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Lesson 10

We will examine the effectiveness of the integration of written and visual information in “Many Americans Say Made-Up News Is a Critical Problem That Needs to Be Fixed.” We will engage in a class discussion to explore our own perspectives about fabricated information in today’s society.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the structure the authors use in the report “Many Americans Say Made-Up News Is a Critical Problem That Needs to Be Fixed,” including whether the structure makes points clear and engaging?

  • Can I develop and clearly communicate a meaningful and defensible claim about the effectiveness of textual vs. visual information?

Texts

Core

  • Digital Access
    • “Many Americans Say Made-Up News Is a Critical Problem That Needs to Be Fixed,” Amy Mitchell, Jeffrey Gottfried, Galen Stocking, Mason Walker, and Sophia Fedeli, Pew Research Center, 2019
  • Tradebook
    • 1984, George Orwell, Signet Classics, 1949

Optional

  • Unit Reader
    • “Defining Fake News: A Typology of Scholarly Definitions,” Edson C. Tadnoc, Jr., Zheng Wei Lim, and Richard Ling, Routledge, Taylor & Francis, 2018
    • “The Age-Old Problem of ‘Fake News’,” Jackie Mansky, Smithsonian Institution, 2018

Materials

Tools

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Read – Discuss – Write

We will examine whether visual representation of information enhances reader understanding.

Reread Paragraph 2 of “Many Americans Say Made-Up News Is a Critical Problem That Needs to Be Fixed.” Now examine the graph directly across from it. Respond to the following questions with a partner, and write down your answers in your Learning Log:

  1. Do the paragraph and graph include the same information? Does the paragraph include more or less information than the graph? Provide specific examples.

  2. Which format—the paragraph or the graph—helps you better understand the significance of the information being presented? Why?

Now reread Paragraphs 8-10. Examine the graph and chart on the bottom of page 4. Respond to the following questions with a partner, and write down your answers in your Learning Log:

  1. Do the paragraph and graph include the same information? Less? More? Provide specific examples.

  2. Which format—the paragraph or the graph—helps you better understand the significance of the information being presented? Why?

Reread Paragraphs 17-18. Examine the graph on page 6. Respond to the following questions with a partner, and write down your answers in your Learning Log:

  1. Do the paragraph and graph include the same information? Less? More? Provide specific examples.

  2. Which format—the paragraph or the graph—helps you better understand the significance of the information being presented? Why?

Activity 2: Read – Write

We will make a claim about whether the readability of the report could be improved by revising the integration of written and visual information.

Readability refers to the quality of a text being easy to read.

Now that you have compared some of the written information to visual information, think about the following questions:

  1. Would the readability of the report be improved if it contained more visual information and less textual information? Why?

  2. Would the readability of the report be improved if it contained more textual information and less visual information? Why?

  3. Is the current combination of textual and visual information effective for reader understanding? Why?

Draft a paragraph that makes one of the claims above. Be sure to support your claim by including well-chosen evidence from the text and explaining how the evidence connects to your claim.

Activity 3: Discuss

We will engage in a class discussion to further contemplate the role of fabricated information in contemporary society.

Use the following questions, which were given to participants in the Pew Research study, to hold a class discussion.

  1. How much of a problem do you think fabricated information is today? What evidence from the text supports your claim?

  2. Who do you think is responsible for creating and spreading fabricated information?

  3. Who do you think is responsible for fixing the situation?

  4. How do you feel about the average person’s ability to recognize each type of news and information?

  5. How do you feel about your own ability to recognize each type of news and information?

Activity 4: Read – Write

For homework, we will read chapter 5 of 1984 and answer a set of guiding questions.

For homework, read and annotate Chapter 5 of 1984. Use the following questions to guide your annotations:

  1. Who is Syme? What is his job at The Ministry of Truth? What does Winston predict about Syme’s future? Why?

  2. What is Newspeak? What is its purpose?

  3. What story about his daughter does Mr. Parsons share with the others?

  4. How does he feel about her actions? What does Winston predict about Mr. Parsons’s future? Why? How does Orwell create suspense at the end of the chapter?

Write new or interesting words you encounter in your Vocabulary Journal.