Summary
In this lesson, students will understand the essential elements of identity theft and consumer fraud. They will create a PSA-style poster or video about how to avoid identity theft. This lesson includes optional modifications for distance learning. Resources for use in Google Classroom are included.
Essential Question(s)
How do people steal your identity online? Can we prevent identity theft or consumer fraud?
Snapshot
Engage
Students complete a Fist to Five activity to identify what they already know about identity theft.
Explore
Students complete a Justified True or False list based on their prior knowledge and conversation with a peer.
Explain
Students read an article about identity theft and reassess their answers on the Justified True or False list.
Extend
Students create a Public Service Announcement (PSA) poster or a video PSA announcement.
Evaluate
Each student's Justified True or False List, Tweet Up, and PSA presentation may serve as evaluations for this lesson. A rubric is attached.
Materials
Lesson Slides (attached)
Justified True or False List (attached; one per student)
Justified True or False List (Answer Key) (attached; optional)
PSA Rubric (attached; one per student)
The Problems of Identity Theft reading (attached; one per student)
Internet-enabled student devices for research
Posters and art supplies (construction paper, markers, etc.)
Engage
Use the attached Lesson Slides to guide the lesson. Begin with slide 3. Briefly, read aloud the essential questions: How do people steal your identity online? Can we prevent identity theft or consumer fraud? Move to slide 4. Introduce students to the Fist to Five strategy. Ask students to hold up 0-5 fingers based on their answers to the question, "Do you know how to protect your online identity?" As stated on the slide, a closed fist means, "I'm not sure how to prevent my identity from being compromised," while five fingers mean, "I'm an expert at protecting my online identity."
Ask students who gave reasonably high numbers to share what they do to protect their identity. On a whiteboard space, record students' ideas and other ideas from the discussion about how to prevent identity theft.
Explore
Introduce students to the Justified True or False strategy. Then, invite students to explore the topic of identity theft and consumer fraud. Pass out a copy of the attached Justified True or False List handout to each student. Ask students to read each statement carefully and decide whether it is true or false based on personal knowledge. Allow about 15–20 minutes of time for this activity.
Have students pair up to compare their answers. Students are free to change their answers based on their discussions.
Explain
Pass out a copy of the attached The Problems of Identity Theft reading to each student. Have students read the article, correcting their Justified True and False Lists as they go. For statements deemed false, students should write the correct information underneath the statement. Allow about 30 minutes for the reading and for students to correct their lists.
Next, move to slide 5. Go over each answer with the class and have students correct their own answers (if you have chosen not to take up students' lists). Move to slide 6 when students are ready to see statements 5-8, and then to slide 7 to see statements 9-11. See the attached Justified True or False List (Answer Key) for a printed version of the answers.
Extend
Place students in groups of 2-3. Pass out a copy of the attached PSA Rubric to each student. Invite groups to create their own PSA about identity theft prevention. Each group will have a specific topic to address. Consider also telling students that the best PSAs will be placed in your school's hallway, if possible. Read the rubric aloud and answer any questions regarding expectations for the project.
Move to slide 8. Assign each group one of the topics listed on the slide. Have students access the Internet to research, finding reliable sources online that address their topics. Each student group should find at least three Internet sources and create a five-item, bullet-point poster that offers solutions for online use. Allow one class period for Internet research and poster creation and a second class period for presentations.
Evaluate
Move to slide 9. Introduce students to the Tweet Up strategy. As an Exit Ticket, ask students to Tweet Up anything they learned during this lesson about identity theft or identity protection. Students' tweets need to be 140 characters or less, including punctuation and hashtags.
Each student's Justified True or False List, PSA presentation, and Tweet Up serve as assessments for this lesson.
Resources
K20 Center. (n.d.). Fist to Five. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/7b4de59085f566aa097814b8c0003b4a
K20 Center. (n.d.). Justified True or False. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/d9908066f654727934df7bf4f507a9cc
K20 Center. (n.d.). Tweet Up. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/d9908066f654727934df7bf4f505fb94
K20 Center. (n.d.). Mentimeter. Tech Tools. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/tech-tool/645
K20 Center. (n.d.). Google Classroom. Tech Tools. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/tech-tool/628
K20 Center. (n.d.). iMovie. Tech Tools. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/tech-tool/636
K20 Center. (n.d.). Canva. Tech Tools. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/tech-tool/612