Lesson Plan: Are You Being Watched?

Essential Questions

• Where and when do people have a right to privacy? 
• Which is more important, privacy or safety?

Literature Connection

• Graphic novel: 1984: The Graphic Novel by George Orwell and Fido Nesti

Preview Text Features (15 minutes)

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

• Read the title and subtitle (the text below the title) of the article. What is privacy? How do you think cameras might be threatening our privacy? Sample answer: Privacy is being anonymous or free from public attention. Cameras might be storing our images, identifying who we are, and collecting information about us that we’d rather not share.
• Read the infographic “How Facial Recognition Works.” In your own words, describe how a computer can tell who you are just by analyzing an image of your face. Sample answer: The computer measures parts of your face, like the space between your eyes and the length of your nose. Then it compares this information with details of other faces and looks for a match.

Preview Vocabulary (10 minutes)

• Point out the vocabulary box. Read the words (identify, scans, committing, protests, confirm) 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 by explaining to students that by reading “Are You Being Watched?,” they’ll learn about a technology that allows cameras to recognize faces. 
• 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 story, and tell students they will complete it after reading. Encourage them to briefly scan the questions and to keep them in mind as they read.  

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)

• The author begins the article by describing Lamya Robinson’s experience at the roller rink. Why do you think he chose to start this way? (author’s purpose) Lamya’s experience is an easy-to-understand example of how FRT can be used. It’s also a jarring example of how it can fail. The author probably starts the article this way to grab readers’ attention. 
• The article says that some phones use FRT as a way to unlock the screen. Why might this be safer than using a password? (compare and contrast) Someone might be able to guess your password and unlock your password-protected phone, but only a person with your face can unlock your phone if it uses FRT. 
• Why has New York State banned FRT in schools until 2022? (cause and effect) New York State made this rule because some experts say that kids in schools with FRT might get used to being watched all the time, and that’s a problem. 

Critical-Thinking Question (5 minutes)

• Do you think facial recognition technology is more helpful or harmful to society? Use evidence from the article to support your answer. (critical thinking) Sample answer 1: FRT is more helpful than harmful to society. It keeps thieves out of stores, keeps airplanes and schools safe from intruders, and helps police find people who participate in riots. Sample answer 2: FRT is more harmful than helpful to society. It makes mistakes and prevents innocent people like Lamya from entering certain spaces. It can be used to spy on people, and it can make people fearful of attending protests.

3. Skill Building and Writing (30 minutes)

• Have students work in pairs to complete the Spotlight Skill activity 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 it’s up to the teachers at your school to decide whether the school should have FRT cameras. Write a letter to your teacher explaining whether you think FRT cameras in school are a good idea and why. (For two good examples of a letter with a central idea and supporting details, take a look at this month’s debate.)