Printable Media Literacy Units for Boise High School English Classes
Printable Media Literacy Units for Boise High School English Classes
Under Boise School District's phone policy, high schoolers may use phones at lunch and between classes, so a media lesson has to work without them in hand. The High School Media and Communication Units Bundle gives Boise English teachers six printable units on social media platforms, digital media, dystopian narratives, multimodal texts, memes and online speech, built for reading and discussion on paper.
View the media unitsThe High School Media and Communication Units Bundle ($89.99) contains six units for Grades 9–12: Social Media & Digital Platforms, Media and Digitalisation, Future Visions on utopian and dystopian narratives, Analyzing Multimodal Texts, Emojis, Memes and GIFs, and Private and Public Communication Online. It suits Boise School District English and media classes where personal screens stay away during instruction. It is not written for Idaho, so check it against your course before planning.
The resources
High School Media and Communication Units Bundle, Grades 9–12
6 resources in one download: $89.99 instead of $149.94 bought separately.
Start with the first resource; the others are optional add-ons. Open any cover for the full contents and price.
High School Media and Communication Units Bundle | Social Media, Memes, Online Speech & Dystopian Media | 6 Units | Grades 9–12
High School ELA Text Analysis & Writing Bundle | Fiction, Speeches, Essays, Macbeth & 1984 | 9 Units | Grades 9–12
English Language Arts Complete – Ready-to-Use Curriculum for High School ELA (Grades 9–12)
Global Issues in English Class Bundle | India, Nigeria, Migration, Diversity & Globalization | 5 Units | Grades 10–12
The real problem
Teaching media in a room without personal screens
Governor Brad Little's Executive Order 2024-11, the "Phone Free Learning Act," encouraged every Idaho district to adopt a district-wide cellphone restriction by the end of 2024–25. Boise School District did. Since 2025–26, its elementary and middle school students keep phones and other personal screens off and stored all day, while high schoolers may use them at lunch and between classes. With the 2026–27 year underway since August 12, this is the second year Boise high school English teachers have taught under those rules. The irony is plain to anyone teaching media literacy. Students spend hours on feeds, memes and group chats, yet the place where they analyze those texts is the one place they cannot open them. The lesson has to bring the media into the room another way: printed posts described in detail, transcripts, images on a projector, and close-reading tasks students mark up by hand. There is also a policy question on the horizon. A September 2026 proposed rule from the State Board of Education includes a one-credit digital literacy requirement for students graduating after January 1, 2028. It is a proposal, not settled rule, but it has teachers thinking about where media work fits.
Why it fits
What each unit brings to a Boise English class
The six units treat digital media as texts to read and argue about, which works well when students analyze on paper.
- Social Media & Digital Platforms looks at participation, influence and manipulation on the platforms students use.
- Analyzing Multimodal Texts teaches students to read images and words together, a core media skill.
- Emojis, Memes and GIFs treats internet language as something worth close analysis.
- Private and Public Communication Online asks where personal speech ends and public speech begins.
- Future Visions compares utopian and dystopian narratives in literature and media.
- Media and Digitalisation weighs the chances and risks of digital media for a class discussion or essay.
Getting started
A quarter-long media strand for Grades 9–12
A suggested order for one quarter in an English 10 or 11 class. Shift the pieces to fit your district's course map.
- Weeks 1–2: platforms and powerOpen with Social Media & Digital Platforms. Ask students to describe their own feeds in writing first, from memory, then use the unit to analyze how platforms shape what they see.
- Weeks 3–4: reading multimodal textsTeach Analyzing Multimodal Texts with projected images and printed copies. Students annotate how image, layout and words work together before writing a short analysis of one text they choose.
- Week 5: emojis, memes and GIFsA lighter unit with serious analysis underneath, and a good break between heavier weeks. Students explain a meme's meaning to someone outside the joke, which tests whether they understand context and audience.
- Weeks 6–7: private versus publicUse Private and Public Communication Online for a structured discussion or Socratic seminar. It connects naturally to your school's phone rules, so students see the topic in their own day.
- Weeks 8–9: dystopia and essaysClose with Future Visions and Media and Digitalisation. Students write an argumentative essay on the risks and benefits of digital media, drawing on texts from the whole quarter.
What to buy
Picking the right high school English set
Buy the High School Media and Communication Units Bundle at $89.99 for a media literacy strand inside English; the six units separately would cost $149.94. For a broader literature and writing strand, the High School ELA Text Analysis & Writing Bundle ($109.99) has nine units including Macbeth, Orwell's 1984, political speeches and argumentative essays. If you need a full structured English program, ELA Complete – High School starts at $149.90. For Grades 10–12 classes that read global texts, the Global Issues in English Class Bundle ($79.99) covers India, Nigeria, migration, diversity and globalization.
Honest limits
Before you build a unit around it
These units are not written for Idaho or for Boise School District. They carry no Idaho Content Standards codes and are not tied to any Idaho course or to the proposed digital literacy credit. Check them against the Idaho Content Standards for English Language Arts and your district's course expectations. Slides need a projector; everything students write can be done on paper, which you print. Using it across an English department needs a short message to Teach Lessons first. If it is not a fit, exchange it within 7 days for store credit of equal value.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Is it aligned to the Idaho Content Standards for ELA?
No. It is not aligned to the Idaho Content Standards for English Language Arts adopted in 2022, and neither the state nor Boise School District has approved it. It is a general high school media unit set. Read the unit descriptions against your course's standards and choose the parts that fit.
Would it count toward Idaho's proposed digital literacy credit?
No product can promise that. The one-credit digital literacy requirement appears in a September 2026 proposed rule for students graduating after January 1, 2028, and it is not final. Which courses count would be decided by the state and districts. Watch for the final rule and check with your district.
Can students do the analysis without their phones?
Yes. The units are built around texts, images and discussion that you can print or project. Students annotate and write on paper, so nobody needs a personal device during the lesson. Boise's policy lets high schoolers use phones at lunch and between classes; check your school's expectations for class time.
Is the content suitable for Grade 9?
The bundle is listed for Grades 9–12. Ninth graders often do well with the memes and platforms units, while the dystopia and multimodal analysis units may suit older students better. Preview each one with your class in mind, and start ninth graders with the units closest to their daily media use.
Does it include a novel or full texts to read?
No novel is included. The units are built around media topics rather than a single long text. If you want to pair the dystopia unit with a novel, the ELA Text Analysis & Writing Bundle includes a unit on Orwell's 1984, but you would supply the book.
How do I get it?
Checkout gives you a download link by email right away, and the files also stay in your customer account under Orders. You can print any unit again for a new section or a new semester, and the files stay available if you change schools within the district.
Teach media literacy without a single screen in hand
The product page lists all six units. Download right after checkout and print the first one.
View the media units