Thinking About Hate
Have students access the student chapter Thinking About Hate and play the interactive video. (If you prefer, you can play the video for the whole class on a digital project or digital whiteboard.)
The video begins with information about ‘Oumuamua, a celestial body that may be an asteroid or a spaceship. At one minute into the video, students will be asked which it is based on the information so far. Highlight to them that their answer is not being confirmed as true or false – they’re just stating what they think the right answer is for now.
At one minute and 45 seconds, students will be shown an open text question asking whether they feel the first summary of facts about ‘Oumuamua gave them a fair and honest view of the evidence. Once students have answered that question, lead a brief discussion of why they might think that it it did or didn’t. How did the second set of facts make them see things differently?
As the video goes on, students will be shown a series of question prompts. Use each of these to lead a short discussion.
3:24: Where else have you seen dishonest arguments like these?
5:15 Can you think of other examples of arguments that are dishonest about the facts?
8:25 Why is this argument dishonest about the issue?
10:47 How is “A” being dishonest about themselves and their argument?
12:43 Can you think of any examples of “dog whistles”? What do they really mean? (Be careful when leading the discussion on this question. Make sure students understand that dog whistles are not the same as slurs: the point of dog-whistle is that only people who recognize the term understand its meaning. If students use a slur or express a stereotype, respond right away. Tell the student who said it to pause, address it as quickly as possible, and then either use it as a springboard to more discussion or return to the previous conversation.)
In the second part of the video, students will be shown examples of dishonest arguments and asked to identify which type each example is. (In some cases, there is more than one correct answer.)
In each case, make sure students understand that the example is false.
In particular, highlight that the second example, relating to interracial crime in the US, leaves out key information (how many crimes were committed by White people against other White people) and also misrepresents the data by presenting it in absolute rather than relative numbers, even though there are five times more White than Black people in the United States.
In the third example, highlight that while some Irish people were brought to the United States as indentured servants, they were never slaves: they were freed when their term of indenture was over, their children were free even if they were born during the term of indenture.
The end of the video explains the assessment task for the lesson: to argue a point using at least three kinds of dishonest arguments (one of each type) about one of the topics listed.
Students can use the interactive Documentation Tool to make notes for the assignment. If you choose, you may have students work in pairs, arguing opposite sides of each topic, and present their arguments to the class, or simply do the assignment individually in writing.
Depending on how you choose to have them complete the assignment you may grade them on their understanding and application of the dishonest arguments covered in the lesson, the creativity of their arguments, the overall quality of their writing, and the delivery of their presentation to the class.