5 Bias and Society Lesson Plan

Teacher Candidate's Name: Karl ‘Alec’ Schoettle
Lesson Plan Template: Backward Planning

Unit Title: Civics
Lesson Title: Bias and our society
Content: Group bias vs. individual thought; bias in the media
Grade/Level: 8th
Date of Lesson: 3/2/2020
Length of lesson: 50 min
Alignment CCSS for ELA/Math

to
Objectives (or MLR and/or Next Gen Science for other content areas)
MLR for Social Studies; Grades 6-8 Civics & Government 3; (F1) Explaining basic civic aspects of historical
1,2
and/or current issues that involve unity and diversity in Maine, the United States, and other nations.
MLR for Social Studies; Grades 6-8 Civics & Government 3; (D1) Explaining constitutional and political
1,2 aspects of historical and/or current issues that involve unity and diversity in Maine, the United States, and
other nations
Essential Question(s)
Why do groups tend to think alike? Shouldn’t independent people have independent thought?
What is the impact of bias in the media and the news media?
Objectives and Assessments

Objective Objective(s) (Number each objective.) Assessment(s) for Each Objective
Number (In parentheses, mark each I for
informal or F for formal.)
Students understand the relevance and occurrence of group bias on I Group discussion
1
political issues in this country
Students understand the relevance and occurrence of media bias on I Group discussion; building a class
2
people in this country ‘media bias’ chart
Necessary Prior Knowledge/Skills (Describe where/when/how each has been learned.): Students by
this time should have learned as a part of this unit that people often think very differently on issues.
They may even have noticed groups inside of their class moving together during our last class. This
should help prepare them for this lesson; other than this they hopefully have noticed the existence of
bias in society and in the media, as well as having heard that not all media sources are reliable,
though this last part is not only preferred, not necessary prior knowledge
Alignment Instructional Components

to What Teacher Does What Students Do
Objectives
Review of past discussion of issues and the Review last class; consider causes behind personal
1,2
appearance of personal bias bias
1,2 Guide group discussion Discuss questions
EHD 498/CHF 424

How do people wind up so divided on
issues, and yet all so convinced they are
unequivocally right and the other is wrong?
How much do people base their opinions
on what their friends and family think?
What larger groups are there in the
country that think alike?
Discuss causes and effects of thinking with Listen, discuss
1 the party.
“Who am I supposed to hate?”
Ask - Does the media have a role in this Discuss
2 division? Should the media be required to
be more neutral?
Discuss bias in the media; if there is time, Listen, identify media outlets and if they show
ask students to identify media outlets, and regular evidence of bias
2
how they would rate them on bias and
factual accuracy
Show media bias chart, discuss with Discuss media bias chart
2
students
Ask students “Are you capable of having Question is designed to be semi-inflammatory;
1,2 your own thoughts and opinions, or do you make the students realize that there are people out
need them to be told to you?” there looking to direct their thoughts for them.
Links to Technology: Media bias chart: https://www.adfontesmedia.com/the-chart-version-3-0-what-

exactly-are-we-reading/?v=402f03a963ba
Materials and Supplies: Computer, internet connection, projector
Accommodations/Adaptations/Differentiation: This lesson will be mostly discussion-based. It will

therefore be moving at a pace determined by student understanding. When discussing bias in the
media we will have a chart up on the board as well for a visual aid.
Maine Common Core Teaching Standards (MCCTS) (Check those that are part of this lesson.):
Check only those that are part of the lesson plan, not those that are part of lesson implementation.
The Learner and Learning Instructional Practices

X S1 Learner Development X S6 Assessment
X S2 Learning Differences X S7 Planning for Instruction
X S3 Learning Environments X S8 Instructional Strategies
Content Professional Responsibility
S9 Professional Learning and Ethical
X S4 Content Knowledge
Practice
X S5 Application of Content S10 Leadership and Collaboration
Technology
EHD 498/CHF 424

X S11 ISTE Standards.T
Reflection about teaching of lesson: What went well? What would you change and why? What
evidence do you have that students learned? Based on assessment results, what are the logical next
steps in your planning for teaching and learning?
Students seemed interested in the lesson. They did a good job of staying focused and discussing the topics. Since
teaching this class I found out that there are differences in ages amongst the average viewer/listener/readership of more
and less credible news sources (less credible news sources tend to attract older audiences than more credible sources). If I
teach this lesson again I will add this to the discussion.
If this lesson plan documents Application of Content (critical thinking, creative thinking, and/or
problem solving), respond to the following:
⮚ Why was critical thinking and/or creative thinking and/or problem solving appropriate to this
lesson? (i.e., How does this lesson fit into a larger unit of which it is part? How does the higher
order thinking help students to make connections among concepts and/or engage in
examining differing perspectives?)
This lesson is intended to get students thinking about why people think what they
think. Critical thinking is absolutely necessary for them to do so. This lesson also attempts to get the
students to think critically about where people get their information and who to trust. The intention
of this is to try to make certain that students choose to get their information from credible sources
rather than biased ones. This also requires them to be analyzing and thinking critically about their
sources of information.
If this lesson plan documents Technology, respond to the following:

⮚ In a list of a minimum of five bullets, show your key beliefs about technology’s role in teaching
and learning. (Base your list primarily on the highlighted ISTE-T performance indicators in the
resource that accompanies this assignment.) Consider the role of technology for both the
learner and the teacher. In what ways does the lesson plan that includes technology address
some of these key beliefs?
EHD 498/CHF 424

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Teacher Candidate's Name: Karl ‘Alec’ Schoettle

Lesson Plan Template: Backward Planning

Alignment CCSS for ELA/Math

Objectives and Assessments

Alignment Instructional Components

EHD 498/CHF 424

Links to Technology: Media bias chart: https://www.adfontesmedia.com/the-chart-version-3-0-what-

Materials and Supplies: Computer, internet connection, projector

Accommodations/Adaptations/Differentiation: This lesson will be mostly discussion-based. It will

The Learner and Learning Instructional Practices

EHD 498/CHF 424

If this lesson plan documents Technology, respond to the following:

EHD 498/CHF 424

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