Lesson Plan - Literary Studies 10

​How does it relate to BC curriculum? Critical and reflective thinking

 

Big Idea-Questioning what we hear, read, and view contributes to our ability to be educated and engaged citizens.

 

Supplies required- Access to WiFi and viewing capability

 

Length of lesson-30 - 45 minutes

 

Topic-Fake news

 

Concepts- technology, fake news, deepfake

 

What do I want students to learn?- What is fake news, why is it produced, what might make someone believe it, and what are the consequences (potential and real) of sharing or liking it.  

 

Check for prior knowledge- (10 min.)-How many of you have heard of the term fake news? Raise your hands. How can you tell if something you read online is true?

 

Introduction and video- (5 min.) Today we're going to have an introduction to fake news. We'll find out what fake news is, why it is created, and how you can guard against being misled by it. By the end of this class you will be able to think more critically about what you see online before you believe it and share it. 

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Group work- (30 min.) Have the students get into pairs. Ask the groups to find a potential fake news report on their devices and record how they identified it was fake. What might the consequences of sharing, or liking a fake news story be?  Request volunteers to share with the class and discuss.

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Below are potential answers for identification and consequences of sharing/liking. They can also be used to cue discussion. Potential (but not exhaustive) answers may be:

 

Identification of fake news (Cornell University Library, n.d. & Kapersky, n.d.):

•  URLS: If they end with l-o or .com.co, or uncommon endings they are probably not genuine news sites. 

• Layout: Check for grammar, old or incorrect dates, outrageous claims with no proof or backup sources, and sensational images. 

• Author and sponsors: Who wrote the piece and who sponsors or benefits from the site. If this information is not provided or you need to give your personal info to get it, then wonder why. 

• Fact check: Check whether other genuine news outlets are reporting similar stories. 

• Try a reverse Image search. If the same picture appears in unrelated stories,  you may have a reason to be suspicious.

• Be critical: Most fake news stories are designed to cause emotion, like anger or fear. Think about why this story is being posted. Is it propaganda or misinformation? Was it jokingly posted or making fun of a real news story (not fake news)?

• Be aware of your own biases. Do you believe the story because aligns with what you already believe? Do you not believe the story because you don't like what it's saying?

• Would you believe the story that your friend shared because you trust your friend, instead of checking for yourself?

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Consequences of liking or sharing fake news:

• The story may show up on your other contacts feeds saying you liked it, which may cause them to like or share it.

• The more comments, and likes a posting gets, the higher up in rankings it may go and then be pushed by algorithms onto more feeds, exposing more people to the fake news.

• Fake news sites get paid from their ad platforms.

• It is getting harder to know what is real and what is political propaganda, or conspiracy theories.  

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How to spot deepfakes (Norton, n.d.) :

• Videos where the image doesn't seem right when the video is slowed down.  Zoom in on the mouth to see if the mouth movements match the words. Are there shadows that don't make sense? Does the person have very little facial expression? AI technology is getting better quickly and slowing down the video may or may not be helpful.

 

 

References

 

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Cornell University (n.d.).  Fake news, propaganda, and disinformation: Learning to critically evaluate media sources: Recognizing fake news. https://guides.library.cornell.edu/evaluate_news/recognizing

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Cyberwise (2019, August 10). What is fake news? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4o0B6IDo50&t=2s

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Government of BC (n.d.). BC's curriculum. https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/

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Kapersky (n.d.). How to spot fake news. https://www.kaspersky.com/resource-center/preemptive-safety/how-to-identify-fake-news

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Norton (n.d.). How to spot deepfake videos :15 signs to watch for. https://us.norton.com/internetsecurity-emerging-threats-how-to-spot-deepfakes.html

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Reference. (2020, March 24). What are some examples of personal biases? https://www.reference.com/world-view/examples-personal-biases-a54b58cca11f2b82

 

Additional Lesson Planning Resources

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Strategies for effective lesson planning-

https://crlt.umich.edu/gsis/p2_5

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Digital citizenship lesson plans that you can take home today and use tomorrow-

https://www.commonsense.org/education/

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UBC lesson plan guides for elementary and middle years-

https://guides.library.ubc.ca/lessonplanselementary

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What can I contribute to meaningful reconciliation? A unit for grade 6 students

https://tc2.ca/uploads/PDFs/reconciliation/meaningful_reconciliation.pdf

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