Social Media: The Great Persuader

Lesson Plan

As educators, we are invested in helping students to find and amplify their voices. As both educators and global citizens, we are deeply concerned about disinformation and other threats to civil discourse. This lesson coaches students to engage meaningfully and purposefully in community conversations, bringing to those interactions thoughtful and well-researched insights. —Jackie

In this exercise, students will unpack and analyze posts on different social media platforms that use common hashtags. They will consider how the content creators use ethos, pathos, and logos to construct their message and how the media compares across platforms.

SUBJECT:	Social Studies English / Language Arts Other (Media Literacy)
GRADE LEVEL:	Middle School High School
OBJECTIVES:	Students will identify the different elements of social media posts. Students will analyze the content of social media posts to identify the content creator's purpose. Students will create social media posts to convey their point of view on a current issue.
MATERIALS:	Curate social media posts from different platforms that use the hashtag(s) that your class agrees they want to examine. Consider Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok.
TIME NEEDED:	Two 45-minute sessions or one block period

INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURE

Before teaching this lesson, it would be helpful to review the tools of rhetorical persuasion, Ethos (appeals to a sense of right and wrong or what is just), Pathos (an emotional appeal), and Logos (uses reason to persuade).

Begin by examining a social media post with your students. Select a post on a topic of high interest or relevance to the students, not necessarily one on an important topic related to your curriculum. Guide students through unpacking the different aspects of the post:

Who created it? How do you know?
When was it created?
Who reposted it? How do you know?
What evidence can you find that shows how people are reacting to it?
Which hashtags are used? Why? What impact do hashtags have on a post?
What is the content of the image? If all of the elements of the image are purposefully included by the creator, why are they there?
What does the creator or sharer of this post want you to do? say? believe? buy?
Does the creator use ethos? pathos? logos? How do you know?

Next, as a class, determine a current issue you want to examine through social media or select an issue related to your curricular content. Have students brainstorm and then look for different hashtags that might be used with that content. Select posts from different platforms that use the agreed upon hashtag and have students work in groups to analyze the messages in the posts. Try using an organizer like this:

Author/Creator:

Audience:

Hashtags:

Ethos (right and wrong):

Pathos (emotion):

Logos (evidence):

Observations about the image:

Observations about the words used in the text:

Synthesize: What is the purpose for which this was created?

Finally, working in their groups, students can create their own posts to participate in the conversation. They can use the same organizer to plan how to construct the content to achieve their purpose.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

"Lesson Plans," Teach Argument, https://teachargument.com/products/.

News Literacy:The Keys to Combating Fake News by Michelle Luhtala and Jacquelyn Whiting, https://products.abc-clio.com/abc-cliocorporate/product.aspx?pc=A5652P.

About the Author

Jacquelyn Whiting is the Instructional Coach and Technology Integrator for a school district in Connecticut. She has a bachelor's in Government Studies and Studio Art from Connecticut College and a master's in Social Studies and Education from South Connecticut State University. She is also a Google Certified Innovator, a Google Certified Coach, and Local Activator for Future Design School. Jacquelyn is the co-author of News Literacy: The Keys to Combating Fake News and the author of Student-Centered Learning by Design. She presents frequently on human-centered design, student and educator voice, and innovative educational technology practices. You can follow her tweeting @MsJWhiting.

Select Citation Style:

MLA Citation

Whiting, Jacquelyn. "Social Media: The Great Persuader." School Library Connection, October 2020, schoollibraryconnection.com/content/lessonplan/2248101?learningModuleId=2248101&topicCenterId=2247905.

Chicago Citation

Whiting, Jacquelyn. "Social Media: The Great Persuader." School Library Connection, October 2020. https://schoollibraryconnection.com/content/lessonplan/2248101?learningModuleId=2248101&topicCenterId=2247905.

APA Citation

Whiting, J. (2020, October). Social media: The great persuader. School Library Connection. https://schoollibraryconnection.com/content/lessonplan/2248101?learningModuleId=2248101&topicCenterId=2247905

https://schoollibraryconnection.com/content/lessonplan/2248101?learningModuleId=2248101&topicCenterId=2247905

Entry ID: 2248101