Sebastian Vargas' Final Project
The final project I chose is based on a lesson I had given to my ESO 2 students earlier this year. The idea had originally come out of a textbook speaking exercise I was told to go over with my students. It had questions like, “How often do you watch the news on TV?” and “How do you keep up-to-date with news and events?”
Rather than do so, I expanded on the general idea of the unit within the book, Media.
What I wanted to achieve with this lesson was the ability to respond to current changes with regards to media platforms. As the fabric of social media sites constantly change, children are constantly having to adapt to the new dynamics of their networks. As educators we should also be able to adapt, while searching for ways to create lessons out of these new changes.
At a general level media can be a very extensive topic, as there are many types and forms of media. Thus, the main objective of my lesson is to raise awareness on how different forms of media can be manipulated. From journalists with agendas, to Instagram influencers with thousands of followers, the information that they communicate can be distorted for their own benefit. This is not to teach that everyone who uses media has clear cut bias, but only to shed light on why we shouldn’t be too quick to believe everything that is presented to us.
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This lesson will span the course of two classes. The purpose of the first class is to establish the idea of subjectivity and objectivity within social media platforms. To begin the lesson, I give a general presentation on what media is, using videos I thought were useful from youtube. Below I have attached that exact presentation as a reference.
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The second class is reserved for group work. Students will be split into groups where they have to research information about a social media platform assigned to them. The purpose of this exercise is to show how social media platforms have changed, how effective they can be in spreading information, and generally to learn more about them.
Lesson Plan​
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Topic:Media
Grade: ESOS 2-4
Subject: English
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Day 1: 55 Minutes
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Using the presentation as a reference, begin by creating a discussion with the students based on these questions:
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1) What is media?​​​​
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2) What types of media are there?
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3) Are some better than others?
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4) What are some media/social media platforms you use?
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5) Would you consider social media an effective tool for spreading information?
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Following the short discussion, proceed by showing the students the video found above. (also found in the presentation) This will give the students a very general idea of what media is. I really enjoy this video because it ends with questions on media bias.
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Once the video finishes, reveal the definition of what media is and pose another question:
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Do you think media news outlets should be objective or subjective? ​
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NOTE: Before asking, you should take the time to make clear to the students what objectivity and subjectivity is.
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After discussing, continue with the presentation and the video (attached below) outlining potential bias in media.
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The video is very informative and will allow students to think deeper into how media outlets can be potentially bias. ​
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To finish, you will split students into 6 groups and assign them a social media platform. Below I have given a few examples but this lesson can adapt to any environment. Simply ask the students what platforms they've used in the past and what they use today.
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Tumblr, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Reddit, Snapchat. ​
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Day 2: 30 Minutes
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Prior to Day 2, students should have done research on the platform they were assigned. Questions that should be answered about each platform will be:
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When was it founded?​
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What was its original purpose?
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How has the platform changed?
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How effective is the platform for spreading information?
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Do companies (for advertising), or news media platforms (ABC News, BBC News), use the social media platform (i.e. Facebook) for their own advantage? ​
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How?​
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In your opinion should these platforms be regulated by governments?
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Groups should compile all of this information on a sheet of paper for the purpose of presenting it to the rest of the class.
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Thus day two will consist of presentations with an end class discussion.
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