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Debate,

Is TikTok Good for Kids?

Jaden is begging his parents to let him make videos with this app. They say it’s a bad idea. Who’s right?

From the December 2019 / January 2020 Issue
Lexiles: 600L-700L, 700L-800L
Featured Skill: Supporting an Argument,
Common Core Standards
  • R.1, R.2, R.6, R.8, W.1, W.4, W.10, SL.1, SL.3
TEKS Standards
  • Grades 2-3
    1a, 1c, 1d, 5a, 6b, 6e, 6f, 6g, 6h, 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d, 9e, 11a, 11b, 11c, 12b

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Dmytro Zinkevych/Shutterstock.com

Dear Mom and Dad,

It’s so not fair that you won’t let me have TikTok. It’s the most popular app in the world! All of my friends are making videos on it and talking about it at school. I feel so left out.

You say some TikTok videos have swearing and violence. But I’m a good kid. That won’t change just because I start using TikTok. You also say I spend too much time looking at screens. But you can set my account so that I’m on TikTok for only two hours a day.

Did you know there are good things about making TikTok videos? Coming up with dances and skits will make me more creative. I’ll get better at memorizing stuff by remembering the funny movie quotes I’ll record. And editing the videos will help my computer skills!

Please give me a chance. You can check my account every day. You can even set up your own accounts and follow me!

Your son,

Jaden    

Dear Mom and Dad,

It’s not fair that you won’t let me have TikTok. It’s the most popular app in the world! All of my friends are making videos on it. They’re always talking about it at school. I feel left out.

You say some TikTok videos have swearing and violence. But I’m a good kid. Using TikTok won’t change that. You also say I spend too much time on screens. But you can set my account so that I’m on TikTok for only two hours a day.

Do you know there are good things about making TikTok videos? I’ll be coming up with dances and skits. That’ll make me more creative. My memorizing will get better. After all, I’ll need to remember the funny movie quotes that I’ll record. Editing the videos will help my computer skills!

Please give me a chance. You can check my account every day. You can even set up your own accounts. Then you can follow me!

Your son,

Jaden     

Andrey_Popov/Shutterstock.com

Dear Jaden,

You are a good kid! But when you see other kids making videos with swearing and rude behavior, you’ll start to get the idea that that’s OK. We appreciate your thinking about screen time, but two hours of TikTok every day is way too much.

Anyway, TikTok’s rule is that you have to be at least 13 to post videos or comment on them. It also says you need our permission to use it. We know a lot of kids lie about their age to get around these rules. That’s just not how we do things, though.   

There’s a group called Common Sense Media. It helps parents decide which apps are right for kids. It says kids should be at least 16 to use TikTok. And that’s mostly because inappropriate videos get posted.

We do feel bad that you’re left out. TikTok is huge right now, but trust us­—that’ll fade. And hopefully, the next big app will be one we all agree is a good one.

With love,

Mom and Dad     

Dear Jaden,

You are a good kid! But you’ll see other kids make videos with swearing and rude behavior. You might start to think that this is OK. We like that you’re thinking about screen time. But two hours of TikTok every day is way too much.

TikTok’s rule is that you have to be at least 13 to post videos or comment on them. The rules also say you need our permission to use TikTok. We know a lot of kids lie about their age to get around these rules. But that’s not how we do things.   

There’s a group called Common Sense Media. This group helps parents decide which apps are right for kids. It says kids should be at least 16 to use TikTok. That’s mostly because inappropriate videos get posted.

We do feel bad that you’re left out. We know that TikTok is very popular right now. But trust us. It won’t be popular forever. We hope that the next big app will be one we all agree is a good one.

With love,

Mom and Dad     

Should Jaden be allowed to use TikTok?

Go back to the letters and find reasons to support each side of the argument. Write down the information, then study the points on both sides. State your opinion in one sentence, which can be the introduction to an opinion paragraph on this topic.

Should Jaden be allowed to use TikTok?

Go back to the letters and find reasons to support each side of the argument. Write down the information, then study the points on both sides. State your opinion in one sentence, which can be the introduction to an opinion paragraph on this topic.

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Our debate mentions the nonprofit Common Sense Media. You might show the site to your students. Together you can look up ratings for other video games, movies, TV shows, or books. Do you agree with the rating? Why or why not?

Fun Fact

TikTok gained 500 million monthly active users in two years. By comparison, it took Instagram six years to reach the same amount of users.

Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
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1. PREPARING TO READ

Have students preview the text features. Ask:

    What is the topic of the debate? (Prompt students to use the debate title and the     heading on the chart as clues.) 

    What are the two opinions people might have about this topic?

2. READING THE DEBATE

Depending on the reading level of your students, read the debate as a class or break the class into groups.

Have students read the debate a second time. Prompt them to highlight evidence supporting each side as they come across it. Using two different colors of highlighters would be useful here.

3. DISCUSSING

As a class or in groups, have students discuss:

Which opinion has the best evidence to support it?

Is one side stronger than the other? Why?

What is your opinion? What evidence helped you form your opinion?

For more advanced readers: Do you think the author has an opinion on this issue? What is your evidence?

4. WRITING

Have students complete the chart in the magazine or our full-page printable chart.

Guide students to write an essay on the debate topic, using the chart they filled out.

5. CHECK COMPREHENSION

Have students complete our comprehension quiz.

Text-to-Speech