8th grade · English Language Arts · Unit 10 of 12
Safe, smart and respectful online
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.
Washington State Learning Standards learning standard: ELA.8.RML.4 · judging online information and staying safe online
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
What does “curated” mean in this passage?
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.
selected and arranged for you
Hint: Someone or something chooses what you see.
Question 2
Why did the post spread so fast?
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.
People shared it without checking because it was exciting.
Hint: Strong feelings make people share quickly.
Question 3
What is one downside of a curated feed?
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.
You may rarely see views different from your own.
Hint: Read the last sentence.
Question 4
Which password is the safest?
a long phrase with letters, numbers and symbols that you use for only one account
Hint: Long, unique passwords are harder to guess.
Question 5
Which is a sign that a website might be unreliable?
It has no author, no date and no sources.
Hint: Credible sites tell who wrote them, when and where the information came from.
Question 6
What should the students have done first?
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
Hint: Check the source.