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UNIT PLAN

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This social media unit is set to take place over a four week period.  Students will combine skills from Social Studies, Language Arts and Health & Life Skills to deepen their understanding of social media and the effects it has on them as individuals and society. Students will begin to think critically about whether or not social media is a viable substitute or replacement for other forms of communication. 

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Enduring Understandings:

Language Arts: Students will understand the ways in which images and language may be used to convey ideas, values and beliefs. 

Social Studies: Students will understand how identity and self-esteem are shaped by multiple personal, social, linguistic and cultural factors

Health and Well-being: Developing self-awareness and healthy habits of social media use.

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Differentiation:

  • The final assignment of this unit incorporates various forms of multi-modal literacy (visual, collaborative, online, written) and appeals to a wide variety of learners.

  • Students will have a variety of means at their disposal to present their final projects in different formats.

  • Students with lower benchmark proficiency levels have the opportunity to speak through the visuals that they present and both the student and teacher can work with translation technologies to describe the rationale for their photos. Additional assistive technologies will also be available, including speech to text, audio support, closed captioning for videos etc.  

  • Students will also have the opportunity to explore the different facets of their various identities in relation to how they interact with other individuals and communities on social media platforms.  Self-reflection and the reflective journals will allow for students to deeply explore their learning during the unit.  Reflective journals do not have to be written, stuents will be encouraged to draw, add pictures, quotes etc. to represent their thinking.

  • By exploring a variety of concepts and subject matter students will be able to customize their own learning including themes about privacy, gender, culture, social justice, advocacy, health and wellness.

  • Teachers will provide formative feedback and check-in sessions to ensure unit concepts are understood and on track. This formative check in time will also allow for teachers to assess individual learning needs and aide in the scaffolding of information and successful task completion.

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Technology:

  • Teachers are encouraged to use technology, online and digital learning in a way that promotes critical thinking and information management strategies. (Alberta Learning and Technology Policy Framework, 2013, p. 2). The use of technology during the unit is meant to encourage students to evaluate and interpret information effectively and ethically.

  • Students will have the opportunity to create their final assessment using any social media platform that they choose.  This will be monitored by the teacher and parents/guardians will also be involved.

  • Students will be exploring technology and its effects throughout the unit. Internet research will be used to compile images for the purposes of their "Insta vs. Finsta" project.

  • Additionally, we will be using YouTube and other clips to represent various themes and concepts. 

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Weekly Themes, Goals and Activities
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Week #1

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The first week of the unit is about how social media affects happiness.  Much of the focus will be on safe and negative practices and how this can affect people and their mental health. Also, the intention is to introduce the students to the guidelines that we have as a class surrounding social media and its appropriate use.  A parent letter will be sent out prior to the unit beginning as it is important for us as teachers to lay some ground work before diving to deeply into a potentially controversial topic.

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Guiding Questions for the Week

  1. What do you like most about social media?

  2. What makes you nervous about using social media outlets?

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Lesson Highlights (Social Studies and Health & Life Skills)

  • Hook Lesson: Drawing students into the topic with an interactive video about the connections between happiness and social media use

  • Privacy on social media: Information session with the Calgary Police Service regarding MediaSmarts and social media safety

  • Gender stereotyping on social media, discussion about appropriate vs. inappropriate language and image sharing as well as issues about consent.

  • Analysis of existing "influencer" profiles, what makes them good/bad?

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Weekly Activities

  • Outline of final summative task, "Insta vs. Finsta"

  • Image selection for final project (4 total) - relevant to themes of the week. Students will respond critically as to why they selected each image.

  • Earlier in the week, students will gather in small groups to come up with three to four relevant questions in advance of the Calgary Police Services visit. (Social Studies and Health & Life Skills)

  • Before starting their individual journal entries, students will be placed into small groups and provided the reflection question to discuss for 15 minutes before meeting as a whole to share their thoughts with the rest of the class. (English Language Arts)

  • Reflection Journal: 

    • Wednesday (mid-week) - Responding to the CPS information session, what was your biggest takeaway from the discussion? Is privacy and internet safety important to you? Why?

    • Friday (end of week) - Responding to "influencer" profiles, do you think this is a real persona? Do you think these people are happy? What do you think makes these people so popular?

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Week #2

The second week of the unit is all about the health effects of social media use.  The health effects are physical, mental and emotional.  Students will analyze how various unhealthy/healthy habits contribute to our overall happiness.

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Guiding Questions for the Week​

  1. What are the health effects of social media use?

  2. Do you have healthy or unhealthy social media use practices?

  3. What are some positive and negative situations about social media can affect out health and happiness?

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Lesson Highlights (Health & Life Skills)

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Weekly Activities

  • Image selection (4) continues for the "Insta vs. Finsta" project, students will connect with their teacher this week to ensure that progress has begun and students have a clear understanding of expectations

  • Small group discussions will follow the same format as the previous week before students write their personal journal entry reflections. Students will be encouraged to draw links between personal topics and those already already discussed, when pertinent. 

  • Reflection Journal:

    • Wednesday (mid-week)​ - Responding to personal social media habits, do you have healthy or unhealthy habits? Why?

    • Friday (end of week) - Has social media ever affected your feelings, positively or negatively? Choose one situation and analyze why/how your were affected.

  • Work period: students will have a full work period this week to formulate their ideas about their journals and "Insta vs. Finsta" project.  Students will take this time to connect with peers or the teacher about their progress.​ 

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Week #3

Week three begins with a closer look at the evolution of social media and subsequently what we can do with it in terms of advocacy and finding a voice and representing oneself.  

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Guiding Questions for the Week

  1. How has social media changed in our lifetimes? Do you consider the changes/evolution positive or negative?

  2. Where does my identity fit? How can I express myself in a way that authentic represents who I am?

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Lesson Highlights (Social Studies)

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Weekly Activities

  • Image selection for "Insta vs. Finsta" - 4 images with critical analysis

  • Applying the knowledge gained over this week's lessons, students will get into small groups and decide which areas of interest, and any relevant questions, should be brought to the attention of this week's guest speaker and social media expert.

  • Small group discussions will follow the same format as the previous weeks before students write their personal journal entry reflections. As before, students will be encouraged to draw links between personal topics and those already already discussed, when pertinent. 

  • Reflection Journal:

    • Wednesday (mid-week) - Has social media changed since you started using it? Has it changed your perspective on social media and its use?

    • Friday (end of week) - Who am I on social media? What am I presenting to the online world?  

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Week #4

The last week of this unit is built to provide students with adequate working and analysis time for their "Insta vs. Finsta" project which will be presented during the showcase at the end of this week.  Additionally, students will participate in teacher and peer feedback loops to gain a deeper understanding of social media and its affects on their own happiness.

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Guiding Questions for the Week

  1. What is the relationship between materialism, consumer culture and social media?

  2. How has my perspective about social media changed (if at all) since the start of this unit? 

 

Lesson Highlights (Social Studies)

  • Discussion about how social media effects our consumer habits - have you ever wanted to buy something because it showed up on your social media sites? Have you ever followed through? Why?

  • Peer feedback loops surrounding the final project. 

  • Teacher feedback sessions

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Activities

  • "Insta vs. Finsta" project showcase

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EDUC 520  

Interdisciplinary Learning

Fall 2019

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