Curriculum Video

These Two Key Questions Form the Heart of Digital Literacy Instruction

By Olina Banerji & Sam Mallon — May 22, 2025 1 min read
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In Brie Wattier’s 8th grade class, students are given two questions that frame their thinking around digital literacy and digital safety.

Through a series of lessons over the course of the school year, the social studies teacher instills in her students techniques for thinking critically about the media they’re consuming—not just in the classroom, but in their daily lives.

Students have internalized routines for how to find reputable information and verify sources. Some have even taken it home to share with their families.

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Teacher Brie Wattier leads a 7th and 8th grade social studies class at the Inspired Teaching Demonstration School for a classroom discussion on the credibility of social media posts and AI-generated imagery on Nov. 19, 2024 in Washington, D.C.
Teacher Brie Wattier leads an 8th grade social studies class at the Inspired Teaching Demonstration School for a classroom discussion on the credibility of social media posts and AI-generated imagery on Nov. 19, 2024, in Washington, D.C.
Courtesy of Dylan Singleton/University of Maryland
Curriculum Inside a Class Teaching Teens to Stop Scrolling and Think Critically
Olina Banerji, December 9, 2024
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Here are two key questions that Wattier has her students ask as part of her media literacy instruction.

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