Lesson: Dishonest Debate
In this lesson, students develop their critical thinking skills by learning to recognize various types of bad faith arguments, including those that are used by hate groups and movements to spread misinformation and fuel hatred and intolerance.
Grade range: 9
Time Frame
| One class period (75 minutes) | Two class periods (150 minutes) | ||
| Activities |
Thinking About Hate
|
Thinking About Hate
Dishonest Debate |
Preparation:
- Make sure that students are able to access the interactive activities.
- View the video and familiarize yourself with its content.
A printable version of this lesson is available on the MediaSmarts website.
Learning Outcomes
Big ideas/key concepts: Students will understand that…
Media have social and political implications:
- Arguments can be misleading without being false
- Hate groups and movements often use misleading arguments
Key questions:
- What kinds of “dishonest” or “bad faith” arguments are not worth engaging with?
- How can we recognize them?
- How are they used by hate groups and movements?
Essential knowledge: Students will know…
- Reading media: Forms and examples of dishonest or “bad faith” arguments
- Finding and verifying: Ways in which facts and statistics can be presented in misleading ways
- Community engagement: Ways in which hate groups and movements use dishonest arguments
Performance tasks: Students will be able to…
- Use: Create dishonest arguments
- Understand: Identify and analyze dishonest arguments
- Engage: Recognize how hate groups and movements use dishonest arguments
Student-friendly outcomes:
- We will learn about different types of dishonest or “bad faith” arguments, how facts and statistics can be used in misleading ways, and how hate groups use these tactics.
- We will think about how to recognize arguments that aren’t worth engaging with and how hate groups use misleading arguments to influence people.
- We will create examples of dishonest arguments, analyze and identify them, and understand how hate groups use these strategies to spread their messages.
Curriculum Connections
Strand A: Literacy Connections and Applications
A1. Transferable Skills
A1.1 Receptive and Expressive Communication
analyze and explain how transferable skills can be used to support communication in various cultural, social, linguistic, and domain-specific contexts, and apply them when reading, listening to, viewing, and creating texts of various forms
A1.2 Student Agency and Engagement
evaluate and explain how transferable skills help them to express their voice, be engaged in their learning, and implement a plan to develop their capabilities and potential
A2. Digital Media Literacy
A2.1 Digital Citizenship
valuate and explain their rights and responsibilities when interacting online with appropriate permission, and make decisions that contribute positively to the development of their digital identity and those of their communities
A2.4 Forms, Conventions, and Techniques
evaluate the use of the various forms, conventions, and techniques of digital and media texts, consider the impact on the audience, and apply this understanding when analyzing and creating texts
A2.5 Media, Audience, and Production
demonstrate an understanding of the interrelationships between the form, message, and context of texts, the intended and unintended audience, and the purpose for production
A2.7 Community and Cultural Awareness
communicate and collaborate with various communities in a safe, respectful, responsible, and inclusive manner when using online platforms and environments, including digital and media tools, and demonstrate and model cultural awareness with members of the community
A3. Applications, Connections, and Contributions
A3.2 Identity and Community
demonstrate an understanding of the historical contexts, contributions, lived experiences, and perspectives of a diversity of individuals and communities, including those in Canada, by exploring and analyzing the concepts of identity, self, and sense of belonging in a variety of culturally responsive and relevant texts
Strand C: Comprehension: Understanding and Responding to Texts
C1. Knowledge about Texts
C1.2 Text Forms and Genres
analyze and compare the characteristics of various text forms and genres, including cultural text forms, and provide evidence to explain how they help communicate meaning
C1.3 Text Patterns and Features
compare the text patterns, such as compare and contrast in an expository essay, and text features, such as footnotes and copyright information, associated with different text forms, including cultural texts, and evaluate their importance in helping readers, listeners, and viewers understand the meaning
C1.6 Point of View
analyze the narrator’s point of view, including limited, omniscient, or unreliable, in a variety of texts, explain how it is communicated, and suggest alternative points of view, giving reasons
C3. Critical Thinking in Literacy
C3.2 Making Inferences
make local and global inferences, using explicit and implicit evidence, to explain and support their interpretations about various complex texts
C3.3 Analyzing Texts
analyze complex texts, including literary and informational texts, by assessing the credibility, reliability, and significance of information and formulating conclusions
C3.4 Analyzing Cultural Elements of Texts
analyze cultural elements that are represented in various texts, including, norms, values, social hierarchy, pastimes, language, and taboos, by investigating the meanings of these elements, making connections to their lived experience and culture, and considering how the inclusion of these elements contributes to the meaning of the text
C3.5 Perspectives Within Texts
analyze explicit and implicit perspectives communicated in various texts, evaluate any evidence that could show bias in these perspectives, and suggest ways to avoid any such bias
C3.6 Analysis and Response
explain how various topics, such as diversity, inclusion, and accessibility, are addressed in texts, respond to the insights and messages conveyed, and different positions presented
C3.8 Reflecting on Learning
assess the effectiveness of the critical thinking skills they used when analyzing and evaluating various texts, and set goals to improve their use
Strand D: Composition: Expressing Ideas and Creating Texts
D1. Developing Ideas and Organizing Content
D1.1 Purpose and Audience
identify the topic, purpose, and audience for various texts they plan to create; choose a text form, genre, and medium to suit the purpose and audience, and justify their choices
D1.2 Developing Ideas
generate and develop ideas and details about complex topics, such as topics related to diversity, equity, and inclusion and to other subject areas, using a variety of strategies, and drawing on various resources, including their own lived experiences
D2. Creating Texts
D2.1 Producing Drafts
draft complex texts of various forms and genres, including narrative, persuasive, expository, and informational texts, citing sources, and use a variety of appropriate media, tools, and strategies to transform information and communicate ideas
D2.4 Point of View and Perspective
explain the explicit and implicit points of view, perspectives, and bias conveyed in their texts, evaluate how various audiences might respond, and suggest ways to acknowledge other perspectives