News you can trust — ready-made English lesson, B2

Lesson goal: Students can discuss how news is produced and shared and judge whether a source is reliable.

Add the lesson to get your own copies of the word set and exercises; the lesson opens in the builder, where you can adjust the steps and teach it.

Lesson plan

1
Warm-up
Questions to get the student talking and lead into the topic.
- Where do you usually get your news: TV, websites, social media or friends?
- What was the last headline that really caught your attention?
- Have you ever believed a story that turned out to be false?
- Do you pay for any news or subscribe to any channels?
2
New words
Meet the words and practise them in games.
Match the pairsUnjumble
headline · article · journalist · broadcast · audience · reliable source · fake news · bias · coverage · editor · press · go viral · subscribe · advertisement · censorship
All words in the set
3
Exercises
The lesson's words in context. Only you see the answers.
1. Fill the gap
  Her video of a dancing cat went ___ and got ten million views in two days.
  Answer: viral
2. Fill the gap
  The ___ decided not to publish the article because the facts hadn't been checked.
  Answer: editor
3. Fill the gap
  The final will be ___ live on national TV tomorrow evening.
  Answer: broadcast
4. Multiple choice
  A newspaper always supports one political party and ignores facts that don't suit it. This is an example of ...
  biascensorshipcoverageaudience
5. Multiple choice
  Which is the most reliable source for checking a health claim?
  a post shared by a friendthe website of an official health organisationa video with lots of likesan anonymous comment
6. Multiple choice
  The journalist said, 'I am writing an article about the election.' → The journalist said that she ...
  was writing an article about the election.had written an article about the election.will write an article about the election.
7. Multiple choice
  What does 'coverage' mean in 'The election got a lot of media coverage'?
  the amount of reporting about somethinga protective layerthe number of people who voteda type of advertisement
8. True / false
  Read: 'A photo of a shark swimming down a flooded motorway appears after almost every big storm. It is usually shared with a dramatic headline, but journalists have shown many times that the image was edited. Even so, it still gets thousands of shares.' The shark photo is real.
  Answer: False
9. True / false
  Read: 'A photo of a shark swimming down a flooded motorway appears after almost every big storm. It is usually shared with a dramatic headline, but journalists have shown many times that the image was edited. Even so, it still gets thousands of shares.' The photo keeps spreading even though it has been shown to be fake.
  Answer: True
10. Discussion question
  You see a shocking headline on social media. What steps would you take before sharing it?
  Sample answer: First I'd read the whole article, not just the headline. Then I'd check who published it and whether reliable sources, such as major news agencies, are reporting the same story. I'd also look at the date and do a reverse image search on any photos.
4
Speaking
The student answers using the new words.
- Should social media companies be responsible for removing fake news?
- Is censorship ever justified — for example, during a war or a pandemic?
- Can any news source be completely free of bias?
- Would you be willing to pay for high-quality journalism? Why or why not?
- How has the way young people get their news changed in the last ten years?
5
Review
A quiz on the lesson's words. With a student, it's homework on their link.
Quiz

Lesson plan

Warm-up

Questions to get the student talking and lead into the topic.

Where do you usually get your news: TV, websites, social media or friends?
What was the last headline that really caught your attention?
Have you ever believed a story that turned out to be false?
Do you pay for any news or subscribe to any channels?

New words

Meet the words and practise them in games.

Match the pairsUnjumble

headline · article · journalist · broadcast · audience · reliable source · fake news · bias · coverage · editor · press · go viral · subscribe · advertisement · censorship

All words in the set

Exercises

The lesson's words in context. Only you see the answers.

Fill the gap
Her video of a dancing cat went ___ and got ten million views in two days.
Answer: viral
Fill the gap
The ___ decided not to publish the article because the facts hadn't been checked.
Answer: editor
Fill the gap
The final will be ___ live on national TV tomorrow evening.
Answer: broadcast
Multiple choice
A newspaper always supports one political party and ignores facts that don't suit it. This is an example of ...
biascensorshipcoverageaudience
Multiple choice
Which is the most reliable source for checking a health claim?
a post shared by a friendthe website of an official health organisationa video with lots of likesan anonymous comment
Multiple choice
The journalist said, 'I am writing an article about the election.' → The journalist said that she ...
was writing an article about the election.had written an article about the election.will write an article about the election.
Multiple choice
What does 'coverage' mean in 'The election got a lot of media coverage'?
the amount of reporting about somethinga protective layerthe number of people who voteda type of advertisement
True / false
Read: 'A photo of a shark swimming down a flooded motorway appears after almost every big storm. It is usually shared with a dramatic headline, but journalists have shown many times that the image was edited. Even so, it still gets thousands of shares.' The shark photo is real.
Answer: False
True / false
Read: 'A photo of a shark swimming down a flooded motorway appears after almost every big storm. It is usually shared with a dramatic headline, but journalists have shown many times that the image was edited. Even so, it still gets thousands of shares.' The photo keeps spreading even though it has been shown to be fake.
Answer: True
Discussion question
You see a shocking headline on social media. What steps would you take before sharing it?
Sample answer: First I'd read the whole article, not just the headline. Then I'd check who published it and whether reliable sources, such as major news agencies, are reporting the same story. I'd also look at the date and do a reverse image search on any photos.

Speaking

The student answers using the new words.

Should social media companies be responsible for removing fake news?
Is censorship ever justified — for example, during a war or a pandemic?
Can any news source be completely free of bias?
Would you be willing to pay for high-quality journalism? Why or why not?
How has the way young people get their news changed in the last ten years?

Review

A quiz on the lesson's words. With a student, it's homework on their link.

Quiz