GradeMap

Grade 8 · English Language Arts · Unit 9 of 12

Digital Citizens

Safe, smart and respectful online

What your child practises

Staying safe and respectful online, protecting privacy, spotting misinformation and disinformation, understanding how feeds are curated, and thinking about audience and purpose in digital and media texts.

Alberta Curriculum learning outcome: General Outcome 3 · finding and judging information in digital texts

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    What does “curated” mean in this passage?

    Why Your Feed Looks Like That

    Video apps keep track of what you watch, like and skip. Then they use that information to choose what to show you next. If you watch three skateboarding videos, you will probably see more.

    This can be helpful, because you find topics you enjoy. But it also means each person sees a different, curated version of the app, and you may rarely see views that differ from your own.

    • made by hand
    • free of cost
    • deleted
    • selected and arranged for you
    Show answer

    selected and arranged for you

    Hint: Someone or something chooses what you see.

  2. Question 2

    Why did the post spread so fast?

    A Post That Spread

    Last Tuesday, a photo went around the school group chat: a long line of people outside an electronics store, with the caption “Free phones tomorrow! Share now!” Within an hour it had 400 shares.

    Nobody checked the store's website, which said nothing about a giveaway. The photo was actually from a sale three years earlier.

    • Social media shows only true posts.
    • People shared it without checking because it was exciting.
    • The store paid for it.
    • Its facts had been checked.
    Show answer

    People shared it without checking because it was exciting.

    Hint: Strong feelings make people share quickly.

  3. Question 3

    What is one downside of a curated feed?

    Why Your Feed Looks Like That

    Video apps keep track of what you watch, like and skip. Then they use that information to choose what to show you next. If you watch three skateboarding videos, you will probably see more.

    This can be helpful, because you find topics you enjoy. But it also means each person sees a different, curated version of the app, and you may rarely see views that differ from your own.

    • Every person sees exactly the same videos.
    • You may rarely see views different from your own.
    • You never find topics you enjoy.
    • The app stops working.
    Show answer

    You may rarely see views different from your own.

    Hint: Read the last sentence.

  4. Question 4

    Which password is the safest?

    • your name and birth year
    • a long phrase with letters, numbers and symbols that you use for only one account
    • the same short password for every account
    • password123
    Show answer

    a long phrase with letters, numbers and symbols that you use for only one account

    Hint: Long, unique passwords are harder to guess.

  5. Question 5

    Which is a sign that a website might be unreliable?

    • It links to its sources.
    • It has a contact page.
    • It has no author, no date and no sources.
    • It names the author and gives the date.
    Show answer

    It has no author, no date and no sources.

    Hint: Credible sites tell who wrote them, when and where the information came from.

  6. Question 6

    What should the students have done first?

    A Post That Spread

    Last Tuesday, a photo went around the school group chat: a long line of people outside an electronics store, with the caption “Free phones tomorrow! Share now!” Within an hour it had 400 shares.

    Nobody checked the store's website, which said nothing about a giveaway. The photo was actually from a sale three years earlier.

    • checked the store's official website
    • shared it to be first
    • counted the shares
    • waited for more shares
    Show answer

    checked the store's official website

    Hint: Check the source.