| Slide | Title | Text |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Digital Skills for Democracy | |
| 2 | Inquiry Question | How can we find out if information about elections or political issues is something we can trust? |
| 3 | Minds On | True or false? Shakespeare invented the name “Jessica.” Answer: True. |
| 4 | Minds On | True or false? Hippo milk is blue. Answer: False. It is pink. |
| 5 | Minds On | True or false? Mammoths were still alive when the Egyptians built the Great Pyramid of Giza. Answer: True. |
| 6 | Minds On | True or false? Scientists have found 100,000 golf balls in Loch Ness. Answer: True. |
| 7 | Minds On | True or false? The Canadian Space Agency invented the Dust Buster vacuum cleaner. Answer: False. |
| 8 | Minds On | True or false? The first owner of the Mona Lisa hung it in his bathroom. Answer: True. |
| 9 | Minds On | True or false? Sonic the Hedgehog’s middle name is Maurice. Answer: True. |
| 10 | Minds On | True or false? The magnetic field at Magnetic Hill, New Brunswick makes cars roll uphill. Answer: False. An optical illusion makes it look like cars are rolling uphill when they are actually rolling downhill. |
| 11 | Minds On | True or false? All kangaroos are left-handed. Answer: Mostly true. Grey and red kangaroos, the two largest species, are nearly all left-handed. |
| 12 | Minds On |
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| 13 | Minds On | It can be difficult to figure out if things are true or false without doing more research. When we are judging online content, we can’t just “trust our gut” or rely on our own instincts. |
| 14 | Minds On | There are two kinds of false information online:
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| 15 | Minds On | Five digital strategies:
[Teacher’s notes: Give the students the Five Digital Strategies handout and review the five strategies together. Point out that we must follow these steps when we get information about politics or elections online. This information can influence how we make important civic choices, including voting.] |
| 16 | Activity | Round 1 – Fictional scenarios [Teacher’s note: These are possible scenarios where you might need to verify information about a political issue or about the election process in Canada.] |
| 17 | Activity | Round 1 – Fictional scenarios Getting Ready Your group will need:
[Teacher’s notes: You can assign students roles within their teams, such as card master, recorder, reporter and reader. You can give out the cards one at a time, or give them all to the student who is designated as the card master. Keep the answer card until the end.] |
| 18 | Activity | Round 1 – Fictional scenarios Read scenario card A aloud. Discuss the scenario and decide how trustworthy it is. Record your thinking on the graphic organizer. [Teacher’s note: If students would find it helpful, model one scenario for the class before teams begin their work.] |
| 19 | Activity | Round 1 – Fictional scenarios Read strategy cards B, C and D aloud. Discuss and consider: Does the card change the trustworthiness ranking of the scenario? Record your thinking on the graphic organizer. |
| 20 | Activity | Round 1 – Fictional scenarios Read answer card E aloud. Discuss and consider: What is your final ranking of the scenario? Why? Record your thinking on the graphic organizer. |
| 21 | Consolidation | Share your thinking: Read scenario card A to the class.
[Teacher’s note: If students are struggling to read the scenarios aloud, you can use the teacher summary page in the teacher guide to help clarify the information for the class.] |
| 22 | Activity | Round 2 – Real-life scenarios [Teacher’s note: Each scenario is based on real-life examples of political or election information that people have had to evaluate online.] |
| 23 | Activity | Round 2 – Real-life scenarios Getting Ready Your group will need:
[Teacher’s notes: You can assign students roles within their teams, such as card master, recorder, reporter and reader. You can give out the cards one at a time, or give them all to the student who is designated as the card master. Keep the answer card until the end.] |
| 24 | Activity | Round 2 – Real-life scenarios Read scenario card A aloud. Discuss the scenario and decide how trustworthy it is. Record your thinking on the graphic organizer. |
| 25 | Activity | Round 2 – Real-life scenarios Read strategy cards B, C and D aloud. Discuss and consider: Does the card change the trustworthiness ranking of the scenario? Record your thinking on the graphic organizer. |
| 26 | Activity | Round 2 – Real-life scenarios Read answer card E aloud. Discuss and consider: What is your final ranking of the scenario? Why? Record your thinking on the graphic organizer. |
| 27 | Consolidation | Share your thinking: Read scenario card A to the class.
[Teacher’s note: If students are struggling to read the scenarios aloud, you can use the teacher summary page in the teacher guide to help clarify the information for the class.] |
| 28 | Consolidation | Discuss:
[Teacher’s notes: It is our responsibility to detect misinformation and disinformation and help keep it from spreading by not sharing or “liking” it. This is especially important in an election period, when false or misleading information could influence the way people vote.] |
| 29 | Consolidation | Reflection:
[Teacher’s note: You can use the Exit Card handout on which these questions are printed.] |
