Lesson Plan - How Are Emojis Made?

Watch a Video: A Brief History of Emojis
Ask: What do ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs have to do with today’s emojis? 

Preview Words to Know 
Project the online vocabulary slideshow and introduce the Words to Know.

• universal 
• inclusive 

Set a Purpose for Reading 
Note the “As You Read” question, and have students think about how many new emojis are inclusive. 

1. What does the article tell you about the process of creating new emojis? 
The article says that people send in ideas for new emojis. Then a group called the Unicode Consortium reviews the ideas and decides which ones should be made.
^{(RI.3.3 SEQUENCE)}

2. Why does the article say that people should “think globally” when planning emojis? 
The article says that emojis are used all over the world, so they need to be understandable to people in many countries. 
^{(RI.3.1 DEMONSTRATE UNDERSTANDING)}

3. Based on the sidebar, “Just for Laughs,” how was the smiley face created by Scott Fahlman in 1982 different from today’s emojis? 
The sidebar explains that Fahlman created his smiley face by typing a series of punctuation marks. Today’s emojis are actual images designed by artists. 
^{(RI.3.8 COMPARISON)}

FEATURED SKILL: Explaining Ideas
Use the skill builder “Design Your Own Emoji!” to have students plan an emoji that reflects the tips outlined in the article. 
^{(W.3.2 EXPLANATORY WRITING)}