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Social media is part of our everyday lives. It provides entertainment, news, reference information, and so much more. However, not all the content we find on social media is accurate. In this activity, students will investigate the prevalence of misinformation on popular social media platforms. In their investigation, students examine how platforms’ biases and algorithms influence the type of content social media users see and the level of misinformation displayed.

Ever seen a face in the moon? Or a slice of toast? What about the front of a car (and not just the characters in the movie Cars)? If so, you’re in good company. Many people see faces in commonplace objects. After learning about face pareidolia, the phenomenon of seeing faces in everyday objects, students will collect images of faces they find in nature and inanimate objects and then poll classmates on the perceived gender of the faces. Students will compare their results to results from a study reported in Science News and then design their own follow-up research on face pareidolia.

In this guide, students will learn about psychological tools that are helping elite athletes in competitions and everyday life, analyze data visualizations and discuss how the psychological tools might be applied to students' own lives.

Students will discuss the uses of data visualizations, analyze visualizations from a Science News article, and think about how psychological tools used by elite athletes might benefit their own lives.

Students will answer questions about the online Science News article “How mindfulness-based training can give elite athletes a mental edge,” which explores new research into psychological tools to improve mental health. A version of the article, “Mental gymnastics,” appears in the January 29, 2022 issue of Science News.

In this guide, students will learn about scientific research into bias in sporting events that was made possible by the coronavirus pandemic. Then, students will define and discuss the role of questions in the scientific method before brainstorming a scientific question of their own.

Students will answer questions about the online Science News article “‘Ghost games’ spotlight the psychological effect fans have on referees,” which describes research into a phenomenon in sports known as home field advantage. A version of the story, “When fans are away, home teams lose their sway,” appears in the September 25, 2021 issue of Science News.

Students will discuss the definition and importance of scientific questions, explore questions that scientists were able to investigate because of the coronavirus pandemic and brainstorm their own scientific questions.

Students will answer questions based on the Science News article "Replication crisis spurs reforms."

Students will search the Science News archive for stories related to the powers and perils of smartphone use.

This guide reviews the Top 10 scientific discoveries from 2017, as reported by Science News, with a focus on key concepts covered across scientific disciplines.

These discussion prompts help students gain a better understanding of key vocabulary and concepts covered in the Top 10 articles of 2017.