KF PRIVACY PROJECT WEBQUEST

Learning Objectives: What should students know and be able to do as a result of this lesson?
After participating in the close reading activity, students will be able to evaluate the argument and specific claims in the texts on Snowden, including the reasoning as well as the relevancy and sufficiency of the text.
Using the written responses from the second reading, students will be able to cite strong textual evidence from the articles supporting or refuting Snowden's innocence.
Using the article, students will be able to analyze an author's claims and the validity of them in relation to the argument.
Students will be able to produce a well written essay with definitive arguments that are supported by the author's claim as well as their own conclusions. Students will use textual evidence from the articles to support their arguments.
During the Philosophical Chairs activity, students will be able to participate in discourse, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
Prior Knowledge: What prior knowledge should students have for this lesson?
Some students might need a better understanding of privacy rights. Students growing up in this era are somewhat numb to privacy with all of the technology and media that allow people to be very public about everything.
Students will answer an Anticipation Guide to help elicit some of the background knowledge that would be helpful regarding these particular articles.
Guiding Questions: What are the guiding questions for this lesson?
Which author, Mark Weisbrot or James Jay Carafano, presented the strongest evidence regarding the Edward Snowden controversy, and which arguments specifically convinced you of his innocence or guilt?
Is Snowden a hero or a traitor?
Teaching Phase: How will the teacher present the concept or skill to students?
Hook:

Show this clip from the season 2 intro of the television show Person of Interest. Discuss the statement, "You are being watched. The government has a secret system, a machine that spies on you every hour of every day. I designed the machine to see acts of terror, but it sees everything..."

After viewing, ask some or all of the following questions:

Do you think the government is watching you?
If so, what devices or tools does the government use to watch people?
Would it bother you to know the government is listening to your conversations or watching you throughout the day? Why or why not?
What are some reasons that the government would be interested in watching you or listening to your conversations?
Guide students to complete this Anticipation Guide. After students complete the Anticipation Guide, facilitate a classroom discussion allowing students to discuss how and why they answered the Anticipation Guide questions in the way they did.

Guided Practice: What activities or exercises will the students complete with teacher guidance?
First Close Read: Key Ideas and Details

1. The teacher reads aloud both articles, "Pro/Con: Is Snowden a Hero or a Traitor?" (Mark Weisbrot and James Jay Carafano, McClatchy-Tribune News Service, via Newsela)

Before reading the articles, provide students with a purpose for reading. Ask students to look for/respond to the following questions:

Who is Snowden?
What did he do? In other words, what is Snowden being accused of based upon the article?
In addition, identify areas which need clarifying (word level and phrases).
Students should follow along in the articles as the teacher reads aloud.

Student Responsibility: While listening to the articles, think about the two questions posted and be prepared to share with your partner afterward. Also, highlight any words or text that were difficult for you to understand.

2. After reading: Have students complete a short written response to the two questions. Then, have students share and discuss with their partner for 2-5 minutes. Partners will then write a 3-sentence response to the questions and share out their answers with the rest of the class.

Sample response:

Snowden is a former NSA contractor who leaked information, via the Internet, to the world that his agency (the NSA) was collecting information regarding specific individuals and organizations, both political and personal. Some feel it was an act of heroism; others think Snowden betrayed his country and is a traitor.
3. Display a chart with both questions, "Who is Snowden?" and "What is Snowden being accused of based upon the article?"

4. Call on pairs to share their written responses. The teacher may wish to record student responses on a chart for display. As students report out, the teacher should clarify when needed for accuracy.

5. Provide another chart labeled "Clarification."

Have students write down the words or phrases they highlighted during the read aloud on sticky notes, and then have students provide a possible definition or summary of the troubling words/phrases. Call students up to place sticky notes on the chart. While doing this, have students share the words/phrases which caused a stumbling block and how they came up with a possible definition or clarification. At this time, the teacher can clarify any misconceptions or incorrect definitions. Have all students record the correct meanings/understandings of the phrases presented on their articles in the margin near the identified word/phrase. This will ensure a better understanding as they read the articles for the second and third time.

6. The teacher may need to define the following terms for students/provide background information to place them in the correct context:

pretext
sovereignty
surveillance state
Banana Republic
burgeoning military intelligence
war on terror
constitutional vs. unconstitutional
totalitarian regime
whistle-blower
protection laws
Second Close Read: Craft and Structure

Paired students are assigned the following paragraphs to read:

PRO:

Paragraph 1: In the opening paragraph, Mark Weisbrot states, "Edward Snowden is a courageous American hero and will be remembered as one long after the 'war on terror' is replaced by some other pretext for violating Americans' constitutional rights and the rest of the world's national sovereignty, privacy and, sometimes, security." Why does Mr. Weisbrot place the words war on terror in quotation marks? What does the author mean by "some other pretext for violating Americans' constitutional rights..."?

Paragraph 3: Who is the author referring to when stating "critical reporting"? What is the argument to support the NSA's actions according to this paragraph?

Paragraphs 5-11: According to the author, the NSA is identifying and investigating individuals or groups associated with terrorism. In paragraph 6, the author states, "However, there is a mountain of evidence that this massive data-gathering is in fact being used against citizens who are involved in constitutionally protected activity, such as political organizing and public education." Reading through paragraph 11, give examples of some of the ways the NSA is abusing its power according to the author.

Paragraphs 14 and 15: What entity is the author implicating in the 14th and 15th paragraphs as an authority with more power than our president and elected officials? Why does the author think this a concern? What is the significance of sharing this information?

CON:

Paragraphs 3 and 4: How does the example of the Aussies and the Indonesian intelligence services help support the author's claim that Snowden did more harm than good?

Paragraphs 6 and 7: What did you learn about nations ranked at the top of the "Index of Freedom in the World"? According to the author, Jay Carafano, how did Snowden cause more damage to the nations ranked at the top of the Freedom House? Why is this important for his argument?

Paragraph 10: What does the author mean by "ordered liberty"? Why is this significant to his argument?

Paragraphs 12 - 15: What analogy does the author use regarding Snowden and his actions?

After students have reread and answered the questions, the class will participate in a Philosophical Chairs activity based on the following question:

Which author, Mark Weisbrot or James Jay Carafano, presented the strongest evidence regarding the Edward Snowden controversy, and what arguments specifically convinced you of his innocence or guilt?

Teachers might wish to use this link for Philosophical Chairs Rules of Engagement with students.

Teachers can also use this link for a Philosophical Chairs Report and this link for a Philosophical Chairs Rubric to assess students' participation.

Independent Practice: What activities or exercises will students complete to reinforce the concepts and skills developed in the lesson?
Summative Assessment:

Students will write an essay responding to the following question:

Is Snowden a hero or a traitor? In making your argument, use evidence from the text and discussion from the Philosophical Chairs activity to support your claims.
Closure: How will the teacher assist students in organizing the knowledge gained in the lesson?
For the closing activity, students should return to the Anticipation Guide to review their answers and indicate if their thinking has changed toward any of the statements. Students should also include why they agree or disagree with each statement, with a one to two sentence response per statement. Teachers can have students do this in writing, on an exit ticket, or through a class discussion.