Learning Center
The Newseum offers national standards-linked, educator-led classes at no additional charge for students in grades 3 – University. Learning Center classes must be requested at least one week in advance.
Elementary, middle and high school class descriptions
Times:
Classes are offered Monday-Friday at the following times:
In the Learning Center 9:30 a.m., 10:45 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 1:30 p.m.
In the Documentary Theater: 10 a.m., 11 a.m., noon, 1 p.m.
Unless otherwise noted, classes are 50 minutes long.
Capacity
Most classes require a minimum of 15 students and a maximum of 36 students in the Learning Center classroom or 110 students in the Documentary Theater. We cannot offer concurrent classes. Groups of larger than the class capacity will be assigned staggered class times based on your group's window of availability. Please contact the Education Department for availability.
Pre- and Post-Visit Lessons:
Pre- and post-visit lessons and activities to augment your students' experience can be downloaded from the Lesson Plan page.
Cancellations and No-Show Policies:
When a school fails to appear for its scheduled educational class, it prevents other schools from taking advantage of the learning opportunities the Newseum offers. For this reason, we ask that schools notify us at least one week prior to their scheduled visit if your group needs to change or cancel an education class experience. Click here to book your field trip and a Learning Center class.
Learning Center Elementary, Middle and High School Class Descriptions
Journalism
The following classes teach students the skills and knowledge journalists need to exercise their rights as protected by the First Amendment. Topics range from the basic – "What is news?" – to more difficult questions of responsibilities and ethics.
Speed of News
 | Students learn how people have shared news and information throughout history – from cave paintings to telegraphs, to town criers to television. At exploration stations, students get hands-on experience with new and old forms of communication– some fast, some slow, some familiar, some not. See how technology drives the ways we share information. |
Grades: 3 – 5
Capacity: 30 students in the Learning Center
Front Page Frenzy! (30 minutes)
 | Front Page Frenzy is the Newseum's fast-paced game of headlines and deadlines! Teams of would-be reporters scour newspapers for the key elements of a front page, then race across a giant game board. Along the way, students learn the terminology for all of the parts that make up a front page, from the nameplate and weather ear to the jump lines and mug shots. The first team to "start the presses" wins – but look out for surprise pitfalls and perks along the way! |
Grades: 3 – 8
Capacity: 36 students in the Learning Center
Choose the News
 | Go behind the scenes to discover how newspaper editors decide what to put on their front pages. Students define "news" and see how it may vary depending on the audience and the community. After students learn the elements of a front page using current papers, they work in teams to design their own front pages in a race to make deadline. |
Grades: 5 – 8
Capacity: 30 students in the Learning Center
Believe It or Not?
 | Is Wikipedia reliable? How can I distinguish facts from rumors? What news can I trust? This introduction to media literacy gives students a set of tools they can use to evaluate sources online, on TV and in print. Through hands-on activities and discussion, students learn how to improve their media savvy, then put their new skills to the test. |
Grades: 6 – 12
Capacity: 36 students in the Learning Center
Media Ethics
 | Is it ever OK to clean up a quote or digitally manipulate a photograph? This lesson familiarizes students with some of the ethical issues journalists face as they work to be accurate, fair and clear. By examining real-life case studies, students grapple with issues journalists may encounter, including privacy, anonymous sources and the pressure to be first. Through discussion and debate, students become more informed media consumers. |
Grades: 6 - 12
Capacity: 36 students in the Learning Center or 110 in the Documentary Theater
Photo Ethics
 | Is it ever OK to alter an image or publish photos of a dead body? Similar to the Media Ethics class, but with an emphasis on images, this lesson covers the power of photographs and the responsibilities of a photojournalist to be accurate, fair and clear. Real-life case studies help students tackle the decision-making process in deciding what's the right thing to do. Ethical dilemmas include digital manipulation, privacy and minimizing harm. |
Grades: 6 - University
Capacity: 36 students in the Learning Center or 110 in the Documentary Theater
Covering a Catastrophe
 | Through the lens of the events of Sept. 11, 2001, students explore the unique practical and ethical challenges journalists face when covering catastrophic breaking news. Students begin by participating in a simulation that illustrates some of the difficulties of reporting on a developing crisis. They then learn the guiding principles for ethical journalism and examine how journalists applied these rules amidst the chaos and danger of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Real-life case studies prompt students to debate how they would react in similar challenging situations. |
Grades: 8 - University
Capacity: 36 students in the Learning Center or 110 in the Documentary Theater
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
The following classes give students a deeper understanding of the five freedoms – speech, press, religion, assembly and petition – guaranteed by the First Amendment, and what/why limits may be placed on them.
Battle for the Bill of Rights
 | Go back in time and re-live the debate over whether basic freedoms should be included in the Constitution of our new country. Students take on the roles – hats, wigs and mannerisms – of Federalists and Anti-Federalists and make their 18th century arguments for and against a Bill of Rights. Through acting and slogan-writing, students come to understand the importance and history of our First Amendment freedoms. |
Grades: 4 - 6
Capacity: 30 Students in the Learning Center
Introduction to the First Amendment (15 minutes)
 | This 15-minute lesson introduces students to the five freedoms of the First Amendment. How do they use their freedoms, and how might their lives be different without them? Includes a showing of the short film "Can't Touch This." |
Grades: 6 - 12
Capacity: 36 students in the Learning Center or 110 in the Documentary Theater
You Can't Say That in School?!
 | Students learn how the five freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment apply in everyday life and in school. When are there limits and why? The landmark Tinker v. Des Moines Supreme Court case serves as a basis to discuss how public school officials must balance students' rights to free expression with the need to provide a safe learning environment. Students then discuss and debate other real-life court cases." |
Grades: 7 - 12
Capacity: 36 students in the Learning Center or 110 in the Documentary Theater
You Can't Say That ?!
 | Is a racial slur protected speech or fighting words? Are flash mobs protected assembly or breach of peace? This lesson explores the exceptions (such as defamation, obscenity and breach of peace) and restrictions that govern freedom of expression as guaranteed in the First Amendment. In small groups, students debate case studies to determine when, where and why exceptions should or may apply. |
Grades: 9 - University
Capacity: 36 students in the Learning Center or 110 in the Documentary Theater
Headlines of History
Journalism has been called "the first rough draft of history." The following classes draw from the Newseum's vast collection of historical newspapers, newsreels and artifacts to bring monumental events to life.
The Press and the Presidency
 | What are the many ways the president has of communicating with the public? What image is the president trying to convey, and why? Is the Washington press corps still necessary? This class touches on the roles of the president and a free press, exploring how their relationship has changed over time, influenced by new technology, personalities and world events. Students become "advisers" and create a photo-op for the president on an issue of their choosing. |
Grades: 6 - 12
Capacity: 30 students in the Learning Center
Making a Change: The Civil Rights Movement and the First Amendment
 | How did civil rights activists use their individual freedoms (speech, religion, assembly, petition) to demand change? How did Martin Luther King Jr. harness the power of the news media? Students learn about this important chapter in U.S. history and how the First Amendment was used as a vehicle for social change. A documentary based on primary sources looks at key dates in the movement and the press's role in covering the push for equality. |
Grades: 8 - University
Capacity: 36 students in the Learning Center or 110 in the Documentary Theater
The Civil War: From the Front Lines to the Front Pages
 | Explore hands-on how technological breakthroughs revolutionized news coverage of the Civil War. Students learn how journalism at the time of the Civil War differed from today’s news. They then take on the role of editors at Civil War-era newspapers and learn about the technologies used to get information from the front lines of the battlefield to the front pages, including the telegraph and Morse code, photographs, engravings and more. They put these technologies to use to complete their own front pages, experiencing first-hand the practical and ethical challenges the journalists of that era encountered. |
Grades: 5-12
Capacity: 36 students in the Learning Center
University Class Descriptions
Journalism
Media Ethics
| Is it ever OK to clean up a quote or digitally manipulate a photograph? This lesson familiarizes students with some of the ethical issues journalists face as they work to be accurate, fair and clear. By examining real-life case studies, students grapple with issues journalists may encounter, including privacy, anonymous sources and the pressure to be first. Through discussion and debate, students become more informed media consumers. |
Capacity: 36 students in the Learning Center or 110 in the Documentary Theater
Photo Ethics
| Is it ever OK to alter an image or publish photos of a dead body? Similar to the Media Ethics class, but with an emphasis on images, this lesson covers the power of photographs and the responsibilities of a photojournalist to be accurate, fair and clear. Real-life case studies help students tackle the decision-making process in deciding what's the right thing to do. Ethical dilemmas include digital manipulation, privacy and minimizing harm. |
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
You Can't Say That?!
| Is a racial slur protected speech or fighting words? Are flash mobs protected assembly or breach of peace? This lesson explores the exceptions (such as defamation, obscenity and breach of peace) and restrictions that govern freedom of expression as guaranteed in the First Amendment. In small groups, students debate case studies to determine when, where and why exceptions should or may apply. |
Headlines of History
Making a Change: The Civil Rights Movement and the First Amendment
| How did civil rights activists use their individual freedoms (speech, religion, assembly, petition) to demand change? How did Martin Luther King Jr. harness the power of the news media? Students learn about this important chapter in U.S. history and how the First Amendment was used as a vehicle for social change. A documentary based on primary sources looks at key dates in the movement and the press's role in covering the push for equality. |
Covering a Catastrophe
| Through the lens of the events of Sept. 11, 2001, students explore the unique practical and ethical challenges journalists face when covering catastrophic breaking news. Students begin by participating in a simulation that illustrates some of the difficulties of reporting on a developing crisis. They then learn the guiding principles for ethical journalism and examine how journalists applied these rules amidst the chaos and danger of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Real-life case studies prompt students to debate how they would react in similar challenging situations. |
