Front Page of the Sun?

My Year 10 class came into my room the other day to see the screen above on the whiteboard.  “They can’t do that,”  “What,”  “No way,” were just some of the comments.  I’d got the reaction I wanted.

Next, they were asked to come up with reasons why people might think that it would be a good idea for young people not to be able to access the internet at home.  They responded really well and they did come up with many valid reasons, for example, to stop young people accessing inappropriate content and to make them less vulnerable to cyber-bullying.

Then I asked them for reasons why this was a bad idea.  Once more they came up with a good list: entertainment; keeping in touch with friends and family; and even doing homework.

On to the main task.  I told them that if they did not want young people to be banned from accessing the internet at home they would need to launch a campaign.  I asked them what they would need to do.  They decided that a big publicity campaign would be a good idea and they set to work making posters, leaflets, PowerPoints, etc.  They were very keen to put forwards the benefits to young people of using the internet and minimising the dangers.  Their writing was pitched appropriately and their writing was very persuasive.  The ICT skills that they were applying to the task where at a pretty high standard.

At this point I spotted one young man who was demonstrating excellent Photshop skills.  He had found a photo for the Home Secretary on the internet and he was turning her into the devil – with horns and a tail.  The Photoshopping was exceptional but in my mind’s eye I was seeing the front page of the Sun with the story “Teacher Makes Pupil Turn the Home Secretary Into Devil” on its front page.

The lesson succeeded brilliantly in getting the objective across to my learners because I succeeded in getting them emotionally engaged.  At the end of the lesson I remembered to tell them that the original story was a hoax and, to be fair to them, they weren’t very surprised.  But my biggest relief was that the Sun did not get hold of the Photoshopped Home Secretary Devil.