Καινοτόμες διδακτικές εφαρμογές: Αποθετήριο

        • Digital Citizenship

        • Lesson Plan: Digital Citizenship – Disinformation & Misinformation

          Class: Grade 10 / A΄ Lykeiou
          School context: Greek State High School
          Duration: 2 × 50 minutes
          Subject: English / Digital Citizenship / Media Literacy
          Topic: Understanding and identifying misinformation and disinformation
          Main teaching materials:

          • Digital Citizenship – Disinformation-Misinformation PowerPoint
          • Digital Citizenship – Essential Vocabulary worksheet

          Learning objectives

          By the end of the two sessions, students will be able to:

          1. Define and distinguish between misinformation and disinformation.
          2. Understand and use key vocabulary related to the topic: false, evidence, evaluate, deceive, mislead, intentionally, spread, citizenship, etc.
          3. Recognise some common characteristics of misleading information.
          4. Apply basic strategies for evaluating information:
            • Check the source
            • Look for evidence
            • Think critically
          5. Recognise the role of social media and clickbait in spreading misleading information.
          6. Explain how responsible digital citizens should behave before sharing information.
          7. Collaborate with peers and justify their decisions using evidence.

          SESSION 1 – What is misinformation and disinformation?

          50 minutes

          1. Lead-in: “Do you think this is true?” – 5 min

          Display the statement from the presentation:

          “The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for COVID-19 contains potassium chloride which can cause cardiac arrest.”

          Students individually indicate:

          TRUE / FALSE / NOT SURE

          Do not reveal the answer immediately.

          Ask:

          • Why did you choose this answer?
          • What would you need to know before sharing this information?
          • Would you share it with your friends? Why/why not?

          Purpose: Activate prior knowledge and introduce the idea that something that sounds convincing is not necessarily true.

          2. Vocabulary activation – 10 min

          Distribute the Essential Vocabulary worksheet.

          Students work individually for 3–4 minutes matching the 12 words with their definitions.

          Target vocabulary:

          • contribute
          • respectful
          • intentionally
          • evaluate
          • false
          • spread
          • deceive
          • citizenship
          • misinformation
          • evidence
          • disinformation
          • mislead

          The worksheet provides the definitions and matching key.

          Then check answers collectively.

          Quick oral follow-up: Ask students to use 3–4 words in short sentences connected with social media.

          Example prompts:

          • People can spread…
          • We need evidence before…
          • Someone may intentionally…
          • We should evaluate…

          3. Presentation: Key concepts – 10 min

          Use the corresponding slides from the PowerPoint.

          Introduce:

          Disinformation
          False or misleading information deliberately spread to deceive or manipulate people.

          Misinformation
          False or incorrect information that is spread without the intention to deceive.

          Create the following on the board:

           

          Misinformation

          Disinformation

          Information is false/misleading

          ✓

          ✓

          Deliberate intention to deceive

          ✗

          ✓

          May influence people's beliefs/actions

          ✓

          ✓

          Then give students short hypothetical examples and ask them to classify them.

          4. Pair activity: “Misinformation or Disinformation?” – 10 min

          Give pairs 4–5 short scenarios.

          For example:

          A. Maria reads a false post and shares it with her friends because she believes it is true.

          B. Someone creates a false story about a product because they want people to buy it.

          C. A student shares a false health claim without checking it first.

          D. Someone deliberately creates a fake story to make people believe something about another person.

          Students decide:

          M = Misinformation
          D = Disinformation

          But they must also answer:

          What is the evidence for your choice?

          This reinforces the distinction between the content being false and the intention behind sharing it.

          5. Deepfakes – 8 min

          Introduce the PowerPoint section on Deepfakes.

          The presentation explains that deepfakes are computer-created videos combining images to depict events, statements or actions that never actually happened and can be convincing and difficult to identify as false.

          Ask:

          • Can we always trust what we see?
          • Can a video be fake even if it looks real?
          • What could happen if people share a fake video without checking it?

          Students discuss briefly in pairs and then share ideas.

          6. Exit ticket – 7 min

          Each student completes three sentences:

          1. Misinformation is…
          2. Disinformation is…
          3. Before I share information online, I should…

          Collect responses or have students submit them digitally.

          Formative assessment: Check whether students can distinguish the two concepts and identify at least one verification strategy.

          SESSION 2 – How can we spot and stop it?

          50 minutes

          1. Retrieval activity – 5 min

          On the board:

          MISINFORMATION ≠ DISINFORMATION

          Students explain the difference to a partner without looking at their notes.

          Then ask two students to explain it to the class.

          2. “Spot the problem” – 10 min

          Return to the examples/statements from the presentation.

          Students work in small groups and ask three questions:

          1. Check the source

          Where does this information come from?

          2. Look for evidence

          What evidence supports the claim?

          3. Think critically

          Does the information make sense? Is it logical?

          These three strategies are explicitly presented in the source material.

          Each group reports its reasoning.

          The emphasis should be on how students reached the decision, rather than simply whether they labelled something true or false.

          3. Social media, clickbait and spreading information – 8 min

          Use the relevant presentation slides concerning social media and clickbait.

          Ask:

          Why might people click on or share information that is shocking, surprising or emotional?

          Brainstorm answers such as:

          • curiosity
          • fear
          • surprise
          • anger
          • entertainment
          • desire to be the first to share something

          Then introduce the idea:

          STOP → CHECK → THINK → SHARE

          Students repeat the sequence and explain what each step means.

          4. Group task: “Would you share it?” – 12 min

          Divide the class into groups of 3–4.

          Give each group one hypothetical social-media post.

          Example:

          BREAKING NEWS! Scientists have discovered that students who use their phones for more than two hours a day lose 20% of their intelligence! SHARE THIS WITH EVERYONE!

          Students must decide:

          SHARE / DON'T SHARE / CHECK FIRST

          They complete:

          Question

          Group response

          What is the claim?

          		  

          Is the source identified?

          		  

          What evidence is provided?

          		  

          Does anything seem suspicious?

          		  

          What should we check?

          		  

          Would we share it?

          		  

          Each group gives a 30–45 second justification.

          The objective is not simply to identify “fake news”, but to practise the evaluation process.

          5. Responsible Digital Citizenship – 8 min

          Move to the final section of the presentation.

          The material stresses two responsibilities:

          Share Responsibly: verify facts and check source reliability before sharing.

          Educate Others: help friends and family understand the importance of checking information before believing or sharing it.

          Ask students:

          What makes someone a responsible digital citizen?

          Create a class definition:

          A responsible digital citizen thinks critically, checks information and considers the consequences before sharing it.

          Students then write one personal rule for responsible sharing.

          6. Final activity / assessment – 7 min

          Use a short individual quiz:

          1. What is misinformation?
          2. What is disinformation?
          3. What is the main difference between them?
          4. Give two ways of checking information.
          5. What is a deepfake?
          6. Why can clickbait contribute to the spread of misleading information?
          7. What should a responsible digital citizen do before sharing information?

          Finish with:

          “One thing I will do differently when I see information online is…”

          Assessment

          Formative assessment

          Throughout both sessions the teacher assesses:

          • participation in discussion;
          • correct use of target vocabulary;
          • ability to distinguish misinformation from disinformation;
          • ability to justify an answer;
          • application of the three verification strategies;
          • collaboration during group work.

          Summative element

          The final individual questions provide evidence that students can:

          identify → distinguish → evaluate → respond responsibly.

          Differentiation

          For students who need additional support

          • Vocabulary list remains visible.
          • Pair work precedes whole-class responses.
          • Definitions are simplified orally.
          • Students can choose from Misinformation / Disinformation / Not enough information rather than producing an answer from scratch.

          For stronger students

          Ask them to explain intention:

          Who might benefit from people believing this information?

          and

          What could happen if people shared it?

          They can also create their own example of misinformation or disinformation and ask another group to classify it.

          Digital tools

          The lesson can be delivered primarily through the existing PowerPoint and worksheet. If digital interaction is desired, the activities can additionally be implemented through Google Forms, Kahoot or Padlet, but these are extensions rather than requirements of the two source documents.

          The PowerPoint itself also introduces Fakey, an online game intended to teach media literacy and examine how people interact with misinformation. Because the presentation identifies it as intended for ages 16+, I would treat it as an optional extension rather than an essential activity for Grade 10 students, depending on the students' ages.

          Overall pedagogical sequence

          Session 1:
          Activate → Learn vocabulary → Define → Distinguish → Explore deepfakes → Reflect

          Session 2:
          Recall → Check sources → Seek evidence → Think critically → Analyse social media/clickbait → Act as responsible digital citizens

          This gives the two sessions a clear progression from language development and conceptual understanding to critical thinking and practical digital citizenship, while keeping the activities directly anchored in the two documents.

           

          Matching Vocabulary - Digital Citizenship
          Digital Citizenship_Disinformation-Misinformation