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Unit Overview

Students will collaborate within teams using research strategies to create a final product. This topic has a real world connection within current events and age relevant issues. The product will inform others of the pros and/or cons of social media as related to middle school age students. 

Student Product, Process or Action

Suggested final products:

·      Team presentations ( Google Apps Digital Toolbox) to class

·      Class debate about merits of social media (involve Enrichment Specialist for guidance or for presentation)

·     Educational presentation for parents about social media and middle school students and about developing guidelines for allowing middle school students to use social media

Driving Question

How is social media beneficial or harmful to middle school age students?

Standards

• LAB21.6.30- Interpret and Communicate Information from STEM

• LAB21.6.30.04 - Evaluate and integrate multiple sources of information (e.g.: quantitative data, video and multimedia) presented in diverse formats

• LAB21.6.30.06 - Communicate effectively and precisely with others

• LAB21.6.40 - Engage in Inquiry

• LAB21.6.40.01 - Ask relevant questions, gather appropriate information, refine the

• question, and develop new questions

• LAB21.6.50 - Engage in Logical Reasoning

• LAB21.6.50.01 - Engage in critical thinking

• LAB21.6.50.04 - Analyze the impact of global issues and problems at the local, state, national, and international levels

• LAB21.6.60 - Collaborate as a STEM Team

• LAB21.6.60.01 - Incorporate the skills of team members

• LAB21.6.60.03 - Share ideas and work effectively with the STEM team to achieve a common goal

• LAB21.6.60.04 - Listen and be receptive to ideas of others

• LAB21.6.70 - Apply Technology Strategically

• LAB21.6.70.02 - Analyze the limits and impacts of technology

• LAB21.6.70.03 - Engage in responsible/ethical use of technology

Need to Know List and Lesson Seeds

Need to Knows

• Generate a list of questions students will need to know to answer the driving question. (This list will be developed by students in class but a teacher developed list will provide lesson seeds)  These questions will become part of the student's authentic research.

• What is social media?-define.

  • What do we already know about the pros and cons?

  • Who is in control of kids’ access to social media (parents, kids, school, government)?

  • What is the truth about specific apps/sites?

Lesson Seeds

• Define social media: provide examples

• Pros and Cons of Social Media: Teach note-taking skills and using the school network and internet

• Research Techniques: Teach website evaluation & reliability, collaborative practices, consensus building techniques, and supporting conclusions within research

• Communication Techniques: Technology tutorials are helpful based on the tools you select in your classroom for student use.

Content Vocabulary

Students should take the time to learn content vocabulary and make it a practice of using the language of the unit within classroom discussions both whole and small group.

• selfie

• social media

• cyberbullying

• digital footprint

• trolling

Unit Plan and Pacing

Unit Entry Events

Entry events are meant to spark interest and curiosity.  They are a great way to generate a high level of discussion in the classroom. Start out the unit with some of the resources and tools below.

• Video clips introducing social media. (Can be found in the Resources section)

• 30 Cartoon images related to social media-  Select a few they feel are appropriate for thier classroom.

• Are Selfies Good or Bad for Our Self Esteem? After reading this current event article, ask kids if they agree or disagree with what they read and defend their thoughts with evidence from the article.

Daily Pacing

Day 1-3 Introduction

Day 1 – Start the unit with an Entry Event. As a class, generate some possible questions surrounding the topic of social media and its use among middle school youth.  Move toward the Driving Question (Is Social Media Harmful or Helpful/beneficial to children your age?), Form teams which will become a research group.

Day 2 – Brainstorm need to know, writing questions: Today, students should collaborate and generate as many questions surrounding the topic of social media.  They can and should list any questions they think of without discussion or judgement.  This could become a timed activity (8 mins.) with the challenge of getting the most questions recorded for teams.  This would be a natural place to begin introducing content vocabulary for the unit.  Students then should take time to prioritize their questions from most to least important and create a new list.  This skill teaches students how to think about what is really important as related to their topics.  At this point, small and whole group classroom discussions should occur. This provides plenty of opportunity for students to hear other's thoughts and ideas while validating whether or not their questions are worth pursuing.  This will also set students up for day 3.

Day 3 – Editing questions, identifying resources: On day 2, students had the chance to generate and prioritize questions surrounding the topic of social media.  Today, students should spend time in their research group editing and refining questions that can be used for research.  This takes some practice.  Time should be made by the instructor to meet with all groups to discuss initial questions and edited versions.  This will provide evidence that students are thinking critically and making progress toward the understanding they are researching topics that will fall underneath and help to answer the Driving Question for the unit.

Day 4-7 Develop research questions and research

Day 4 – Create graphic organizer for simple questions, identify forward steps: Organizing question both priority and supporting questions is an important skill for students to learn.  This helps students see that all questions do not need to be researched.  Some questions can/will be answered by locating information that answers a priority question. 

Day 5-  Research background questions: Today, student research groups will being locating information related to the priority questions they have identified.  A mini-lesson should be provided for students to identify where they can/will locate credible information to support their research.

Day 6 – Research complex questions: Teach students ways to research questions.  Use your media specialist to support you and your students.  This is a great opportunity to make use of professional collaborative practices that become meaningful for students and teachers alike.

Day 7 – Continue research

Day 8 Presentation Preparation

Day 8 – Complete graphic organizer and rough draft (scripts, storyboards, etc.)  Presentation are not just put together without first having a plan in place.  Much like a speech, presentations have a natural flow from topic introduction, questions with evidence, support, and examples, and finally closure with a possible call to action. Work with student groups to create graphic organizers either on paper or digitally.  Discuss how scripts and images relate to one another to make presentations powerful, informative, and persuasive in nature. This will most likely take both students and teachers longer than one day to complete.  Days 9-11 allow students to work toward the goal of creating their final product while having time to meet with teachers having personalized and meaningful feedback provided.

Day 9-11 – Final product & presentation prep

Day 9-11 – Create final product; peer edit when appropriate, practice

Day 12+ - Presentations and feedback (time will depend on number of projects) Reflection

Day 12+ - Presentations, peer feedback, self reflection

Enrichments

• Increase complexity of driving question by modifying depth of questions or including counter point of view

• Increase complexity of final product by adding additional technology choices (i.e. adding google apps, extensions, and add-ons)

End of Unit 1 Breakout EDU

Get students EXCITED!  They love a good challenge and this is exactly what they will get!  Discuss that students will be monitored during breakouts for strategy use, perseverance, and timeliness as they work.  This is meant to be a fun and engaging way for students to learn and/or review content.  Two students will be selected to attend the Tech Fair Breakout Competition; one from Lab 21 and one from FACS.  

INTRO BREAKOUT (Breakouts can be found here.) A similar one will be used for the Tech Fair Competition.

• • Answers for TEACHERS EYES Only!!!

Resources

• Resources - This document links you to lesson starters, digital citizenship tools, and student research links.

• ource PageCourse Resource Page

Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

I. Provide Multiple Means of Representation

Use brainstorming and collaboration to clarify vocabulary (2.1, 2.2, 2.4, 3.1)

Synthesis through graphic organizers and rough drafts (3.2, 3.3, 3.4)

Student choice for final product (2.5)

II. Provide Multiple Means for Action and Expression

Provide technologies for research, collaboration and product (4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 5.2)

Use graphic organizers for synthesis (6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4)

III. Provide Multiple Means for Engagement

Engage students through entry events, relevant driving questions, student choice final product and authentic audience (7.1, 7.2, 8.1, 8.2)

Foster collaboration and community through team work and peer feedback (8.3, 8.4)

Increase mastery-oriented feedback (8.4)

Promote expectations and beliefs that optimize motivation (9.1)

Facilitate personal coping skills and strategies (9.2)

Transdisciplinary Connections:  Career Ready Practices Common Career and Technical Core

• 1 Act as a responsible and contributing citizen and employee

• 2. Apply appropriate academic and technical skills.

• 4 Communicate clearly, effectively and with reason.

• 5 Consider the environmental, social and economic impacts of decisions.

• 7 Employ valid and reliable research strategies

• 8 Utilize critical thinking to make sense of problems and persevere in solving them

• 9 Model integrity, ethical leadership and effective management.

• 11 Use technology to enhance productivity.

• 12 Work productively in teams while using cultural/global competence.

• Capacities of Literate Individuals CCSS for ELA & Literacy

• 1 They demonstrate independence.

• 3 They respond to the varying demands of audience, task, purpose, and discipline.

• 4 They comprehend as well as critique.

• 5 They value evidence

• 6 They build strong content knowledge.

• 7 They come to understand other perspectives and cultures

• Standards for Mathematical Practice CCSS for Mathematics

• 1 Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.

• 2 Reason abstractly and quantitatively

• 3 Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.

• 5 Use appropriate tools strategically.

• 8 Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.

• Scientific and Engineering Practices Next Generation Science Standards

• 1 Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering)

• 2  Developing and using models

• 3 Planning and carrying out investigations

• 4 Analyzing and interpreting data

• 5 Using mathematics and computational thinking

• 6  Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering)

• 7 Engaging in argument from evidence

• 8 Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information

• Inquiry Arc of the C3 Framework College, Career, and Civic Life (C3)

• 1 Developing Questions and Planning Investigations

• 3 Gathering, Evaluation and Using Evidence

• 4 Communicating Conclusions and Taking Informed Action

• Salient 5

• 2 Collaborative Practice

• 3 Verbal Discourse

• 4 Questioning

• 5 Technological Expression and Delivery

Assessment

• CTE Rubric