sources
  1. to verify
  2. learning for life
  3. a thoughtful user
  4. reliable outlets
  5. many kinds
  6. not too much
  7. varied & healthy
  8. what media you consume

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. Name one habit of a balanced media diet.
  2. Name one unbalanced habit.
  3. Why does your media diet matter?
Answer key — Part A: 1) fact-check · 2) lifelong learning · 3) critical consumer · 4) trusted sources · 5) diverse · 6) moderation · 7) balanced · 8) media diet
Part B: 1) Reading diverse trusted sources, fact-checking, or seeking other views. 2) Getting all news from one feed, or endless doom-scrolling. 3) What you consume shapes how you think — a balanced diet keeps you informed and healthy.