In a world where anyone with an internet connection can access, create and share information, opinions and beliefs, it has become increasingly important that students are not only able to assess the credibility of sources but also to look more deeply at the underlying motivations, beliefs and bias of the creator. Thinking Critically through Digital Media enables teachers to use authentic materials and digital tools combined with motivating communicative tasks to develop students’ abilities to function as critical and well informed digital citizens. The book contains a wide range of tasks, activities and 10 complete lesson/project plans that teachers can use to help students understand visually presented information, how and why the information was collected, research and check the validity of the sources on which the information was based and think about and share how the materials relate to their own lives.

In the lesson students will find out about the different things people usually have for breakfast in different countries and they will develop an awareness of the importance of having a good breakfast. Aims: To develop students’ abilities to think critically and form informed opinions. To develop students’ abilities to understand statistical information. To develop students’ abilities to check the credibility of online information. To develop students’ abilities to carry out and create online research and to represent their findings visually. To develop students’ abilities to extract information from research and create informative text based on their findings.

This lesson is based on an infographic about the importance of emotional intelligence (EI) and its role in our lives. In the lesson students will explore the differences between IQ and EI and develop an understanding of how they can improve their EI and how doing this can benefit them. Aims: To develop students’ understanding of EI and its importance. To develop students’ abilities to study and research effectively using digital tools. To develop students’ abilities to read and understand visual information. To develop students’ abilities to check the credibility of online information. To develop students’ abilities to carry out online research and to represent their findings visually. To develop students’ abilities to extract information from research and create informative text based on their findings. The lesson files include: Step by step lesson plan and answer key Presentation Photocopiable worksheets

This lesson is based on an infographic about the characteristics of introverts and extroverts and how these factors effect the kinds of work they choose to do. In the lesson students will explore their views of what makes someone an introvert or extrovert. They will study an infographic which links the characteristics of each to different types of jobs and reflect on how the information applies to their own lives. The plan includes a number of research tasks that develop students’ abilities to create and carry out online research and create online questionnaires. There is also a reporting tasks which help student to develop the ability to analyze, synergize and share information as written text. The files include a complete step by step lesson plan with printable worksheet and a presentation.

In this lesson students will explore their attitudes to buying clothes and find out about the costs and environmental impact of producing clothes. They will do this by studying an infographic about the USAgain clothes recycling project, discussing the content and implications of the graphic and researching some of the background to the problem. The materials in this plan can be used in different ways. The first four tasks of the plan can be used independently as a simple reading and discussion class. The last three research tasks can be used individually as follow up tasks or you could use all three. These tasks are likely to take longer and could be set as homework or independent study tasks. This lesson contains seven tasks: A pre reading task which encourages students to think about their existing clothes buying habits and attitudes. A reading task which develops students abilities to scan text for specific information. A quiz creation task which encourages students to ask questions about a text. A post reading task which gives students the opportunity to formulate a personal response to the information they have studied. A social media research task in which students create a digital questionnaire to research the opinions of their peers. A writing task that develops students abilities to extract information from infographics and use it to create a persuasive text. An online research task which guides students through the process of researching an environmental problem.