Deepfakes & AI Scams
Cybersecurity Grades 9–12 4-day unit 39 deliverables Your students already believe they can spot a fake. They cannot, and neither can you — that is the honest starting point of this unit. Four complete lessons on AI-generated media, voice cloning, and what to actually do about it, written for a general-education class and ready to print.
● Instant download · Lifetime access · Editable & print-ready
Editable formatsPowerPoint, Word, PDF & Google
Every page keyedNothing says “answers will vary”
Self-grading formsThe quiz and all 4 exit tickets
No background neededPrint it and teach it
What does this unit cover?
Four days on AI-generated media: How Deepfakes Are Made, Faked Voices and Video Calls, Tracing Where It Came From and When It's About a Real Person. Counting fingers and hunting for glitches was advice for 2023. This unit says so out loud: a glitch is a warning sign, but no glitch proves nothing, and detectors get it wrong in both directions.
So students check where a clip came from instead. Day 1's activity gives them six clips and what has been checked about each, and the honest third option — can't tell yet — is on the sheet next to checks out and doesn't check out. Day 3 has them follow six trails and say which ones reach a source, which dead-end, and which turn out to be a real clip attached to the wrong story. Day 4 covers what to do when a fake is about a real person, including what the TAKE IT DOWN Act requires.
Everything follows the same open-and-teach folders as the rest of the line: 00 Start Here / 01 Present / 02 Student Handouts / 03 Scenarios / 04 Activities / 05 Assessment / 06 Answer Keys. Every student page is written at a grade 9-10 reading level, with real terms taught and then used.
Grandma Joy's Phone Call — Was It Really Spencer?
One evening Spencer's grandmother gets a call that sounds exactly like him, with his name on her screen. He seems to be at a police station, and he needs bail money in gift cards. Spencer is a junior with dozens of public videos online. Students name two warning signs, explain how both the voice and the name on the screen could be faked, and write a plan for the family — a secret word and a callback. Two pages, six points, keyed.
Everything that's included
00 Start Here: Teacher
- READ FIRST guide: what to print, in what order
- Teacher guide and pacing: measured minute-by-minute timings
- Skills Map and state standards, with a Convert to YOUR State's Standards page
01 Present: Whole class
- One editable PowerPoint deck per day — 51 slides in all
- Four printable bell ringers, one per day
02 Student Handouts
- Guided notes for all four days, in editable Word and print PDF
- Vocabulary glossary: all 40 terms from the word banks, defined
03 Scenarios
- Grandma Joy's Phone Call — Was It Really Spencer?, keyed
- Linden Crest High — Who Posted the Clip First?, a second long-form case, keyed
04 Activities
- Test the Clips: checks out, doesn't check out, or can't tell yet — and the fact that decided it
- Check the Caller: call back, check the official source, or nothing to check
- Trace It Back: six trails, and whether each reaches the source, dead-ends or is the wrong story
- Help or Harm: what people do when a fake spreads, and whether it helps
05 Assessment
- Four exit tickets, one per day, 4 points each
- Unit quiz: 28 points, 20 multiple choice and 4 written at 2 points each
Digital: self-grading Google Forms™
- The unit quiz and all four exit tickets as ready-to-assign forms (28 auto-graded items)
- Multiple choice grades itself on submit, with feedback on every wrong answer; written responses land in your response sheet
06 Answer Keys
- Seven key PDFs, 22 pages: every activity, scenario, exit ticket and the quiz
- Every written prompt keyed with what to look for, a model response, what else to accept, and what to reject
See the actual pages
Page one of four real files out of the download, exactly as they print.
One editable deck per day
Twelve to thirteen slides a day, low text, with the diagrams drawn as real vector shapes rather than flat images. Recolor them to match your room, or delete any of them.
- ✓ 51 slides across the four days
- ✓ Native PowerPoint, opens in Google Slides
- ✓ The guided notes follow the slides in order
Notes students fill in as you teach
A two-page packet per day with a word bank at the top and real room to write. Editable Word and print-ready PDF, and every one has a complete key.
- ✓ Four days, Word and PDF
- ✓ Grade 9-10 reading level
- ✓ Full answer key for every page
A call that came from the right number
Two long-form cases about people and organizations that do not exist. Students separate what was actually verified from what was only assumed, then say what should have happened instead.
- ✓ Grandma Joy's Phone Call and Linden Crest High
- ✓ Two pages and six points each
- ✓ Teacher key with sample answers
One printed sheet a day
Six items, three options and a line for the fact that decided it. The answer boxes are on the same page, so there is nothing to cut out, laminate or post. Students work alone first, then check with one partner.
- ✓ Four sheets, 2 pages and 7 points each
- ✓ Nothing to cut, laminate or store
- ✓ A sample answer and when to give the point
Why teachers pick this unit
It teaches what still worksCounting fingers and hunting for glitches was advice for 2023. A glitch is a warning sign, but no glitch proves nothing, and detectors are wrong in both directions.
“Can't tell yet” is an answerIt is a choice on the activity sheet, not a cop-out. Students have to name the fact that would settle it, which is the habit the unit is actually teaching.
Nothing says “answers will vary”Every written question ships with what to look for, a model response, what else to accept, and what to reject.
No background neededWritten for a general-education class. Nothing to prepare beyond hitting print, and every day stands alone as a sub plan.
Nothing to cut outEvery activity prints on the page the student writes on, with the answer boxes right there. Nothing to cut, laminate or post between classes.
Nothing in it is a how-toStudents never create synthetic media of a real person, and no generation tool is named anywhere. Every task works on media that already exists, all of it invented.
What Teachers Say
Be the first to review this
Reviews help me a lot, and they help other teachers pick the right resources for their classes. It takes about a minute.
Leave a reviewQuestions teachers ask
How do I get the files after I buy?
Instant download right after checkout. You get editable PowerPoint and Word, print-ready PDF of everything, and the links for the self-grading Google Forms™.
Do I need a tech background?
No. This is a general-education digital-literacy unit written for a teacher who has never taught the subject. The READ FIRST guide says exactly what to print and when, and every page has a key.
Does it teach students how to make a deepfake?
No, and that line is enforced rather than promised. Students never create synthetic media of a real person, not as an exercise and not to show how easy it is. No generation tool is named anywhere. Day 4 covers the law, the reporting route, and the fact that a student this happens to is the victim and not in trouble — and it is explicit that you never copy a sexual image of anyone under 18, not even to report it.
Is there anything to cut out, laminate or prepare?
No. Each day's activity is one printed sheet, two pages and seven points, with the answer boxes on the same page the student writes on. Students work it alone first, then check with one partner. There is nothing to cut, laminate, post or store between classes.
When does the unit quiz happen?
It sits after the four lessons, not inside them. The quiz is 28 points and about 25 minutes, and all four periods are full lessons. Run it as a Day 5 in class or set it as a take-home with the Google Form. Either way you already have a grade for every student from the four exit tickets.
What standards does it map to?
The Skills Map names the standards that match rather than claiming alignment: 2026 CSTA HS-ALG-PS-05, HS-SYS-SE-32 and HS-SOC-HU-43, with the 2017 codes 3A-NI-07 and 3B-IC-25 beside the two CSTA's crosswalk maps; Common Core W.4 and SL.2 for grades 9-10 and 11-12, plus RI.9-10.8; and ISTE 1.2.a and 1.3.b. A Convert to YOUR State's Standards page is included, with a copy-paste AI prompt.
Can I buy this with the other cybersecurity units?
Yes. The Cybersecurity Unit Bundle holds this unit plus Phishing & Social Engineering, Cyber Attacks & Malware, Passwords & Account Security, and Encryption & Cryptography — 17 days in one download, for less than the five bought separately.