Learning Activity

Elements of a Digital Nonfiction Text

Subject Area

English Language Arts

Grade(s)

9, 10

Overview

This learning activity will prepare students to interpret digital texts. In this activity, students will activate prior knowledge to define the terms subject, occasion, audience, purpose, tone, and credibility. They will compare their own definitions with those of their classmates to agree upon a working definition of these terms.

English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 9

ELA21.9.12

Interpret digital texts to determine their subject, occasion, audience, purpose, tone, and credibility.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.9.12

Vocabulary

  • Digital text
  • Credibility
  • Subject
  • Occasion
  • Audience
  • Purpose
  • Tone

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Digital texts, such as online academic journals, social media, and blogs, have various subjects, appropriate occasions, intended audiences, purposes, and tones.
  • A credible source is free from bias and supported with relevant evidence.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Identify and interpret the subject, occasion, audience, purpose, tone, and credibility of digital texts.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • It is important to evaluate the credibility of digital text.
  • Digital texts will focus on different subjects, be used on different occasions, are created with different intended audiences, have different purposes, and a variety of tones.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 10

ELA21.10.12

Interpret digital texts to determine subject, occasion, audience, purpose, tone, and credibility.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.10.12

Vocabulary

  • Digital text
  • Credibility
  • Subject
  • Occasion
  • Audience
  • Purpose
  • Tone

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Digital texts, such as online academic journals, social media, and blogs, have various subjects, appropriate occasions, intended audiences, purposes, and tones.
  • A credible source is free from bias and supported with relevant evidence.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Identify and interpret the subject, occasion, audience, purpose, tone, and credibility of digital texts.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • It is important to evaluate the credibility of digital text.
  • Digital texts will focus on different subjects, be used on different occasions, are created with different intended audiences, have different purposes, and a variety of tones.

Phase

Before/Engage
Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives

  • Students will be able to describe the terms subject, occasion, audience, purpose, tone, and credibility as they relate to interpreting digital texts.

Activity Details

1. The teacher will tell students that a “digital text” is a text that is electronic (like a website or online article) as opposed to a text in a print book or magazine. 

2. The teacher will share with students the importance of evaluating specific elements of a digital text to determine its usefulness. 

3.  The teacher will tell students that the subject, occasion, audience, purpose, tone, and credibility of a digital text are the important elements of the text that help determine its usefulness.

4.  The teacher will provide students with a print or electronic copy of the Interpreting Digital Texts document.  

5.  The student will use prior knowledge to independently fill out the My Definition column (Column 2). 

6.  The teacher will lead a class discussion or group students to help them agree on a class definition of the terms in Column 1. 

7.  Students will write this working definition in the Class Definition column (Column 3). 

8.  This “before” activity does not include completion of Columns 4 (Interpretation) and 5 (Evidence) of the chart.  These columns will be completed in the associated “during” activity.

Assessment Strategies

Assessment Strategies

The teacher may evaluate students by observing them or may collect the documents to make sure that all students have participated in the activity and, most importantly, recorded the class definition for these terms.

Acceleration

  • Students may use the group or class input to draft the class definition for the terms.

Intervention

  • Students may work in pairs for Column 2 brainstorming of the definitions of the terms. 
  • Students may use a device to look up the dictionary definition of the terms.

Approximate Duration

Total Duration

31 to 45 Minutes

Related Learning Activities

Learning Activity (Before)

Elements of a Digital Nonfiction Text

Learning Activity (During)

Introducing Shakespeare: Analyzing Elements of a Digital Nonfiction Text

Learning Activity (After)

Introducing Shakespeare: Claim and Evidence in a Digital Text

Background and Preparation

Background / Preparation

Teacher preparation: 

  • Make copies of the Interpreting Digital Texts document or share it with students electronically.
  • Decide whether to write the class definition of the terms in groups or as a class. 

Student preparation:

  • Students should understand the protocols of class or group discussions.

Materials and Resources

Materials and Resources

  • All students will need a print or electronic copy of the Interpreting Digital Texts document. 
  • If using the electronic copy of the document, students will need a digital device (tablet, laptop, desktop).

Digital Tools / Resources

Interpreting Digital Texts
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ulOHUSn4Zi_lr19nkKiFKz6MFVqtwIPEuW6eMAvOXdE…

Approved Date

Owner (Author)

szana
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