Social Media Lesson to Get Students Talking
An hour-long, conversation lesson with a discussion about social media, an emotional video, and an opportunity to use new phrasal verbs in conversation.
You can download the PDF with the vocabulary exercises, story, and questions here.
Opening Questions (5-10 minutes)
- Which social media platforms do you use?
- What do you think of those platforms?
- What do you do most often on social media?
Vocabulary (5-10 minutes)
Match the words with the definitions.
| 1. DM/PM | a. an updated list of new content on a website |
| 2. influencer | b. attacking someone online (often it’s a personal attack) |
| 3. troll | c. content shared on social media from a profile |
| 4. cyberbullying | d. online titles/images/content aimed to get attention, regardless of accuracy |
| 5. feed | e. direct message / personal message |
| 6. clickbait | f. broadcasting real-time videos |
| 7. scroll | g. a person with the ability to influence others |
| 8. live-streaming | h. a photo you take of yourself |
| 9. selfie | i. a person who tries to provoke/irritate others online with little or no reason |
| 10. post | j. sliding texts/images/videos across a screen vertically or horizontally |
Before you watch the video, answer the following question. (5 minutes)
What do you think a reverse selfie could be?
Now watch the video. (2 minutes)
Comprehension questions (5-10 minutes)
- What was the image at the beginning of the video? Where was the image?
- What was the purpose of the image?
- What sorts of things did the poster do to the image?
- What sorts of things did the poster do to themselves before taking the video?
- In the end, who was behind the post?
- What was Dove’s purpose for creating this advertisement?
Discussion Questions (10-15 minutes)
- What did you think of the advertisement? Why
- Do you think the advertisement is accurate to real life? Why or why not?
- Have you ever felt pressured to look a certain way or to post a certain thing online? Why or why not?
- Do you think children are more susceptible to the influence of social media? Why or why not?
- What should be done to make sure children are protected online?
Read the following short story. (5-10 minutes)
When I was in my teens, I was always trying to show off to my friends. I wanted to be liked and I was scared of being put down. My friends and I really looked up to social media influencers and I think that kind of rubbed off on me. I used to dress up and while away the hours with my friends taking selfies and posting them online. When I think back on that time, I mostly feel embarrassed by how stuck up I was. Luckily most of that has worn off by now and I don’t really care what people think anymore, especially not online. I post what I want, when I want. I stumbled across a photo on social media the other day, of me and my high school friends. Even though we’ve grown a little apart over the years, I know I can still count on them because if you can survive high school together, you can get through anything.
Phrasal verbs discussion (10-20 minutes)
- Did you like to show off when you were younger? Why or why not?
- Do you think people are put down more in real life or online? Why?
- Do you look up to influencers? Why or why not?
- Do you think influencers or internet celebrities rub off on you? Why or why not?
- Do you dress up if you want to post a photo online? Why or why not?
- Do you think you while the hours away on social media or the internet? Why or why not?
- When you think back on your younger years, does the internet play a big part in your memories? Why or why not?
- How can people avoid being stuck up?
- Do you think the allure of social media wears off as you age? Why or why not?
- Have you ever stumbled across an old photo on social media? What was it?
- Have you and your high school friends stayed close or grown apart over the years? Why?
- If an old high school friend called you up and asked for help, could they count on you? Why or why not?
- Do you think high school was difficult to get through? Or do you look back on those memories fondly?
- When you think back on social media in the past and now, how are they different?
