Understanding the REACTS taxonomy in school media and its six cognitive processes: recall, explain, analyze, change, transform, and synthesize.

Outline for the article

• Hooked on media literacy? REACTS as a six-move ladder for students.

• What REACTS means: six cognitive processes (Recall, Explain, Analyze, Change, Transform, Synthesize) and how they fit together.

• Why this matters in school media: building information literacy, critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration.

• Six moves in action: quick, tangible classroom prompts for each stage.

• Real-world hooks and tools: from newsroom-style tasks to digital collaboration with familiar platforms (Google Docs, Canva, Padlet).

• Common misperceptions and how to avoid them.

• A holistic view: weaving REACTS into media experiences across subjects.

• Quick recap and a friendly nudge to start experimenting with these moves.

REACTS in school media: six moves that matter

What’s the REACTS taxonomy, and why should you care? Think of it as a compact toolkit for guiding students through media information—from first sparks of memory to the moment students create something new from what they’ve learned. The core idea is simple: students engage with media at multiple cognitive levels, not just recall or repeat. The REACTS framework covers six interconnected processes:

• Recall

• Explain

• Analyze

• Change

• Transform

• Synthesize

If you’re picturing a ladder, REACTS helps students climb step by step—from remembering a fact to weaving together ideas into something original. And yes, the order isn’t a rigid ladder you must climb one rung at a time. Some tasks bounce back and forth between steps, which is exactly how real-world media work often feels.

Let me explain each move, so you can picture how they fit into everyday learning:

• Recall: The foundation. Students pull the basics from memory—dates, definitions, key terms, who, what, where, when. This isn’t about memorizing for its own sake; it’s the entry ticket to deeper work. Without a solid recall, the rest of the journey loses traction.

• Explain: Students articulate meaning in their own words. Why did this source present information in a certain way? How does the author’s purpose shape the message? The goal is clarity, not jargon. Encourage students to paraphrase and to connect ideas to real-life contexts.

• Analyze: Here’s where critical thinking shows up. Students examine the evidence, identify biases, assess reliability, and question sources. They weigh strengths and weaknesses, look for gaps, and compare viewpoints.

• Change: Creative thinking takes center stage. Students begin to alter parts of the information or presentation to address a new audience or a different problem. This could mean reframing a topic, updating a statistic, or modifying a message to be more inclusive.

• Transform: This is the leap from tweaking to reimagining. Students produce something that shifts the original material into a new form or purpose—like turning a report into a short video, a podcast series, or an interactive infographic.

• Synthesize: The capstone move. Students bring together diverse sources, perspectives, and data to form a coherent, well-supported conclusion or new understanding. Synthesis often looks like a polished, original artifact that reflects multiple angles.

Why the six moves matter in school media

Media isn’t just something students consume; it’s a terrain they navigate. The REACTS ladder helps learners build information literacy in a way that mirrors real life: you remember key facts, you explain them to someone else, you test ideas against other evidence, you adapt, you reimagine, and you draw connections that feel bigger than a single source.

This approach also aligns with how students actually learn in mixed-age classrooms and across subjects—from social studies to science to language arts. When you design tasks with REACTS in mind, you’re not just teaching a skill. You’re shaping a mindset: curiosity plus disciplined thinking, plus a willingness to revise ideas in light of new information. In a media-saturated world, that combo is priceless.

Bringing REACTS to life: practical prompts that you can try

Let’s translate those six moves into classroom-ready prompts and activities. The aim is to keep things approachable, concrete, and adaptable, so you can tailor them to your students and your school’s media landscape.

• Recall

• Prompt: “Name three facts you remember from yesterday’s article. Who is this about, what happened, and when did it occur?”

• Tip: Use quick-fire quizzes or flashcard-like quick writes to lower the barrier to recall. A short exit ticket works wonders here.

• Explain

• Prompt: “Explain in your own words why the author chose a particular image or headline. What message does it send, and who might it resonate with?”

• Tip: Encourage student-friendly language and avoid just parroting the original text. Emphasize meaning over memorization.

• Analyze

• Prompt: “Pick one source and evaluate its credibility. What evidence is offered? What might be missing? Are there potential biases at play?”

• Tip: Provide a simple credibility checklist (author credibility, evidence quality, publication context, date). Keep it light but meaningful.

• Change

• Prompt: “If you were updating this piece for a different audience (e.g., younger students, a community group, or a multilingual audience), what changes would you make to tone, visuals, or structure?”

• Tip: Frame it as a design decision, not censorship. Focus on accessibility and relevance.

• Transform

• Prompt: “Turn the core idea into a new format—news brief, infographic, or short podcast. How does the message shift when the format changes?”

• Tip: Let students pick formats they enjoy; give a quick rubric that values clarity and audience awareness.

• Synthesize

• Prompt: “Combine insights from at least three sources to craft a balanced take. What conclusions can you draw, and what questions remain?”

• Tip: A short synthesis paragraph works, followed by a visual organizer that shows sources and perspectives.

A few real-world angles and tools to support REACTS

You don’t have to reinvent the wheel to make REACTS work. Tap into familiar tools and practices to keep things practical and engaging:

• Digital collaboration: Google Docs for shared notes, Canva for clean visuals, Padlet for quick, interactive idea boards. Students can draft, revise, and present in collaborative spaces, which reinforces synthesis and transformation.

• News literacy and media literacy resources: Leverage reputable guides from organizations like the News Literacy Project or Common Sense Education. They offer clear frameworks and classroom-ready activities that map well onto REACTS moves.

• Classroom routines: Short “REACTS checks” at the end of a lesson—three minutes of recall, one minute to explain, a quick analytic question, and a final synthesis prompt. Short, repeatable rituals build fluency over time.

• Cross-curricular links: Tie REACTS to science experiments, historical investigations, or language arts analysis. For example, analyze a public health infographic in science, then transform it into a student-friendly mini-presentation in language arts.

A few caveats (to keep things grounded)

No framework is perfect in every situation, and REACTS isn’t a magical fix. A few practical caveats help keep implementation smooth:

• Start small. Pick one or two moves to emphasize first, then layer in more as students gain confidence. It’s better to build depth gradually than to overwhelm with too many tasks.

• Balance is key. Some days lean more toward recall and explain; other days lean toward analysis and synthesis. Variety keeps engagement high without burning out cognitive load.

• Accessibility matters. Provide alternative ways to demonstrate each move. For instance, a student might prefer a voice recording for explain or a storyboard for transformation.

• Context matters. The same task can feel very different depending on the topic, the audience, and the media involved. Adapt prompts to fit real classroom dynamics and student interests.

Misperceptions and how to address them

As with any framework, people sometimes stumble over a few myths. Here are quick clarifications:

• Myth: REACTS is just about “critical thinking.” Reality: It blends memory, reasoning, creativity, and synthesis. Each move supports a different facet of learning, and together they create a full-picture approach.

• Myth: You must do every move with every task. Reality: Use a mix of moves across units. Some tasks might land mostly on recall and explain, while others spark transformation and synthesis.

• Myth: It’s only for high-level students. Reality: With clear scaffolds, students at all levels can participate and grow. Start with guided prompts and gradually release more independence.

A holistic approach: weaving REACTS through the year

In practice, REACTS isn’t a one-off set of activities; it’s a throughline that can connect multiple subjects and media experiences. Imagine a semester where:

• Students begin with recall and explain to build a shared vocabulary about media concepts.

• They move into analysis as they compare sources across genres—print, video, social media—learning to weigh evidence from diverse channels.

• Change and transform become opportunities to reframe a topic for different audiences or purposes, using a range of formats—from interactive posters to short videos.

• Synthesis serves as the capstone, guiding students to craft integrated arguments or creative productions that reflect multiple perspectives.

By weaving these moves into daily routines, you create a classroom culture where media work feels like meaningful problem-solving rather than a series of isolated tasks. And that sense of purpose matters—students stay curious longer when they see how their work connects to real-world conversations and communities.

A concise takeaway

REACTS is a six-move framework—Recall, Explain, Analyze, Change, Transform, Synthesize—that guides learners through a spectrum of cognitive engagements with media. It’s not about ticking boxes; it’s about cultivating a flexible, resilient approach to information. When you design activities with these moves in mind, you empower students to access, interrogate, reinterpret, and innovate with the media that surrounds them every day.

If you’re looking for a friendly starting point, try pairing a familiar article or video with a simple REACTS set of tasks. Have students recall the basics, explain the message in their own words, analyze the evidence, brainstorm a change for a new audience, transform the piece into a different format, and finally synthesize a concise, thoughtful conclusion that honors multiple viewpoints. The result is a learning experience that feels purposeful, practical, and just the right amount of challenging.

Curious about where to go from here? Peer discussions can be a goldmine. Invite students to share their transformation outputs and syntheses in a gallery walk or a quick critique session. Not only does that deepen understanding, it also helps students hear how others frame similar topics, which in turn strengthens their own reasoning and communication skills.

In the end, REACTS is less about a rigid checklist and more about a way of engaging with media that mirrors how we actually think and talk. It’s a flexible, human approach to learning that respects memory, curiosity, and creativity—and that’s a combination worth cultivating in any classroom. Give it a try, and you might just see students move through media tasks with a little more confidence, clarity, and collaboration than you expected.