About This Lesson
Thinkalong.org is a free, evidence-based interactive tool for students to develop media literacy skills by applying the 5 Key Questions of Media Literacy to public media content. Importantly, the tool does not require registration for teachers or students, abides by student privacy laws, and is advised by a board of both youth and educators.
Each module consists of:
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a compelling and timely question;
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related current and age-appropriate public media content including audio, video, and text;
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extension resources for advanced or highly-interested students;
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student graphic organizers;
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a simple debate tool;
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a teacher's guide to the module;
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and a guide to the 5 Key Questions of Media Literacy.
This Teacher's Guide supports the Should performance enhancing drugs be allowed in professional sports? module on thinkalong.org. Here is the full module and below is a summary.
In the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, a baseball with an asterisk is one of the main attractions. It represents Barry Bonds’ record breaking 756th career home run, but the asterisk commemorates the controversial use of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs), steroids, and other substances that helped Bonds and others break numerous records and compete at their physical peak. But baseball isn’t the only sport where PEDs are commonly used by athletes to get ahead in competition. In the Olympics, and at the highest levels of athletics, PEDs are a controversial subject and issue for sports organizations around the world.
To use this module with learners in any setting, we recommend using one of the structured discussion formats outlined at thinkalong.org/structuring-discussions. You can find options for a small or large group, so that all students or just a few participate, and examples of some discussion formats.
