Project Look Sharp

Project Look Sharp is now enrolling for its Fall 2026 national online professional development course for K–12 educators and school librarians.

Empowering All Students through Constructivist Media Decoding
October 6 – December 15, 2026

This 10-week course combines live Zoom sessions with self-paced modules to help educators integrate media literacy into their existing curriculum. Participants will learn how to guide students through structured media analysis, strengthen critical thinking across subject areas, and design their own media decoding lessons.

The program includes 15 hours of professional development, a Project Look Sharp badge, and documentation for administrators.

At a time of increasing concern about mis- and disinformation, this course offers practical, classroom-ready strategies that support core standards while engaging students in meaningful inquiry. Project Look Sharp’s work focuses on inquiry-based, student-centered media analysis across disciplines. (projectlooksharp.org)

Cost: $190
Deadline for inquiries: September 29

Full course brochure:
View course details and register
Direct PDF:https://www.projectlooksharp.org/offerings/Fall%202026%20PLS%20PD%20COURSE.pdf

For more information or to register: [email protected]

www.projectlooksharp.org

New from Project Look Sharp: Fresh Lessons for Today’s Media Landscape.

Looking for timely, engaging ways to build students’ media literacy skills? Project Look Sharp has four new lessons ready to go—each designed to help students ask critical questions about the media they see every day.

Internet Safety – Upper Elementary
Students examine Google image search results for “Internet safety” and “kids,” unpacking the messages, intended audiences, and construction techniques behind what looks like simple guidance.

Popcorn Physics – High School & College
What can popcorn teach us about science—and media? Students compare two short videos to explore authorship, purpose, and the difference between primary and secondary sources of scientific information.

Decoding Social Media Claims for an Energy Drink – Middle & High School
Students take a closer look at a short video ad, analyzing health-related claims, persuasive techniques, and credibility in social media advertising.

Maps and the Mapmaker’s Perspective – Upper Elementary & Middle School
Using four world maps, students investigate how mapmakers’ perspectives shape what we see—and what we don’t.

Each lesson brings media decoding into real-world contexts, helping students build the habits of inquiry they need to navigate today’s information environment.

Find them all at https://www.projectlooksharp.org/

Teachers - Artemis II is splashing down tomorrow. Are you planning anything? We’ve got your back.

If you’re looking for something timely you can use right away, Project Look Sharp has a ready-to-go lesson: “Space Travel - For and Against.” 

It’s designed for middle and high school classes and fits neatly into a single period. Students watch and analyze short clips from sources like NASA, National Geographic, and news outlets, then dig into a bigger question: Is space exploration worth it?

The lesson walks them through how to evaluate what they’re seeing—who made it, what arguments are being made, and whether the information is actually trustworthy. From there, they compare perspectives, talk through environmental and economic tradeoffs, and ultimately take a position of their own.

There’s a flexible structure depending on your class—small groups, whole-class discussion, or a mix—and built-in guiding questions to keep things moving without extra prep. It also lines up with science, technology, and media literacy standards. 

A simple way to open: start with Artemis II and ask, Why are we going back—and should we be?

https://www.projectlooksharp.org/front_end_resource.php?resource_id=996

With all the attention on Artemis II and the moon, we're pleased to announce our upcoming lesson "Space Travel: For and Against". In it students will analyze the messages and sources in short videos for and against space exploration and develop their own opinions on the issue.

Project Look Sharp is partnering with AllSides.com to develop a unique news literacy tool for use with high school students. We will stipend 10 teams across the country made up of a high school librarian and teacher to pilot and help shape this new resource.

For information about the pilot and how to apply go to:
https://www.allsides.com/schools/media-literacy-pilot

Looking for a meaningful way to help students navigate today’s complex media landscape? This new lesson from Project Look Sharp engages high school and college students in comparing news coverage of the same event, identifying bias, and reflecting on their own interpretations. With structured prompts and guidance for handling sensitive topics, it’s a strong tool for building media literacy and critical thinking skills in the classroom. Explore it here:

Project Look Sharp Description for Project Look Sharp website

How do different news sources frame the same international crisis?

In our “War With Iran Front Pages” activity, students examine real front pages from multiple news outlets to explore how media framing, headlines, images, and story placement shape public understanding of current world events.

Using Project Look Sharp’s Constructivist Media Decoding (CMD) approach, students compare coverage, identify perspective and bias, and discuss how news design influences what audiences notice-and what they might miss.

This activity helps students practice critical media literacy skills while engaging with current events and the power of visual journalism.

Explore the lesson and more media literacy resources at Project Look Sharp.


https://www.projectlooksharp.org/front_end_resource.php?resource_id=989

This week we remember the Reverend Jesse Jackson with our archive lesson on the 1988 Newsweek Cover and Poll Results

"Media literacy and critical thinking activity analyzing a magazine cover and poll results about Jesse Jackson's 1988 campaign for messages about race and media bias."

Project Look Sharp Description for Project Look Sharp website

Discovering Ramadan

Check out our lesson which invites students to explore Ramadan by analyzing a tweet, a calendar, and book covers — discovering unique traditions while comparing how different media forms communicate meaning.

Perfect for building media literacy and cultural awareness together.

Project Look Sharp Description for Project Look Sharp website

AI companions aren’t science fiction anymore — they’re being marketed right now.
In our AI Friends lesson, students decode a real ad for an AI “friend,” weigh the pros and cons, and wrestle with big questions about connection, trust, and influence in an AI-driven world.

Perfect for classrooms looking to address AI not as hype or fear, but as a real social issue students are already encountering.

https://www.projectlooksharp.org/front_end_resource.php?resource_id=970

NEW LESSON AVAILABLE
For High School and College Educators

ICE, Immigration, and Patriotism in Political Posters

As immigration enforcement and federal authority are once again at the center of national attention — including recent developments and public debate in Minnesota — educators are looking for ways to help students make sense of emotionally charged media narratives. This timely media literacy lesson gives students tools to slow down, analyze, and question how those narratives are constructed.

Students examine political posters to explore how ICE, immigration, and patriotism are visually framed, how propaganda techniques shape public perception, and how personal identity and lived experience affect the way media messages are interpreted.

This lesson was inspired by Catherine Graybosch and created in collaboration with Project Look Sharp, Ithaca College’s long-standing media literacy initiative. Based at IC, Project Look Sharp develops free, classroom-ready lessons and professional resources used by educators nationwide to support critical thinking, civic engagement, and informed participation in a democratic society.

https://www.projectlooksharp.org/front_end_resource.php?resource_id=977