Standards Correlations

R.1, R.2, R.3, R.4, R.7, W.1, SL.1, L.4, L.6

Learning Objective

Students will read a text about the effects of social media on nature and then summarize the text.

Key Skills

summarizing, text features, vocabulary, cause and effect, compare and contrast, problem and solution, critical thinking, argument writing

Complexity Factors

Purpose: The article explains how the rise of social media—specifically Instagram—has changed how we interact with nature.

Structure: The text gives examples from several parks and Instagram influencers. It is mostly written in a problem-solution format.

Language: The language is direct and conversational.

Knowledge Demands: Some knowledge of social media (and geotagging) will help.

Levels

Lexile: 700L-800L 

Guided Reading Level: T 

DRA Level: 50

Lesson Plan: Is Social Media Ruining Nature?

Essential Questions

  • How do the actions of humans affect nature? 
  • What does it mean to use social media responsibly?

Literature Connection

  • Novel: Chomp by Carl Hiaasen

1. Preparing to Read 

Preview Text Features (15 minutes)

Guide students to locate the article. Preview the text features by asking the following questions:

  • The article includes two images of Instagram posts. What part of each post is circled? How do you know? The geotag is circled on each post. If you weren’t familiar with geotags, you could find the answer in the caption, which is connected to the images with an arrow.
  • Find the image with the text that reads “How Many Likes Is a Patch of Dead Wildflowers Worth?” This is a rhetorical question, meaning that its purpose is to make a point rather than to get an answer. What message do you think this image sends? The image and the question send the message that no number of likes makes it OK to cause the death of a patch of wildflowers. It’s supposed to make us think about whether getting likes on our posts is worth causing damage to the natural world.

Preview Vocabulary (10 minutes)

  • Point out the vocabulary box. Read the words (overrun, geotagging, criticized, economy, residents) aloud and discuss the definitions.
  • Play the Vocabulary Slideshow.

Make a Plan for Reading 

Before students start to read, walk them through a reading plan:

  • Set a purpose for reading: Tell students that the article explains how social media posts that are meant to celebrate places of natural beauty can actually cause those places harm.  
  • Point out the Pause and Think boxes. Tell students they can check their understanding of what they’ve read by answering these questions.
  • Point out the activity at the end of the article, and tell students they will complete it after reading. Guide them to briefly scan the questions in the activity and to keep them in mind as they read.

2. Reading and Unpacking the Text

Guide students to read the article. Once they understand it well, discuss the following close-reading and critical-thinking questions

Close-Reading Questions (15 minutes)

  • How did crowds of visitors affect the poppy fields around Lake Elsinore, California? (cause and effect) The crowds of visitors picked flowers, stomped on flowers, and encouraged other people to come and visit as well.
  • What was different about the way people shared nature photos before social media compared with now? (compare and contrast) Before we had social media, people shared their photos with only a few others. Now we share them with a wide network of people.
  • What have officials in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, asked visitors to do to help protect nature? (problem and solution) Officials in Jackson Hole have asked visitors to stop geotagging their posts.

Critical-Thinking Questions (10 minutes)

  • The article states that Instagram launched in 2010 and that since then, yearly visits to national parks have gone up. Do you think it’s reasonable to assume Instagram had something to do with this increase? Could there be other reasons for the increase? (critical thinking) Instagram may have had something to do with the increase; the article seems to suggest that it has. People who didn’t care about nature before might be more inclined to go to a park to post beautiful pictures on Instagram. The trend could be unrelated, however. Another reason for the increase in park visits could be that people have gotten tired of looking at screens all day and want to look at nature in real life.
  • The article says that nature lovers have left negative comments on geotagged posts. Do you think comments like this are helpful? Are they likely to make people think twice about what they post? (critical thinking) Answers may vary. Some students might say that comments do encourage people to think twice about what they post. Others might say that negative comments only annoy people.

3. Skill Building and Writing

  • Have students work in pairs or small groups to complete the Spotlight Skill Workout: 5 Questions at the end of the article.
  • Use our Summarizing Skill Builder, available in higher- and lower- level versions. (Click here to view all your Skill Builders for this article.)
  • Writing prompt: Imagine that your friend Mya has posted photos from a trip she took to a beautiful place (you decide what kind of place; it can be a beach, a forest, or anywhere else in nature). Mya has geotagged her post. Write a short note to Mya telling her how you feel about her geotagging her post. Are you glad, because you’d like to go where she went? Are you concerned, because her posts might lead to changes in the beautiful places she visited? Say what you think!

Learn Anywhere Activity

An enrichment activity to extend the learning journey at home or in the classroom

Create a PSA

A public service announcement provides valuable information to the public.  As a class, view the video “Tag Responsibly, Keep Jackson Hole Wild.” Then, using the video as an example, create your own PSA.

  • Think of a public space you care about. This can be a park, a playground, a beach, or another space in your community.
  • Think about something people do or might do (such as littering or picking flowers) that could harm the space.
  • Think of something people could do instead (such as cleaning up or leaving flowers where they are) that would be better for the space. 
  • Make a video that shows why the space is special, why certain actions are harmful, what you want people to do instead, and why (for instance, so that everyone can continue to enjoy the space).

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