Honey, how do we tell the kids that this is really fake news?

PARENTS with school-aged children must be at pains to explain what is going on in the world with the number of sources claiming to report ‘news’ when the definition is now so broad.

Then, of course, we have that vexing little problem of ‘fake’ news, which must be even more confusing for young minds.

Now a new, free educational resource has been launched to help teach primary schoolchildren about the difference between real reports, what’s marketing and advertising and the dreadful fake news.

Mediawise is an eight-week programme, designed by Safefood, to help children process the confusing amount of messages they are being exposed to from a variety of sources each day.

With research showing children are unable to distinguish between content and marketing messages, Mediawise is designed to help them understand what is being told, suggested or sold to them and give them the skills to be able to choose independently.

The programme provides 32 lesson plans with eight lessons for each of the four age groups across primary school. Lessons are suitable for each class grade, linking with a variety of curricular subjects and using all teaching methodologies, including interactive, child-friendly activities.

The resource was developed with the input of teachers and an expert group drawn from education, advertising, media and regulation. Primary schools can access the initiative from September by signing up on the website for the scheme which is free of charge. For more information, go to: mediawise.ie