This Lens In Action: Mini-lessons to Try Tomorrow!

Chapter 4: [GRADES 9-12]

Line-Ups: This activity is designed for use with all of the unit plans found in chapters 8-10. However, they can also be used with any source material you select. Note: while suspect cards were designed for easy printing, screenshots of individual images may also facilitate digital line ups.

Provide Digital Detectives with a list of suspects who may be responsible for creating false information.
Then have them select one suspect from the “line-up” who they feel is most likely responsible, using what they know about suspect types to support their answers.

Heads Up Game – *Version 2: This activity is designed to help students become more familiar with specific suspects, their motivations, tools and how they win or lose at the false information game.

*Another version of this game can be found in the mini-lessons designed for grades 4-5

This activity is modeled after the popular game “Heads Up” and is designed for use with the Digital Detectives suspect cards.

Each Digital Detective is given a suspect card WITHOUT the information details included on the back.
Set a timer for five minutes.
When the time starts, Digital Detectives move about the room giving each other clues with the goal being to try to figure out their own suspect/card.
In this version, students need to rely on their knowledge of the suspects, rather than the information cards.
If a Digital Detective guesses their own card correctly, they put theirs back in the deck and retrieve another.
When the five minutes is up, the round is over. The Digital Detective who identified the most suspect cards correctly wins.
Repeat as many rounds as are desired.

Mis Dis or Mal Information – Matching Game: This activity is designed to help students think about which suspects are most likely to spread specific types of false content.

Students will need some familiarity with mis, dis and mal information prior to playing this game. Note: there are two optional questions for reflection at the end.

Honest Social Media Profiles – This activity is designed to help students to:
- think about the ways in which social media profiles can be manipulated to hide true motives
- synthethize what they’ve learned about specific suspects

Assign each student a specific suspect.
Use the blank Honest Social Media Profile to have Digital Detectives create an HONEST social media profile for that suspect that reveals their goals, motives and tactices.
This version may be used to provide Digital Detectives with specific directions.

POTENTIAL COLLABORATION: This work may support ELA standards related to characterization. This activity may also be used to reinforce those skills.

Finish The Comic #1 – by Jarrett Lerner! Use this activity to help Digital Detectives reflect on what to do when they are the source if misinformation.
[INFOGRAPHIC] What To Do When YOU Are The Source of Misinformation
- PDF
- PNG

Using the infographic What To Do When YOU Are the Source of Misinformation (above), have students complete the comic by illustrating the BEST way to respond in a situation where they discover that they’ve unintentionally posted information that turned out to be false, misleading and/or harmful.
As a scaffold, it may also be helpful to review the definitions of mis- and disinformation. Understanding the difference between mis- and dis- information can also be useful in helping kids understand why being thoughtful when correcting errors online is an important part of being a positive and productive member of the digital communities to which they belong. MISinformation refers to the UNINTENTIONAL spread of false content. As the prefix mis implies, the intent here is never to cause harm. Rather, spreaders of MISinformation have good intentions but have made a mistake. However, once we know that what we’ve shared is inaccurate or harmful, our post becomes DISinformation, because we’re aware of the potential harm our post could cause.