Wellbeing and technology - English template, Intermediate Mid

Created Feb. 7, 2024 by Amber Hoye, Camille Daw, Mimi Fahnstrom

Please Note: Many of the activities on the Pathways Project OER Repository were created by upper-division students at Boise State University and serve as a foundation that our community of practice can build upon and refine. While they are polished, we welcome and encourage collaboration from language instructors to help modify grammar, syntax, and content where needed. Kindly contact pathwaysproject@boisestate.edu with any suggestions and we will update the content in a timely manner.  — The Pathways Project

Looking for the Spanish Version of this activity to adapt for your language? CLICK HERE

About the Boise State World Languages Resource Center (WLRC) Language Activity Repository

The activities provided by the Boise State World Languages Resource Center (WLRC) serve as foundational activities which can be adapted by any language and scaled up or down on the proficiency scale. Many of these activities offer an English Version that is “language-agnostic” to provide language instructors from around the country a platform to remix these instructional materials, infusing them with their target language and culture! The activities within the Pathways Project OER Repository seek to help students solidify their interpersonal speaking and interpretive skills through task-based situations or communicative activities. These activities should be facilitated in the target language for approximately 90% (or more), per the recommendation of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.

How to use the WLRC Repository’s Activities:

1. Use the Activity as is:

Before you begin:

  • Most activities are 30 minutes in duration, unless otherwise specified.
  • Be sure to read through the activity description, and review the list of required materials. You will notice that the activity materials are also highlighted in yellow throughout the activity instructions.

If you have any suggestions about grammar, syntax, and content, please kindly contact pathwaysproject@boisestate.edu.

2. Remix for Your Language Classroom:

When you are ready to begin remixing the activity, in order to adapt it for the needs of your language classroom, simply click the blue “Remix This Resource” button at the top of your screen. This will then take you to a screen with a NEW, editable version of this activity. The text provided in purple is a suggestion of what you might say to your students in the target language, and may be altered for different levels and age groups. All activities have “NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do” statements, a warm-up, a main activity, and a wrap-up.

Many of the activities include printable cards and other instructional materials such as Google Slideshows. If you would like to make changes to these materials for your classroom, follow the instructions below:

  • Google Slideshows:
    • To begin, go to File -> Copy to create an editable version of the slideshow.
    • Once finished with your changes, please complete the following steps to share:
    • Click on Share
    • Who Has Access
    • Ensure link sharing is on and allow external access.
  • Materials Saved as PDF: Please email pathwaysproject@boisestate.edu and we will provide you with an editable copy. Please allow up to two business days for a response. For YouTube videos and other websites, hyperlinks are provided. 

3. Adapt for Another Language:

  • See the linked English Version at the top of the activity (English Version may not be available for all activities)

Technology and Wellbeing

Description:

In this lab, students will evaluate how social media affects their wellbeing and describe how they feel about certain current events. Students will learn to express personal feelings and opinions regarding literature, social media, and news. Additionally, students will create follow-up questions to create a conversation with others. 

Proficiency Level:

Intermediate Mid

Keywords:

Social media, smartphone, technology, wellbeing

NCSSFL-ACTFL World-Readiness Standards:

  • Standard 1.1 Students engage in conversations, provide and obtain information, express feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions.
  • Standard 1.2 Students understand and interpret spoken and written Spanish on a variety of topics.
  • Standard 1.3 Students present information, concepts, and ideas in Spanish to an audience of listeners or readers on a variety of topics.
  • Standard 2.2 Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the products and perspectives of (target culture).
  • Standard 3.2 Students acquire information and recognize the distinctive viewpoints that are only available through the (target language) and its cultures.

Idaho State World Language Standards:

  • COMM 1.1 - Interact and negotiate meaning (spoken, signed, written conversation) to share information, reactions, feelings, and opinions
  • COMM 2.1 - Understand, interpret, and analyze what is heard, read, or viewed on a variety of topics.
  • COMM 3.1 - Present information, concepts, and ideas to inform, explain, persuade, and narrate on a variety of topics using appropriate media in the target language.
  • CLTR 1.1- Analyze the cultural practices/patterns of behavior accepted as the societal norm in the target culture.
  • CLTR 2.1- Analyze the significance of a product (art, music, literature, etc...) in a target culture.

NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements:

  • I can evaluate the changing attitudes toward entertainment, social media and literature, and how it impacts lives.
  • I can exchange opinions about the ways we use social media in our personal and school or work lives. 
  • I can exchange preferences, feelings, or opinions and provide basic advice on a variety of familiar topics, creating sentences and series of sentences and asking a variety of follow-up questions. 
  • I can present my reactions to a current event and explain what led to the event being in the news. 

Materials Needed:

Warm-up

1. Begin by introducing the Can-Dos for today’s activity and opening the Google Slideshow. 

2.  Have students share advantages and disadvantages of technology and social media in partners. Then, have each pair share one of each (advantage/disadvantage) with the larger group.

“Now, you are going to share advantages and disadvantages of technology in small groups. After that, we are going to share advantages and disadvantages as a group.”

Main Activity

1. Read the following scenario to your students:

“France, as a country, has decided to prohibit the use of technological devices in all their primary schools. The president of Boise State heard the news and wants to do the same thing for BSU. You are going to work as a group to come up with a recommendation to make to the president of BSU about whether or not he should go through with this policy.”

2.  Divide the students into 3 different groups.

Group 1 =Professors

Group 2= Students

Group 3= Local doctors

3. Each group will have 7-10 minutes to come to an agreement about the policy and create some talking points to use to defend your opinion. 

4. OPTIONAL: Use the timers on the powerpoint to keep track of time.

8 minutes for the groups to come up with their points whether they agree with removing technology from Boise State or not.

1 minute for them to share their views.

5. As a group, you’re going to vote for the best argument.

Wrap-up

Ask students the following questions to finish the lab: 

1. What would you do if this was a real situation? 

2. Can you think of any places that prohibit the use of technological devices?

End of lab:

• Read Can-Do statements once more and have students evaluate their confidence. 
(Use thumbs up/thumbs down or download our student cards.) 
• Encourage students to be honest in their self-evaluation.
• Pay attention, and try to use feedback for future labs!

NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements:

  • I can evaluate the changing attitudes toward entertainment, social media and literature, and how it impacts lives.
  • I can exchange opinions about the ways we use social media in our personal and school or work lives. 
  • I can exchange preferences, feelings, or opinions and provide basic advice on a variety of familiar topics, creating sentences and series of sentences and asking a variety of follow-up questions. 
  • I can present my reactions to a current event and explain what led to the event being in the news. 

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