Subjects
Arts & Humanities
--Language Arts
--Literature
--Visual Arts
Mathematics
--Measurement
--Statistics
Physical Education
--Games
--Exercise/Movement
Health
--Family Life
--Mental Health
Science
--Physical Science
Social Studies
--Current Events
Grades
Grades 2-up
News Content
A new report says the average American spends 151 hours a month in front of a screen.
Anticipation Guide
Ask students to think about how much time they spend at home in front of a screen (television, computer, video game, or cell phone) each week. How much time would that represent in the course of a month (multiply by 4 weeks for an approximation)? Ask: Has the amount of time you spend in front of a screen at home increased in the past year? Why or why not?
Then ask: What if those screens all went dark for a week? What if you had no access to a TV, computer, video games, or cell phones for an entire week? How would you feel? What would you do to fill the time that you would have spent in front of a screen?
News Words
Next, introduce these words that appear in the News Word Box on the students printable page: awareness, organizers, average, percent, increase, and convince. Discuss the meanings of any of those words that might be unfamiliar. Then ask students to use one of those words to complete each of these sentences:
Read the News
Click for a printable version of this weeks news story Can You Last a Week Without Screen Time?
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More Facts to Share
You might share these additional facts with students after they have read this weeks news story.
Comprehension Check
Revisit the Anticipation Guide at the top of this lesson; ask students to compare the amount of time they estimated spending in front of a screen to the amount of time the report says the average person spends there.
Recalling Detail
Follow-Up Activities
Critical thinking and writing. Discuss the Think About the News question that appears on the students news page. Then provide time for students to write their letters. If you teach younger students, you might discuss the question and write ideas on a chart; they can use those ideas as they compose their letters.
Art. Participate in this years Turnoff Week Poster Contest. The theme of this years contest is I'm unplugged and ready to... The deadline for submitting posters is May 30, 2009.
Science. Take time to learn some science by doing the ShowbizScience experiment, TV Upside Down. In this experiment, a magnifying glass will help students understand that the picture they see on TV (or another screen) comprises many points of light.
Literature. If you teach young students, read aloud the story The Berenstain Bears and Too Much TV. In that story, Mama Bear decides her family is spending too much time in front of the TV, so she bans TV for a week. The Bear family must find other ways to have fun and keep busy. When TV viewing is allowed again at the end of the week, the family continues to watch less TV -- and they don't even miss it.
Math measurement and graphing. Have students monitor the amount of time they spend in front of a screen for a one-week period. Have them graph the number of minutes of screen time for each day of the week.
Assessment
Use the Comprehension Check (above) as an assessment. Or have students work on their own (in their journals) or in their small groups to respond to the Think About the News questions on the news story page or in the Comprehension Check section.
Lesson Plan Source
Education WorldNational Standards
FINE ARTS: Visual Arts
GRADES K - 4
NA-VA.K-4.1 Understanding and Applying Media, Techniques, and Processes
NA-VA.K-4.3 Choosing and Evaluating A Range of Subject Matter, Symbols, and Ideas
NA-VA.K-4.6 Making Connections Between Visual Arts and Other Disciplines
GRADES 5 - 8
NA-VA.5-8.1 Understanding and Applying Media, Techniques, and Processes
NA-VA.5-8.3 Choosing and Evaluating A Range of Subject Matter, Symbols, and Ideas
NA-VA.5-8.6 Making Connections Between Visual Arts and Other Disciplines
GRADES 9 - 12
NA-VA.9-12.1 Understanding and Applying Media, Techniques, and Processes
NA-VA.9-12.3 Choosing and Evaluating A Range of Subject Matter, Symbols, and Ideas
NA-VA.9-12.6 Making Connections Between Visual Arts and Other Disciplines
LANGUAGE ARTS: English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading for Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.3 Evaluation Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.4 Communication Skills
NL-ENG.K-12.5 Communication Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills
MATHEMATICS: Representation
GRADES Pre-K - 12
NM-REP.PK-12.1 Create and Use Representations to Organize, Record, and Communicate Mathematical Ideas
NM-REP.PK-12.3 Use Representations to Model and Interpret Physical, Social, and Mathematical Phenomena
PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND HEALTH: Physical Education
GRADES K - 12
NPH.K-12.3 Physical Activity
PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND HEALTH: Health
GRADES K - 4
NPH-H.K-4.3 Reducing Health Risks
NPH-H.K-4.4 Health Influences
NPH-H.K-4.5 Using Communication Skills to Promote Health
NPH-H.K-4.6 Setting Goals for Good Health
GRADES 5 - 8
NPH-H.5-8.3 Reducing Health Risks
NPH-H.5-8.4 Health Influences
NPH-H.5-8.5 Using Communication Skills to Promote Health
NPH-H.5-8.6 Setting Goals for Good Health
GRADES 9 - 12
NPH-H.9-12.3 Reducing Health Risks
NPH-H.9-12.4 Health Influences
NPH-H.9-12.5 Using Communication Skills to Promote Health
NPH-H.9-12.6 Setting Goals for Good Health
SCIENCE
GRADES K - 4
NS.K-4.2 Physical Science
GRADES 5 - 8
NS.5-8.2 Physical Science
GRADES 9 - 12
NS.9-12.2 Physical Science
TECHNOLOGY
GRADES K - 12
NT.K-12.2 Social, Ethical, and Human Issues
See recent news stories in Education Worlds News Story of the Week Archive.
Article by Ellen Delisio and Gary Hopkins
Education World®
Copyright © 2009 Education World
04/15/2009