Lesson Plan - Is Social Media Telling You What to Wear?

Build Background Knowledge

Before reading the article, have students take the five-question Prereading Quiz at junior.scholastic.com. The interactive quiz is self-scoring and will provide an explanation as students answer each question.

Preview Vocabulary

Use the online Skill Builder Words to Know to preteach the domain-specific terms ethically, minimum wage, supply chain, and sustainable. Have students refer to the Skill Builder as they read.

Read the Article

Read the article aloud or have students read it independently or in pairs. As students read, direct them to underline or highlight the central idea of each section.

Answer Close-Reading Questions

Have students write their responses, or use the Close-Reading Questions to guide a discussion.

• What is ultra-fast fashion? How is it similar to and different from fast fashion? (Compare and Contrast)
Ultra-fast fashion is clothing that is produced very quickly and cheaply, then marketed on social media and sold almost exclusively online. Both types of fashion involve stylish clothes, but ultra-fast fashion is produced even faster and more cheaply than fast fashion. While fast fashion chains like H&M and Zara offer new styles in their stores on a weekly basis, ultra-fast fashion companies like Fashion Nova and Boohoo rarely have physical stores and ship clothes directly to buyers.

• How has the U.S. clothing industry changed over time? (Key Details)
Before the 1970s, most clothing that Americans wore was made in the U.S. Then clothing manufacturing started moving overseas to countries that have fewer rules about worker safety and pay. With cheaper labor, clothing cost less for shoppers and resulted in higher profits for retailers. This led to the emergence of fast fashion companies in the early 2000s.

• What evidence supports the idea that the fashion industry is harming workers around the world? (Text Evidence)
In countries like China and Bangladesh, tens of millions of people work in sweatshops, sewing hundred of garments per hour and often earning only a few dollars per day. Sweatshops can be extremely hot and often contain harmful fumes from chemicals. In the U.S., an investigation found that Fashion Nova was paying some workers as little as $2.77 an hour, which is far below the federal minimum wage of $7.25. In the United Kingdom, it was reported that Boohoo was paying some workers as little as $4.40 an hour.

• Study the photo of workers at a clothing factory in China. What do you notice? What do you wonder? (Visual Literacy)
Sample response: I notice that most of the workers seem to be women, and they are wearing matching uniforms. It looks like they are all doing similar work, and each workstation includes a Chinese flag. I wonder how many garments they have to sew each day and how much they get paid. I also wonder whether China has any laws that protect garment workers.

• How does ultra-fast fashion affect the environment? (Cause and Effect)
Producing so much clothing so quickly requires huge amounts of materials, toxic chemicals, and natural resources like water. For example, producing one pair of jeans uses about 2,000 gallons of water. According to the United Nations, the fashion industry is the world’s second-largest polluter, after the oil industry. Up to 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions come from clothing production. Additionally, a lot of ultra-fast fashion ends up in landfills, often after being worn only a few times. On average, each American throws away about 73 pounds of clothes and shoes per year.

• Reread the “How You Can Help” sidebar. Which suggestion seems most effective? Why? (Text Features)
Sample response: I think that writing to clothing brands is the most effective way to help because it can have a large impact. While every person’s individual choices add up, convincing companies to be more sustainable, improve their manufacturing processes, and treat their workers better can affect hundreds or thousands of people.

• How does “Meet an Eco-Fashion Designer” support the article? (Text Features)
It supports the article by providing an example of one designer who is creating clothes that are environmentally friendly. Maya Penn repurposes old items into new clothes. She also hires local workers and donates 10 percent of her company’s profits to environmental and social causes.

Watch a Video

As students watch “Taking Care of Business: Maya Penn,” have them complete the following 3-2-1 task: Record three important details about Penn, two ways she helps the environment, and one question you would ask her. Use Think-Pair-Share to discuss responses.

Determine Central Ideas

Assign the Skill Builder Heading Hashtags to have students determine the central idea of each section and brainstorm hashtags that summarize each idea.

Assess Comprehension

Assign the 10-question Know the News quiz, available in PDF and interactive forms. You can also use Quiz Wizard to assess comprehension of this article and three others from the issue