Ninth Grade

What You Send In "That Moment When ... "

How can we act with empathy and positivity when we're online?

We've all faced thorny situations where what we say or do could potentially harm or hurt someone. Being honest is important, but is there such a thing as being too honest? Sometimes, innocent -- but insensitive -- comments can easily escalate to digital drama or even cyberbullying. Help students recognize and navigate these types of situations that happen online.

Grade 9 - What You Send In "That Moment When ... " - Lesson Slides

Lesson Objectives

Students will be able to ...

Identify examples of online behaviors that may hurt, embarrass, or offend others.
Analyze thorny situations online and ways to respond to counter the harm they can cause.
Create a public service announcement script to raise awareness about navigating thorny situations.

Key Vocabulary

thorny situation

a situation where there is no clear cut way to respond, and where there is potential for people's feelings to be hurt

Alignment with Standards

CASEL

1a,1b,2a,2c,3a,3b,4a,4b,4c,4d,5a,5b,5c,5f

AASL

I.A.2,I.B.1,I.B.3,I.C.1,I.C.4,I.D.1,I.D.2,I.D.3,II.A.1,II.B.1,II.B.2,II.B.3,II.C.1,II.C.2,II.D.1,II.D.2,II.D.3,III.A.1,III.A.2,III.A.3,III.B.1,III.B.2,III.C.2,III.D.1,IV.A.1,IV.A.2,IV.A.3,IV.B.1,IV.B.2,IV.B.4,IV.D.2,V.A.1,V.A.3,V.B.2,V.C.3,VI.A.1,VI.A.2,VI.D.1,VI.D.2

ISTE

1d,2b,3a,3b,3d,4a,4b,6a,6b,6c,6d,7a,7b,7c,7d

Expand each aspect of the lesson below for detailed instructions.

This lesson will likely fill two class periods.

Consider: What We Intend

Before the lesson: This lesson involves students choosing from a list of online resources, which they will use to explore and analyze the lesson topic. Use the Resource Notes on the Teacher Version of the student handout to review the resources beforehand. You may want to suggest particular resources over others for particular students, or you may want to watch a resource together as a class. You will also need to confirm that all resources are accessible and not blocked by your school or district's filter.

1. Say: Imagine a good friend of yours posts a selfie on social media, and he's got a brand-new look that you're just not loving. How do you respond? Would you "like" the post anyway? Would you ignore it? Would you make fun of him?

Invite students to respond and explain what they would do and why. For those who say they'd ignore it, follow up by asking: What if he asked you your opinion directly? How honest would you be?

2. Explain that this is an example of a thorny situation, which is a situation where there is no clear-cut way to respond, and where there is potential for someone's feelings to be hurt. (Slide 4) This type of situation is not uncommon online. And it can be tough to know what to do. How you respond can affect both someone else's feelings and what people think about you.

3. Tell students they are going to watch a short video that shows an example of a thorny situation. Show the video "The Accidental Bully - a public service announcement about cyber bullying" and have students consider the discussion question "What makes this a thorny situation?" as they watch. (Slide 5)

4. Invite students to share out their responses to the question. Explain that it was thorny because Vicky's actions had the potential to hurt Jacob's feelings (which is what ended up happening). Even though Vicky may not have intended to hurt Jacob when she shared his note with a friend, she (and others) did end up causing him a lot of embarrassment and pain, enough that he transferred schools.

Explore: Thorny Situations Online

1. Tell students they will now explore some resources on their own, which show thorny situations online and potential strategies for navigating them.

Distribute the Thorny Situations Online Student Handout and read the directions aloud. (Slide 6)

2. Allow students 15 minutes to work in pairs or small groups to complete Part 1.

3. Invite students to share out some of the key points of the resources and clarify any questions about the resources they viewed. (Slide 7) Use the Teacher Version to help guide discussion. Highlight any specific takeaways that you want students to capture, and allow them a couple of minutes to add to their notes.

Create: PSA Script

1. Direct students' attention to Part 2 of the Thorny Situations Online Student Handout and read the directions aloud. (Slide 8)

If time allows, show students examples of PSAs from the "Government: Public Service Announcement Examples" YouTube Channel. (Slide 9)

2. Allow students 10 minutes to brainstorm and draft their PSA scripts.

3. Have students complete the Lesson Quiz. Send home the Family Activity and Family Tips.

Extension Activity:

In the "Create" activity, students wrote PSA scripts about the issue of navigating thorny situations. As an extension, have students record their scripts using their phone or classroom device. You can use Flipgrid or another video discussion app to have students share and respond to each others' PSAs. Students can also share their PSAs on social media, including YouTube or another video-sharing app.