DAY 1 LESSON STEPS:

Use this PowerPoint for both days: My Digital Life Is Like ... - Lesson Slides.pptx

1. Slides 1-3 on the PPT.

Project the student essay "A Challenge" (Links to an external site.)by Shayne Williams, from the book True Connections (Links to an external site.)(826 National and Common Sense Media, 2019).

Invite students to read aloud. You can also direct students to the link and have students do an independent reading and reflection.

2. Invite students to share their reaction to the essay with the class. Questions to consider:

How are your experiences with technology similar to Shayne's? How are they different?
Have you ever taken on (or thought of taking on) a challenge similar to Shayne's?

3. Explain to students that the writer, Shayne, took the challenge presented to him to achieve more balance around technology in his life. Define media balance as using media in a way that feels healthy and in balance with other life activities (family, friends, school, hobbies, etc.). (Slide 4 in the PPT)

4. Say: Now, we're going to reflect on the positives and negatives of our digital media use and identify ways to achieve media balance. Digital media is content (text, audio, images, video) or devices that allow people to share information, communicate, and collaborate over the internet or computer networks. (Slide 5 in the PPT)

5. Explain to students that they will be going through a Digital Habits Checkup, an activity that will help them identify how to be more in control of their everyday experiences with digital media.

A Digital Habits Checkup is a thinking routine that helps students identify their media habits and make positive changes that support well-being.

6. Put this link to the student handout in the Zoom Chat (Links to an external site.) and show the directions on slide 6 of the PPT. Direct students to Part 1. Allow students 5 minutes to complete Part 1. If students are having a hard time coming up with digital habits, share some of the examples from the Teacher Version. (Links to an external site.)

7. Do a quick Zoom Breakout Room session - put students in groups of 3 to share. Give them 3 minutes.

When done, bring the class back together and tell them you will wrap this conversation up on Thursday.

DAY 2 LESSON STEPS:

1. Direct students to pull up their handout from Tuesday.

Say: Now that you've had a chance to reflect on your digital media habits, identify a habit you'd like to change, and come up with a personal challenge that will help you achieve more media balance in your life. Remember, media balance doesn't look the same for everyone!

Explain to students that creating a personal challenge will motivate them to make a positive change in their media habits. But creating a challenge they can follow through requires thoughtful planning. The steps in the next activity will help them create a challenge that is doable and achievable.

2. Give students 5 minutes to complete Part 2 of their handout. (Refer to the Teacher Version (Links to an external site.) for guidance.)

3. Using zoom Breakout Rooms, pair students and have them share their responses to Part 2. (5 minutes)

4. Ask: Can you commit to trying your challenge for three days (or one week or one month)? If not, why not? If so, what might get in the way of being successful?

Explain to students that they should get really specific about potential barriers and ways they can overcome them. For example, if their challenge is not using their phone before bed, help them think through other ways they might relax if they're having a hard time falling asleep. If they're trying to cut back on TikTok browsing when they're bored, have them think about what else they might do when they're bored waiting in a long line. The goal is to empower students to develop a positive sense of agency around their digital habits.

5. If time permits, invite students to share their personal challenge with the class. Alternatively, they could post it to a digital document (Make a Jamboard!) or write out their commitment to post on a shared digital classroom space - like the Canvas homepage.