Materials and Preparation

• Preview the video, “Mindful Messaging,” and prepare to show it to students.

• Copy the Email Edit Student Handout, one for each student.

Essential Question

How can I make sure my online messages are clear and respectful?

Lesson Overview

Students explore the similarities and differences between in-person and online communications, and then learn how to write clear and respectful online messages. Students begin by discussing how to be clear and respectful when they talk with people, either face-to-face or on the telephone. They explore the concept of tone, then compare and contrast what it is like to communicate face-to-face versus online. Students learn some rules that can help them express themselves clearly and respectfully when they write email messages. They then apply what they have learned by editing a message.

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to ...

• understand how to show respect in social situations.

• recognize the importance of tone in both face-to-face and online communications.

• learn rules for writing clear and respectful emails by editing an email message.

Key Vocabulary

respectful: in a way that shows you care about another person’s feelings

tone: the way something sounds and the feelings it expresses

edit (verb): to change something that is written to make it better

Warm-up (10 minutes)

DEFINE

Vocabulary term respectful.

ASK

What are some examples of how to be clear and respectful to others when you are talking in school?

INVITE

Discuss what might happen if people did not try to talk clearly and respectfully at school.

ASK

What would happen if it was okay to say mean things to other people?

What would happen if we didn’t take turns talking, or if we were allowed to shout in class?

Mindful Messaging (15 minutes)

DEFINE

Vocabulary term tone.

SHOW

"Mindful Messaging” video.

INVITE

Have students recount what they saw in the video. (A girl sent three of her friends the same text message. She was trying to be friendly, but they read the tone of her text message the wrong way.)

WRITE

Write the following word on the board or on chart paper in three different ways:

Whatever :( Whatever!!! WHATEVER

POINT OUT

Point out that in the video, Alexa, David, and Evan sent text messages of the same word. However, they wrote the message in different ways in order to convey different tones.

INVITE

Let students identify differences among the three messages. (Alexa’s message has a frowny face after it. David used a lot of exclamation points. Evan wrote his message in all uppercase letters.)

HAVE

Let students say the three different text messages aloud. Students should say Alexa’s message (which includes the sad face emoticon) in a soft and disappointed tone. Students should say David’s message (which includes exclamation marks) in an excited and enthusiastic tone. Students should shout Evan’s message (which is written in all caps) in an angry tone.

ENCOURAGE

Have students think about the difference between hearing a sentence said aloud and seeing it typed. Students should understand that when a sentence is typed, the tone isn’t always obvious. People miss out on communication cues, like seeing facial expressions and body language, or hearing the way a voice sounds.

Email Edit (20 minutes)

EXPLAIN

Explain to students that people are increasingly connecting virtually, through texts, IMs, and emails rather than in person. That’s why tone is so important when it comes to sending typed messages.

TELL

Tell students there are some rules they can follow to make sure they are being clear and polite when they send messages electronically, especially through email.

DISTRIBUTE

Handout the Email Edit Student Handout, one for each student.

REVIEW

Review the “Check Before You Send” questions at the top of the handout as a class, and invite students to share any additional rules they can think of.

DEFINE

Vocabulary term edit.

EXPLAIN

Explain to students that they will edit an email message to make sure it is clear and polite.

INVITE

Have students complete the editing exercise, using the “Check Before You Send” questions. Encourage students to read the message aloud before they edit it, as well as after. Reading the message aloud will help them catch mistakes and show them the tone of the message. Students should make the following changes:

• Edit the first two sentences for proper use of uppercase letters.

• Correct the spelling of “u” and “rite.”

• Rewrite the last sentence to make it more polite.

• Add another sentence to conclude the email.

• Change the ending “Guess Who” to “Max.”

Wrap-up (5 minutes)

You can use these questions to assess your students’ understanding of the lesson objectives.

ASK

What are some differences between saying something aloud to someone and writing it in an email?

What are some ways to be respectful when sending an email, text, or IM?

What should you do before you send an email, text, or IM?