Lesson: Online Relationships: Respect and Consent
In this lesson, students learn about privacy and consent online. They consider a wide range of scenarios that shed light on different aspects of consent relating to digital media and draw on those to create a detailed definition. Students then learn about the “sneaky excuses” (moral disengagement techniques) that can convince us to do things that we know are wrong. After learning about the different types of excuses, students watch and discuss a series of videos in which the excuses are used to justify sharing sexts without the original sender’s consent. Finally, students create their own videos in which excuses used to justify sharing sexts are illustrated and most importantly, countered.
Grade range: 9
Time Frame
| One class period (75 minutes) | Two or three class periods (150-225 minutes) | Extended Unit | |
| Activities | Introduction
Discussing Respect Sneaky Excuses |
Introduction
Respect and Consent Discussing Respect Discussing Consent Defining Consent Sneaky Excuses |
Introduction
Respect and Consent Discussing Respect Discussing Consent Defining Consent Sneaky Excuses |
Preparation:
- Make sure that you are able to show the embedded videos or that students are able to access the links.
- Review the Digital Storytelling unit, if you have not already delivered it.
A printable version of this lesson is available on the MediaSmarts website.
Learning Outcomes
Big ideas/key concepts: Students will understand that…
Digital media are shareable and persistent:
- We are responsible for content we share online, both to the people in it and the people we show it to
Interactions through digital media have a real impact:
- What we do online has the potential to hurt others
- We have a responsibility to treat people online with respect
- Norms of obtaining and respecting consent apply online
Key questions:
- What does it mean to treat someone with respect online?
- What is consent? What does it mean in an online context?
- Why do we sometimes do things we know are wrong? How can we avoid doing that?
Misconceptions to correct:
- Jealousy is normal and acceptable in relationships
- People give up the right to consent when they send sexts
- Making an intimate deepfake of someone is not as bad as sharing a sext of them
Essential knowledge: Students will know…
- Ethics and empathy:
- Norms of obtaining and respecting consent
- How “sneaky excuses” (moral disengagement) can keep us from doing the right thing
- Making and remixing:
- Digital storytelling techniques
- Key vocabulary: moral disengagement, sext
Performance tasks: Students will be able to…
- Define consent in an online context
- Identify and counter “sneaky excuses” used to justify ignoring or violating consent
- Create a digital story that demonstrates their learning and understanding
Student-friendly outcomes:
- We will learn about the importance of consent online, our responsibility for what we share, and key terms like “moral disengagement” and “sext.”
- We will think about what it means to treat others with respect online, what consent looks like in digital spaces, and why people sometimes make poor choices even when they know better.
- We will define online consent, recognize and challenge excuses for ignoring it, and create a digital story to show our understanding.
Curriculum Connections
Strand A: Literacy Connections and Applications
A2. Digital Media Literacy
A2.1 Digital Citizenship
evaluate 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
A2.2 Online Safety, Well-Being, and Etiquette
demonstrate an understanding of how to navigate online environments safely, manage their privacy, personal data, and security, and interact in a way that supports their well-being and that of others, including seeking appropriate permission
A2.7 Community and Cultural Awareness:c
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
select and use appropriate digital and media tools to support the design process and address authentic, relevant, real-world problems by developing and proposing innovative solutions
Strand C: Comprehension (Understanding and Responding to Texts)
C2. Comprehension Strategies
C2.3 Monitoring of Understanding: Making and Confirming Predictions:
make predictions using background knowledge and textual information, pose questions to confirm or refute their predictions, and revise or refine their understanding as indicated
C2.5 Monitoring of Understanding: Making Connections
connect, compare, and contrast the ideas expressed in texts and their knowledges and lived experiences, the ideas in other texts, and the world around them
C3. Critical Thinking in Literacy
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
Strand D: Composition (Expressing Ideas and Creating Texts)
D1. Developing Ideas and Organizing Content
D1.2 Developing Ideas
generate and develop ideas and details about challenging 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
D1.4 Organizing Content
classify and sequence ideas and collected information, selecting effective strategies and tools, and identify and organize relevant content, evaluating the choices of text form, genre, and medium, and considering alternatives
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
D3 Publishing, Presenting and Reflecting
D3.1 Producing Final Texts
produce final texts using appropriate techniques and tools, including digital design and production tools, to achieve the intended effect
Convincing yourself that it is all right to do something you know is wrong, or to not do something you know you should.
A nude, semi-nude or intimate image or video.