Lesson
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What is clickbait and how can you avoid it?
Grade
5Time
45 mins.
Objectives
- Define "the curiosity gap."
- Explain how clickbait uses the curiosity gap to get your attention.
- Use strategies for avoiding clickbait.
Vocabulary Show definitions
advertising .
clickbait .
headline .
curiosity gap
advertising – messages or photos that are made to persuade someone to buy a certain product
clickbait – posts, headlines, thumbnails, or images designed to make you curious enough to click, often using exaggeration or manipulation
headline – the title of an article, usually printed in big, bold letters at the top
curiosity gap – the desire that people have to figure out missing information
Standards
This lesson meets standards for Common Core ELA, ISTE, CASEL and AASL.
Lesson Slides
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Standards
This lesson meets standards for Common Core ELA, ISTE, CASEL and AASL.
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This lesson will be archived in December 2026.
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Current Events Connection!
This lesson is a great way to connect what students are learning about to the upcoming election. While they're not voters (yet!), students are bound to be hearing about and watching election-related news in the coming months, and this is a great opportunity to help them be critical consumers of that content.
Additional Resources
For related lessons, check out the Essential News & Media Literacy Skills for Students lesson collection.
© Common Sense Media. Lessons are shareable with attribution for noncommercial use only. No remixing permitted. View detailed license information at creativecommons.org.
Lesson last updated:
What You’ll Need
In Class
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What's "The Curiosity Gap?"
© Common Sense Media. Lessons are shareable with attribution for noncommercial use only. No remixing permitted. View detailed license information at creativecommons.org. Lesson last updated: