Level 3: Media Literacy | Cyber Civics
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LEVEL 3: MEDIA LITERACY FOR POSITIVE PARTICIPATION
Recommended for 8th Grade

There has never been a more important time to teach youth how to critically evaluate and creatively produce media—not just words, but visual and audio media too! Artificial Intelligence (AI) is making it increasingly difficult to discern what is real, and what is not, making lessons in media literacy essential. This program provides a turnkey, teacher-led curriculum, plus support, for a full year of weekly media literacy in-classroom or at-home lessons. Covers misinformation, artificial intelligence, media stereotypes and representation, visual literacy, and more!

Low subscription rate is based upon the number of students you will be teaching, contact us for a quote (special rates for districts and small schools).

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About Level 3

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This, the final level of Cyber Civics, focuses on media literacy which is "the ability to access, analyze, evaluate and create media in a variety of forms." Within this turnkey program you will find lesson plans (downloadable and easy-to-teach), slides w/embedded videos, parent engagement letters, background materials, fillable PDF forms for students, and access to one-to-one support—so that you can easily teach these important skills.​

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Media Literacy is ESSENTIAL

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There has never been a more important time to teach students how to critically evaluate and creatively produce media messages. With misinformation so easily made and shared online, knowing how to recognize it, and understanding what to do about it, is so important that many states across the U.S. mandate that "media literacy" be taught in school.

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This level of Cyber Civics builds upon the strong foundation of the first two levels of this program. Like Levels 1 & 2, these lessons emphasize ethical and critical thinking, discussion and decision-making through hands-on projects, problem-solving activities, and role-play. 

 

Read About Media Literacy Legislation

Download NAMLE's Core Principles of Media Literacy

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Frequently Asked Questions

 

  • Low subscription rate determined by size of school.

  • Subscribers receive a school-wide license with full support.

  • Any teacher at subscribing school or organization can open a private account and get access to all materials

  • Always-current resources are constantly updated.

  • Monthly newsletters announce new lessons and resources.

  • Multiple school/district discounts offered.

  • Low home school cost.

  • For online demonstrations or onsite presentations, contact us.

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See Our Full FAQ's

Request a Quote

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Our Story

 

Launched in a California public Waldorf-inspired charter school (Journey School) in 2010, Cyber Civics™ is the most comprehensive digital literacy program you'll find. Currently taught in nearly every Waldorf school (public and private), large and small public schools, private schools, after-school programs, and by homeschoolers, it has received national media attention, been honored as an "Innovation in Education" award finalist by Project Tomorrow and the O.C. Tech Alliance, and its founder, Diana Graber, is the recipient of the "2017 Media Literacy Teacher Award" from the National Association of Media Literacy Education (NAMLE). Her book—"Raising Humans in a Digital World: Helping Kids Build a Healthy Relationship with Technology" (HarperCollins Leadership) tells the Cyber Civics story.​

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See Level 1 (Digital Citizenship)

See Level 2 (Information Literacy)

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Testimonials

Testimonials for Cyber Civics

Subscriber-Only Curriculum

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UNIT 1: IT'S A PARTICIPATORY CULTURE

Students evaluate how they use media as they discover what it means to live in a “participatory culture” (a term coined by scholar Henry Jenkins), and consider whether they may use media too much (or if it is using them).

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  • Teacher Guide

  • Home Activities

  • Are You a Maker or a Taker?

  • The Multitasking Myth

  • Your Brain on Tech

 

UNIT 2: CALLING ON CRITICAL THINKING

The ability to use critical thinking to assess online information is perhaps one of the most important skills for a young digital citizens to master. This unit, updated based on new research from the Stanford History Education Group (SHEG), teaches students this skill.

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  • Teacher Guide

  • Home Activities

  • Analyzing Online Information (Part 1)

  • Analyzing Online Information (Part 2)

 

UNIT 3: MISINFORMATION

One of the wonderful things about living in a participatory culture is that anyone and everyone can be a purveyor of information and news. This is one of the great downsides too. This unit teaches students how to be critical consumers of information, and helps them understand how misinformation can spread via the Internet and social media, and even find its way into mainstream “news.” They also learn tabout he impact of AI on misinformation.

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  • Teacher Guide

  • Home Activities

  • What's News?

  • What's "Fake News"?

  • Don't Click on the Bait

  • What Does AI Have To Do With News?

  • Simon Says It's Fake

  • Units 2 & 3 Quiz

 

UNIT 4: STEREOTYPES & MEDIA REPRESENTATION

Television, social media, videos, movies, video games, and more often depict people in overly simplified ways and digital technologies make it easier than ever to share and perpetuate these notions. Through this unit, students learn to recognize and understand stereotypes and representations in all the media they use.

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  • Teacher Guide

  • Home Activities

  • Seeing Stereotypes

  • Don't Label Me!

  • The Ad Who Knows You

 

UNIT 5: VISUAL LITERACY

Much of media is visual, especially the media that young people use. From Instagram to YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat and more, young people consume and create all sorts of visual imagery, including photos, images, video, memes, and more. This unit helps students learn how to read and create visual media, and also helps them become less susceptible to visual manipulations.

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  • Teacher Guide

  • Home Activities

  • Before There Was Photoshop

  • Every Picture Tells a Story

  • Don't Let That Photo Fool You

  • When Facetune Goes Too Far

  • Food Takes Center Stage

  • Unit 4 & 5 Quiz

 

UNIT 6: SEXT education

Students just explored how today’s communication is increasingly visual and understand that all sorts of images can be posted and shared online. Now they will discover there are some visual images that should never be posted or shared. They learn about the serious consequences of sexting, revenge porn, sextortion, and deepnudes, and the importance of making healthy media choices.

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  • Teacher Guide

  • Home Activities

  • Sexting

  • Revenge Porn

  • Sextortion & AI

 

UNIT 7: THE POWER IS IN YOUR HANDS

The lessons in this final unit encourage students to apply what they have learned over three levels through several hands-on, collaborative activities in which they consider their place in the digital world, now and in the future.

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  • Teacher Guide

  • Home Activities

  • The Power of Participation

  • How Will You Participate?

  • Making Technology Accessible to All

  • Final Activity: Are You a Maker or a Taker Now?

 

EXTRA UNIT: RESEARCH skills 

We recommend using this extra unit in conjunction with an “8th grade project” or a “passion project” of a student’s choice. TThese are all important research skills students will use in high school and beyond.

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  • Search Like a Pro

  • How To Cite Right

  • Let's Review! Copyright, Fair Use, Public Domain

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