Reading Photos Laterally

Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will learn how to read laterally to verify if photos online have been altered.

SUBJECT:	Media Literacy / Digital Literacy
GRADE LEVEL:	Middle School High School
OBJECTIVES:	Students will know what reading laterally is. Students will understand how reading laterally helps us verify online information. Students will be able to read laterally about a topic.
MATERIALS:	"Analyzing Photos and Memes by Reading Laterally," slides (https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/132mc9PjmytkI87H8o1UzXgnGYCjYw6QtBKflZzAXDAM/present?ueb=true&slide=id.p) "Evaluating Photos and Videos," John Green (https://live.myvrspot.com/iframe?v=fODFjYTE4MmMyN2IzNWQxMDExOTdlNGRkMzQwYzNiNjQ)
TIME NEEDED:	One class period

INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURE

1. Ask the class, "When you view a photo online, how do you know if the image has been altered?" Brainstorm a list of possible ideas. You could also show the image of the hamster on a boat in slide 2 of the slides, "Analyzing Photos and Memes by Reading Laterally," and ask students how they know the image is photoshopped.

2. Explain that one way we can check the information on a website is to read laterally. This means we read what other websites are saying about the first one. We use this information to decide how trustworthy a website is. Wikipedia can be a great resource for finding out who is behind a website's creation. While allowing people to edit entries, Wikipedia protects the accuracy of information on their site by checking sources and blocking anyone from editing certain highly controversial topics.

3. Consider showing the John Green video, "Evaluating Photos and Videos" (13 minutes). Alternately, you could show the video at the end of the lesson to review and add depth to what you have just learned.

4. Practice this together as a class. On your computer, project the image of the surfer and whale caught in wave, in slide 4 from the provided slides. Discuss what you see in the picture that makes it appear to be real (or fake).

5. Next, open a new tab and demonstrate how to search for a photo to find information about the original source and whether it has been photoshopped. You can do this in Google by downloading an image and putting it in Google image search. If you are using a Chrome browser, you can right click on an image and select "Search Google for Image." Spend about five minutes clicking through different websites and narrating what you learn about the whale and surfer image from these searches.

6. Ask students if they feel like this is a true story or not. Explain why/why not.

7. In partners, have students practice by reading laterally about the Donald Trump meme (slide 5). Ask students to find three pieces of evidence from three different sites (one per site) that either support or disprove the image shown. You might point out the tiny logo in the bottom right corner that says "Other 98" and open a new tab to read more about this group.

9. Depending on student comfort with this, you may decide to have students practice image searches and reading laterally independently this same day or on a different day.

Here are some image options to practice this skill:

- "Make America White Again" shirt (https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/make-america-white-again-trump/ and in John Green video)
- Emma Gonzalez Ripping US Constitution (https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/emma-gonzalez-ripping-up-constitution/ and in John Green video)
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg/Thomas Jefferson meme (https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/ginsburg-and-jefferson-constitution/)
- New York Times article on viral Twitter post about fake protestors (https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/20/business/media/how-fake-news-spreads.html)

*NOTE: it is important to keep a balanced perspective in the classroom. If you select images that promote one political party over another, balance it by choosing an image from the opposite view to avoid favoring one political party or side. It's also good to throw in some surprisingly true images, to keep students from guessing that everything is fake.

Exit Ticket: Explain why checking photos for accuracy is important.

Using the site called Fake or Foto (https://area.autodesk.com/fakeorfoto/), students take a quiz to see how well they can determine if a photograph is fake or real just by looking at it. The majority of people score less than 50% on it!

Another fun extension would be to watch these videos together. They must be watched in order!

"Pig Rescues Baby Goat" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7WjrvG1GMk), which has received over 10 million views online!
The story behind the pig video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2My_HOP-bw), which has received less than one million views online.
Facebook video on voter fraud (https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1829274207291885), which was shared as an example of Democrats stuffing the ballot. The video was really taken in Russia and just resurfaced during the election to sway votes.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

"Evaluating Online Information" poster, Lincoln Public schools Library Services, https://drive.google.com/file/d/11IjWNi4-L4DyVSE007_yx5CUbdYbZYlN/view.

"News You Can Use: Reality Check" video, MediaSmarts, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ie2MnnWMqMA&feature=emb_title.

Get more ideas about engaging students critically with images in Courtney Pentland's editorial, "Is Seeing Believing?" and in her elementary lesson, "Introduction to Engaging with Images."

About the Author

Emily Jacobs, MSEd, is a library instructional leader at Lincoln Public Schools, Lincoln NE. She earned her bachelor's in secondary education from University of Nebraska-Lincoln and her master's in secondary education with a Pk-12 library endorsement from University of Nebraska-Omaha. She has also completed the NxtWave II program led by Dr. Pasco and earned her endorsement as a curriculum supervisor. Emily was a member of the 2011 Toyota International Teacher Program and the Lincoln Public Schools 2013 Future Leaders Cadre.

Emily enjoys hiking, backpacking, biking, swimming and spending time outdoors. She enjoys learning about how to live sustainably and traveling with her husband.

Select Citation Style:

MLA Citation

Jacobs, Emily. "Reading Photos Laterally." School Library Connection, October 2020, schoollibraryconnection.com/content/article/2254934?learningModuleId=2254934&topicCenterId=0.

Chicago Citation

Jacobs, Emily. "Reading Photos Laterally." School Library Connection, October 2020. https://schoollibraryconnection.com/content/article/2254934?learningModuleId=2254934&topicCenterId=0.

APA Citation

Jacobs, E. (2020, October). Reading photos laterally. School Library Connection. https://schoollibraryconnection.com/content/article/2254934?learningModuleId=2254934&topicCenterId=0

https://schoollibraryconnection.com/content/article/2254934?learningModuleId=2254934&topicCenterId=0

Entry ID: 2254934