Teaching Social Media in Phone-Free Memphis High School Classrooms
Teaching Social Media in Phone-Free Memphis High School Classrooms
Memphis-Shelby County Schools bans unauthorized phone use and possession, yet students still need to think about the platforms in their pockets. The High School Media and Communication Units Bundle ($89.99) gives English teachers six printable units for Grades 9–12 on social media, memes, online speech, multimodal texts and dystopian media, so students analyze digital life on paper while phones stay stored.
See the media units bundleYes, you can teach media literacy in a phone-free MSCS English class. The High School Media and Communication Units Bundle costs $89.99 and contains Social Media & Digital Platforms, Media and Digitalisation, Future Visions: Utopian & Dystopian Narratives, Analyzing Multimodal Texts, Emojis, Memes and GIFs, and Private and Public Communication Online. Students work from printed material and your projected slides. It is not written for the Tennessee ELA standards.
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
Talking about phones in a room without them
The MSCS board passed its cellphone policy on July 29, 2025, under the Tennessee law, HB932/SB897, that since July 1, 2025 has required districts to bar student cellphone use during classroom instruction. The Memphis policy bans unauthorized use or possession of personal devices, sets storage rules and uses progressive discipline for repeat violations. This year it also reaches Kirby Middle and Hillcrest High, the last two Achievement School District schools, which returned to MSCS control for 2026–27. That creates an odd problem for an English teacher. Media literacy is about feeds, memes and comment sections, and the obvious examples live on the device students cannot take out. Telling students to look something up is off the table, and even a meme analysis has to run from printed or projected examples, so the texts must come to the class. Keep the standards timeline in view as well: Tennessee approved revised ELA standards in February 2026 for implementation in 2028–29, so the current standards stay in place while departments plan for the change.
Why it fits
Six units built for analysis, not scrolling
The units treat digital media as a text to read closely. Here is how each one works while phones are stored.
- Social Media & Digital Platforms examines participation, influence and manipulation through printed tasks and class discussion.
- Emojis, Memes and GIFs turns everyday online language into material for close reading on paper.
- Analyzing Multimodal Texts teaches students to read image and text together from projected or printed examples.
- Private and Public Communication Online opens a discussion of what students post, without opening an app.
- Future Visions links dystopian narratives in literature and media to the technology students live with.
- Media and Digitalisation weighs the chances and risks of digital media, a natural base for argumentative writing.
Getting started
A media strand of several weeks
A suggested sequence for a Grades 9–12 English class. Lengthen or cut units to fit your MSCS calendar.
- Open with private and public speechBegin with Private and Public Communication Online. Comparing what belongs in a group chat with what belongs in a public post gets students talking right away, with nobody reaching for a phone.
- Read memes and emojis closelyMove to Emojis, Memes and GIFs. Project examples from the slides and have students annotate printed copies, naming tone, audience and purpose as they would for a poem.
- Build the multimodal methodAnalyzing Multimodal Texts shows how images, layout and words work together. Students practice on the unit's worksheets before writing about a platform they know well.
- Platforms, influence and riskTeach Social Media & Digital Platforms, then Media and Digitalisation. Use their questions on manipulation and risk as prompts for an argumentative paragraph or a short essay.
- Close with dystopian narrativesFinish with Future Visions. Connecting fiction to the platforms already discussed gives students a strong final essay topic and links the strand back to literature.
What to buy
Media units, a text analysis set or the full ELA course
For a media strand in a phone-free Memphis classroom, the High School Media and Communication Units Bundle at $89.99 is the direct pick; its six units cost $149.94 separately. If you need classic literature and essay writing, the High School ELA Text Analysis & Writing Bundle ($109.99, parts $224.91) covers characterization, rhetoric, Macbeth and Orwell's 1984. ELA Complete – High School ($149.90, 100+ resources) is the broader option for a full program. The Global Issues in English Class Bundle ($79.99) suits Grades 10–12 classes reading texts on migration, diversity and globalization.
Honest limits
Limits to check before buying
The units are written for any English classroom, not for Tennessee or Memphis-Shelby County Schools, and contain no state standards codes. Compare them with the current Tennessee ELA standards and your department's plan. Any examples beyond the units, such as recent posts, are yours to choose and print, and the slides need a classroom display. The bundle does not interpret or enforce the MSCS phone policy. Department-wide use needs a quick message to Teach Lessons first. Within 7 days you can exchange the bundle for store credit of equal value, but not for cash.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Does this bundle follow Tennessee's ELA standards?
No. It has not been aligned to, endorsed or approved by Tennessee or MSCS. Compare each unit with the current Tennessee Academic Standards for ELA. Revised ELA standards approved in February 2026 take effect in 2028–29, so check again when your department plans for that change.
How do students analyze social media without phones?
From printed worksheets and the slides you project. The units are built around reading, discussion and written analysis rather than browsing. If you want current examples, choose them in advance and print or project them, so students never need their own device during the lesson.
Is the content suitable for ninth graders?
The bundle is listed for Grades 9–12. Emojis, Memes and GIFs and Private and Public Communication Online are approachable starting points for younger students; Future Visions and Social Media & Digital Platforms can go deeper with juniors and seniors. Read each unit before teaching to judge the fit for your class.
Could it anchor a writing unit?
Partly. Media and Digitalisation and Social Media & Digital Platforms raise questions about risk and influence that make good argumentative prompts. For explicit instruction in essay structure, the High School ELA Text Analysis & Writing Bundle includes a unit on writing a comment and argumentative essay.
Can I share it with colleagues in my department?
The licence is for your own teaching. To use the units across a department or school, send Teach Lessons a short message before sharing and mention how many teachers will use them. Without that, the files may not be posted publicly or passed to other schools.
How soon can I use it?
The bundle downloads right after purchase; the link comes by email and stays in your account under Orders. You can print Private and Public Communication Online the same evening and open the strand with your class the next morning. Nothing needs to be installed, and students need no logins.
Bring the feed into the classroom on paper
Open the product page to see the six units and pick your starting point.
See the media units bundle