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Lesson Plan
iCivics

NewsFeed Defenders Extension Pack

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Accuracy, transparency, trustworthiness, and impartiality are four unspoken rules of journalism. Scholars delve deep into the subject by discussing the pros and cons of relying on social media for news. They also play an online game to...
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Lesson Plan
2
2
Facing History and Ourselves

Citizen Watchdogs and the News

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
To conclude their case study of media coverage of the shooting of Michael Brown by a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer, class members consider the role of citizen watchdogs in a democratic society, develop strategies for combating...
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Lesson Plan
2
2
Common Sense Media

Talking Safely Online

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
What is the difference between online and real-life friendships? Pupils learn how to keep information private online and maintain their safety in various situations requiring online communication.
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Common Sense Media

Cyberbullying: Crossing the Line

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Teach pupils to identify different forms of cyberbullying, including harassment, deception, “flaming,” and threats to safety, as well as how to handle a situation in which cyberbullying might be involved.
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Lesson Plan
Common Sense Media

Trillion Dollar Footprint

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Learners explore their digital footprints, and discover how information they put online can easily be searched, copied, forwarded, and seen by a large audience.
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Lesson Plan
Common Sense Media

Which Me Should I Be?

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Impress upon learners the importance of considering how we identify ourselves online, and how this relates to overall considerations of safety and digital wellness.
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Lesson Plan
Visa

Privacy Please: Protecting Your Identity

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
What are the different ways we are susceptible to identity theft? Impress the importance of protecting personal information and privacy with this resource, which includes an excellent video clip, discussion prompts, and worksheets for...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hate 2.0

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Combat hate online by bringing it into the light. Begin by giving learners a quiz, then lead a discussion based on the issues the quiz brought up. As a class, develop strategies to confront online hate. Assign different venues to groups...
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Lesson Plan
Anti-Defamation League

Emojis and Me

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
A instructional activity features the work of O'Plérou Grebet, a graphic designer who created a collection of emojis to represent his life in West Africa. Scholars explore the history and purpose of emojis, then read and discuss an...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Anti-Defamation League

Building a Foundation for Safe and Kind Online Communication

For Teachers 2nd - 5th Standards
Put a spotlight on internet safety with a instructional activity designed to boost positive online communication. Scholars listen to the story, Yettele's Feathers by Joan Rothenberg, and answer questions. An emoji-themed handout...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Overcoming Obstacles

Good Citizenship

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
An individual's background and experiences affect their worldview and interaction. In this lesson, scholars draw a pair of glasses with pictures of experiences they've been through, relate the responsibility to social media and the...
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Lesson Plan
2
2
Common Sense Media

My Online Code

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Approach ethical online behavior with a series of activities geared toward teaching pupils about digital citizenship. After a brief discussion about ethics, small groups inspect a fictional social networking profile with ethics in mind....
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Activity
News Literacy Project

Critical Observation Challenge: Was Elsa Really Arrested?

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
A 14-slide presentation showcases a social media post featuring Disney's Elsa from the movie, Frozen. The seemingly harmless post received lots of attention, raising the question, how do we know posts are factual? Scholars go through...
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Lesson Plan
Teaching Tolerance

Social Media for Social Action

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Engage in activism, not slacktivism! Scholars discuss social media and the Internet as tools for social change. Next, they engage in a close reading strategy called Thinking Notes as they read an article about social media activism.
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Lesson Plan
Teaching Tolerance

Digital Activism Remixed: Hashtags for Voice, Visibility and Visions of Social Justice

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
It's time to discover hashtag activism! Using an engaging resource, learners explore viral hashtag campaigns relating to diversity, identity, and justice. Next, they either design their own hashtag campaigns or respond to existing ones.
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Interactive
News Literacy Project

Should You Share It?

For Students 7th - 12th
Sharing isn't always caring. Scholars learn how to reduce the spread of misinformation on the Internet. They take an online quiz of example posts targeted to a specific audience. Using critical thinking skills, they see if they can tell...
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Interactive
News Literacy Project

Fighting Falsehoods on Social Media

For Students 7th - 12th
It's time to stop misinformation in its tracks. Scholars take an online quiz to see how well they understand social media platforms' policies on spreading false information. After taking the quiz, pupils receive a score with an...
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Lesson Plan
Teaching Tolerance

Digital Tools as a Mechanism for Active Citizenship

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How is technology a useful tool for active citizenship? Pupils assume the role of technology consultants reviewing citizenship projects. Small groups collaborate to make recommendations about how to incorporate technology to improve...
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Lesson Plan
Teaching Tolerance

You Are the Product

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
What does it mean for a product or service to go viral? Scholars explore the topic by reading an article about the economics of social media. After reading, they complete a 3-2-1 data chart with information they learned from the text and...
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Handout
ProCon

Social Media

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter—are they good for society? Pupils prepare for a class debate in which they voice their opinions on the issue. They read the main pro and con arguments, explore others' opinions, view videos, and discover the...
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Assessment
Fluence Learning

Writing an Argument: Is Electronic Communication Helpful or Harmful?

For Students 7th Standards
Technology has undoubtedly improved the lives of people around the world—but has it improved communication? Seventh graders read two informative passages about the rise of texting and emailing versus in-person conversations before...
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Activity
1
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Google

Online Safety Roadshow Activity

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
What does it mean to have digital citizenship? A set of lessons teach middle schoolers how to be safe and productive online. From sharing posts to creating secure passwords, learners discuss the importance of remaining diligent—and...
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Handout
University of South Carolina

Cyber-Bullying: What Parents Should Know

For Teachers 6th - 12th
With today's enthusiastic use of technology, cyberbullying is more prevalent now than ever. Help families keep on the lookout for signs of cyberbullying and gain insight into how to prevent it with an informative document that spans over...
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Lesson Plan
2
2
PBS

Interviewing: The Art of Asking Questions

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Interviewing skills are important, even outside of a news reporter's desk or employer's office. Take your class through the process of interviewing people they don't know with a set of case studies featuring journalists and various...