Grade Level(s): 9-12
AP Government Connection:
Learning Objectives:
- Students will analyze types of disinformation from the CSIS report (see pages 20-21)
- Students will find examples of disinformation and analyze potential impacts
- Students will examine Chief Justice’s 2019 End of Year Report
- Students will create a proposal to increase civic literacy in their local area
Lesson Summary: Disinformation threatens the independence of the judiciary. In this lesson, students will analyze and find examples of disinformation as it relates to; bots, ads, sockpuppets, memes, and inauthentic domains. After having an understanding of the types of disinformation, students will read Chief Justice Roberts’s 2019 End of Year Report to find out the power of disinformation and what he believes the cure to be.
EAD Primary Theme: Civic Participation
Related Driving Question: How have changes in the media affected the American civic experience?
EAD Secondary Theme: Contemporary Debates and Possibilities
Related Driving Question: What are key current events and policy debates in our constitutional democracy?
What values and principles underpin different positions on them? How do people engage with issues they care about?
How can we ensure our sources of information about these questions are accurate and fair? What effects can misinformation have on contemporary debates?
Lesson Plan:
** Teachers watch the video with Suzanne Spaulding as prep for this lesson
Students can watch her presentation
Assessment:
Extension: Students will create a proposal to increase civic literacy in their local area