Mount Aloysius College

Education Department
Lesson Plan Format

*The descriptions are offered for your information and guidance and
should NOT be included in the lesson plan.*
I. Heading

Lesson Title: Social Media (good or bad in schools?)

Teacher Name: Mr. Peterson
Date Lesson is Taught: 11/16/2023
Subject/Discipline: Civics
Grade Level: 8th Grade
Number of Students: 6
Allocated Instructional Time: 5-25 Minutes
Multiple Intelligences Addressed: Linguistic, Intrapersonal, and Interpersonal
Pennsylvania Common Core Standards or Early Learning Standards:

CC.8.5.6-8.A.
Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.

CC.8.5.6-8.G.
Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other
information in print and digital texts.

CC.8.6.6-8.A.
Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
● Introduce claim(s) about a topic or issue, acknowledge and distinguish the claim(s) from
alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically.
● Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant, accurate data and evidence that
demonstrate an understanding of the topic or text, using credible sources.
● Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among
claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
● Establish and maintain a formal style. Provide a concluding statement or section that
follows from and supports the argument presented.

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II. Rationale and Background (Danielson 1b: Demonstrating Knowledge of Students)

1. The students are familiar with how Schools restrict their use of social media in the
classroom. They are also familiar with selecting evidence to support a claim.
2. The purpose of this lesson is to allow students to form claims and counterclaims about a
topic they care about. Counterclaims are integral in persuasive writing and using a topic the
students already know about will allow them to see both sides better.

III. Lesson Objectives (Danielson 1c: Setting Instructional Objectives)

1. Students will Read “Is Social Media Good or Bad for Students.” Article
2. Students will create a position on whether or not they believe Social media should be in
schools
3. Students will find two sources of evidence from the text that support their position
4. Students will find one source of evidence from the text that supports a counterclaim
5. Students will share what they found and decide if they agree or disagree with their
position after hearing everyone else.

IV. Materials (Danielson 1d: Demonstrating Knowledge of Resources)

Article (Ted Talk Video is optional)

Reading Organizer (Print)

V. Procedures (Danielson 1a: Demonstrating Knowledge of Content and Pedagogy) (Danielson

1e: Designing Coherent Instruction) (Danielson 3a: Communicating with Students) (3b Using
Questioning and Discussion Techniques) (Danielson 3c Engaging Students in Learning)

A. Introduction, Motivation, and Setting the Stage

Ask Students: what is a claim? and What is a Counterclaim?

Claim: A statement of truth that can typically be disputed
Counterclaim: A statement of truth made to dispute a previous claim

B. Lesson Body

1. Hand Out the organizer and explain how they will choose whether or not they believe
social media is good or bad in the classroom. (They are allowed to change positions
while reading)
2. Students will use their computers to read “Is Social Media Good or Bad for Students”
3. While reading students should look for textual evidence that supports their position and
also one piece of textual evidence that does not support their position
4. At the end students will share with each other and see if their own position has changed

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 C. Strategies for Differentiated Instruction (Danielson 3e: Demonstrating Flexibility and
Responsiveness)

1. A Gifted Child will be required to watch the Ted Talk video embedded into the article and
come up with one piece of evidence from that video in addition to the other 3 pieces of
textual evidence within the organizer.
2. A student with ADHD will be told the directions out loud as well as in writing and be
asked to repeat them back. An ADHD student may be asked to watch the video and be
allowed to stand while doing so.
3. An ELL student will be allowed to work with another student while doing the reading and
be able to use closed captions for the video.

D. Closure/Conclusion

Discussion about your position, why you have this position, and if your position changed
while writing.

E. “If-Time Activity” (Danielson 3e: Demonstrating Flexibility and Responsiveness)

1. Watch the Ted Talk

VI. Communicating with Families/Homework Assignment/Independent Practice (Danielson 4c:

Communicating with Families)

The article is online and will be shared with everyone so that parents can see it.

VII. Evaluation

A. Student Assessment (Danielson 1f: Designing Student Assessment) (Danielson 3d: Using
Assessment in Instruction)

Students will be assessed on the type of textual evidence they selected for both their claim and
counterclaim. I also am interested in seeing if students switched positions because this will
show they are willing to see both sides and even change.

B. Reflective Practice/Self-Evaluation (To be completed after the lesson is taught) (Danielson

4a: Reflecting on Teaching)

Reflect on your teaching experience and answer these questions:

1. What were two strengths of the lesson?

- Some of the students seemed far more interested in this topic than other social
studies topics
- Students showed that they could now use pre-reading skills to better understand
a text
2. What are two areas of the lesson that need improvement?

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 - I should have provided more information about the article before sharing it with
them. The students were scared because it was long and did not know they
would not have to read everything
- I should have dove deeper into their opinions before giving them the paper so
that they could have an initial position before starting
3. What would I do differently, if I were to reteach this lesson?
- I would use a bellringer to ask students about their position on social media in
schools
- I would tell students that this relates to civics because the goal is to give the
students the tools to change the world in a positive way
4. What biases, if any, existed in the materials, activities, language, or interactions with
children?
N/A
5. Did anything surprise me?
- The one period did very well with the assignment but the other period acted
interested at first and then decided that they didn't want to do the assignment