Bia Curriculum June-2021 en Pdf-Version

Smart
Alert
Strong
Kind
Brave
Digital Safety and
Citizenship Curriculum
Updated June 2021
Welcome to the Be Internet Awesome curriculum, a collaboration between Google,
The Net Safety Collaborative, and the Internet Keep Safe Coalition. This resource is
part of the Be Internet Awesome program designed to help teach kids the skills
they need to be safe and smart online.
This year, we’ve added 10 new activities to the curriculum. We partnered with the
Committee for Children nonprofit organization to create new social-emotional
learning activities to help guide children on their digital journeys. Additionally, we’ve
added new lessons on search literacy and updated our safety and security activities
to meet the needs of today’s digital world. You’ll also find activities categorized for
specific grade levels to accommodate the wide spectrum of child development.
Notably, the Be Internet Awesome program has undergone a thorough evaluation

by the University of New Hampshire’s Crimes Against Children Research Center.
As a result of the study, this is the first internet safety program proven to positively
impact student learning on topics of online safety and digital citizenship.
The Be Internet Awesome curriculum is self-contained. All the activities are designed
to be used with no prior professional development, minimal class prep and no special
equipment or resources needed to teach them. Additionally, the lessons are reinforced
through gameplay with Interland , an adventure-packed online game that makes learning
about digital safety and citizenship interactive and fun—just like the Internet itself.
Five fundamental topics of digital citizenship and safety form the Internet Code
of Awesome:
• Share with Care: Digital Footprint and Responsible Communication
• Don’t Fall for Fake: Phishing, Scams, and Credible Sources
• Secure Your Secrets: Online Security and Passwords
• It’s Cool to Be Kind: Combating Negative Online Behavior
• When in Doubt, Talk It Out: Questionable Content and Scenarios
This curriculum was created for grades 2−6, however educators with both older
and younger students have found value in the lessons, particularly with key
vocabulary, class discussions (they age up or down), and gameplay. We encourage
you to experiment to find what works best for your learners, whether that means
completing the curriculum start to finish or going deep on one or two lessons most
needed by your students. To complement the curriculum, you’ll find additional
educator and family resources—such as ready-to-teach Pear Deck slides, printable
activities, and a family guide and tips for the home.
The International Society of Technology in Education (ISTE) completed an independent

audit of Be Internet Awesome, recognizing the program as a resource that prepares
young learners to meet the 2021 ISTE Standards for Students. ISTE has awarded
Be Internet Awesome with the Seal of Alignment for Readiness.
Table of Contents
Educator’s Guide Resource 1 How to teach the curriculum 4
Resource 2 Vocabulary Activities
Resource 3 Parent introduction email/letter template
Resource 4 Frequently asked questions
Share with Care Lesson 1 When not to share 12

Unit 01 Lesson 2 Keeping it private
Lesson 3 That’s not what I meant!
Lesson 4 Frame it
Lesson 5 Who is this person anyway?
Lesson 6 How do others see us online?
Lesson 7 Interland: Mindful Mountain
Don’t Fall for Fake Lesson 1 Popups, catfishing and other scams 34
Unit 02 Lesson 2 Who’s this ‘talking’ to me?
Lesson 3 Is that really true?
Lesson 4 Spotting untrustworthy information online
Lesson 5 If we were a search engine
Lesson 6 Practicing Internet search
Lesson 7 Interland: Reality River
Secure Your Secrets Lesson 1 But that wasn’t me! 70

Unit 03 Lesson 2 How to build a great password
Lesson 3 Keep it to yourself
Lesson 4 Interland: Tower of Treasure
It’s Cool to Be Kind Lesson 1.1 Noticing feelings 82

Unit 04 Lesson 1.2 Practicing empathy
Lesson 2.1 Your kindness gram
Lesson 2.2 Ways to show kindness
Lesson 3 From negative to nice
Lesson 4 About your tone
Lesson 5 How words can change the whole picture
Lesson 6 Interland: Kind Kingdom
When in Doubt, Lesson 1 What does it mean to be brave? 110

Talk It Out Lesson 2 From bystanders to helpers
Lesson 3 Helpers have options!
Unit 05
Lesson 4.1 Seeing upsetting stuff: What do I do?
Lesson 4.2 Upsetting stuff online: What do I do?
Lesson 5.1 What to do about mean stuff on screens
Lesson 5.2 Handling mean behavior online
Lesson 6 When to get help
Lesson 7 Report it online, too
Educator’s Guide: Resource 1
How to teach the curriculum

The Be Internet Awesome curriculum is flexibly designed so you can easily make it
work in your classroom for your unique group of students. Depending on the time
in your schedule and student readiness, we encourage you to tweak any lesson
as needed. For example, we might recommend to facilitate an activity as a whole
class but, knowing your students, you might feel that the activity would work better
if they complete it in small groups. Those are the kinds of tweaks we hope you feel
empowered to make. Work that teacher magic!
A few things about the curriculum:

1. Every unit has a list of vocabulary words that appear throughout the lessons. This
list can be printed and provided to students as a resource. Be sure to check out the
Vocabulary Activities we’ve provided in the following pages!
2. Each of the 5 units has a different number of lessons. Every lesson has the following
structure:
✓ Goals for students
✓ Let’s talk—background knowledge for teachers written in student-friendly language
(in case you want to just read it to your students)
✓ Activity—some activities may have a recommended grade-level modification.
✓ Takeaway—summary of lesson content and opportunity for reflection.
3. Each lesson title will be marked with a symbol to indicate grade-level recommendation.
It will also have a symbol if it is a Media Literacy and/or Social-Emotional Learning lesson.
Grades Grades Grades Media Social-Emotional

2−6 2−3 4−6 Literacy Learning
4. This curriculum is designed for you to teach in two different ways: in the order in
which the lessons appear or in an order that matches the particular digital learning
needs of your own students. The units are purposefully sequenced for classrooms
starting from scratch, but many elementary grade students know parts of this
knowledge base and can help you discover the specific skills they want or need
to develop. Talking with them about what they do and don’t know would be a great
place to start. We hope you all enjoy being Internet awesome together!
4
Vocabulary Activities
The vocabulary used in these activities can be found at the beginning of each unit.
Tell Me More Directions

1. Students find a partner.
2. Partner 1 turns his or her back to the board (students can be seated or standing).
3. Teacher displays three to five vocabulary words on the board.
4. P
artner 2 faces the board and explains the first vocabulary word to Partner 1
Materials needed:
without saying the vocabulary word.
• Board to display vocabulary
words (chalkboard, poster 5. Partner 1 tries guessing the vocabulary word.
paper, whiteboard, etc.)
6. O
nce Partner 1 correctly guesses the first vocabulary word, Partner 2 moves on
to describe the next word.
7. C
ontinue steps 3−6 until Partner 1 correctly guesses all the words on the board.
8. F
or the next round, Partners 1 and 2 switch roles. Repeat the activity with new
vocab words.
Be Internet Directions
Awesome Bingo 1. Distribute Be Internet Awesome bingo cards (choose between a 5 x 5 or 3 x 3 bingo
card) and game pieces to each student.
2. Students fill in bingo cards with vocabulary words from a given unit.
3. Teacher reads the definition of a vocabulary word.
Teacher can randomly pick definitions from the unit’s vocabulary list.
Materials needed:
4. S tudents search to see if the word that matches the definition is on their board
• Handout: Be Internet
Awesome bingo cards and mark it with a game piece.
• Game pieces (anything 5. A student can call out “Bingo!” when every spot in a row, column, or diagonal has
that can be used to mark a game piece.
a spot—small cubes,
paper clips, beans, etc.) 6. C ontinue playing with the current bingo cards, or have students remove all game
pieces and play again.
Word Web Directions

1. Each student finds one partner.
2. Distribute Word Web handout to each group (students can also re-create the Word
Web handout on paper).
3. S tudents write one vocab word in the circle on the handout. You can implement this
Materials needed:
step in three different ways:
• Handout: Word Web
(page 8) • Assign the same vocab word for all groups.
• Assign a different word to each group.
• Students choose their own vocabulary word from the unit list.
4. Students then work with their partners to complete the handout.
5. Once completed, here are some ways you can extend this activity:
• Students complete another Word Web for a new vocabulary word.
• Collect completed handouts and display in the classroom on a word wall.
• Host a gallery walk, where students see their classmates’ Word Webs.
5
Handout: Resource 2
Be Internet Awesome bingo card (5 x 5)
6
Handout: Resource 2
Be Internet Awesome bingo card (3 x 3)
7
Handout: Resource 2
Word Web
Definition Characteristics
Examples Non-examples
8
Parent introduction email/letter template

Hereʼs a template for an email or letter that you can customize to tell parents you’re using Be Internet Awesome to
help their kids learn to learn how to be safe, smart digital citizens.
Dear Parent,
When our kids are young, we do our best to help them get the most out of the Internet
while keeping them safe online. As children mature into teenhood, our role shifts to
helping them learn to navigate the digital parts of their lives safely and thoughtfully.
At [school name], we believe in partnering with parents and preparing our [grade]
students to:
• Think critically and evaluate apps, websites and other digital content.
• Protect themselves from online threats, including bullying and scams.
• Get smart about sharing: what, when, how, and with whom.
• Be kind and respectful toward other people online, including respecting their privacy.
• Ask for help with tricky situations from a parent or other trusted adult.
This year, these efforts will include Be Internet Awesome, a multifaceted program
designed to teach kids the skills they need to be safe and smart online. One of the
resources, Interland, is a browser‑based game that makes learning these skills
interactive and fun. It can be played at home too (your child might love to show you
how it’s done). Developed by Google in partnership with educators, researchers, and
online‑safety experts at The Net Safety Collaborative and iKeepSafe.org, Be Internet
Awesome provides fun, age‑appropriate learning experiences built around five
foundational lessons:
• Share with Care • Donʼt Fall for Fake • Secure Your Secrets
• Itʼs Cool to Be Kind • When in Doubt, Talk It Out
Smart, safe technology use can enable students to drive their own learning and help
our school function better. We believe this program will mark an important step toward
our goal of ensuring that all our students at [school name] are learning, exploring, and
staying safe online, both inside and outside the school walls.
Weʼll be happy to share more information about this new program, including
introductions to some of the resources your student will start using in class, but we
also invite you to check out the resources that go with it at g.co/BeInternetAwesome.
We encourage you to ask your student about what they’re learning and continue the
conversation at home—and who knows, you just might pick up a few privacy and
security tricks yourself!
Sincerely,
[You]
9
Frequently asked questions

Is it necessary to complete the lessons before having students play Interland?
No, but it can be helpful. The game is best when it reinforces what’s learned with the
curriculum—and it’s more fun when students have had a chance to engage with you
in discussions and brainstorms prior to the game play experience.
Do students need Google Accounts for Be Internet Awesome?

Nope! Be Internet Awesome is available to anyone who visits the site. Because Google
does not gather any student data, Be Internet Awesome does not have or require any
logins, passwords or emails.
What devices are compatible with Interland?

Interland works on any device that has an Internet connection and a web browser.
That means most any desktop or laptop computer, tablet, or mobile phone is ready
to help students Be Internet Awesome.
What are all the URLs?

• For the Be Internet Awesome homepage, visit g.co/BeInternetAwesome.
• For the Interland game, visit g.co/Interland.
• For the Be Internet Awesome curriculum, visit g.co/BeInternetAwesomeEducators.
• For family resources, visit g.co/BeInternetAwesomeFamilies.
Do I need special training or to be a special kind of teacher to teach this curriculum?

• First: Any K–12 teacher can teach this curriculum to their students. No extra training
is required.
• Second: Every teacher is special. : )
• Third: The lessons are optimized for fun, relaxed give‑and‑take between teacher and
students, ideally with judgment‑free active listening on the educator’s part.
What grade level is Be Internet Awesome best suited for?

The full program, including the curriculum, the game, and the resources on the website,
was designed for users from 2nd to 6th grade (ages 7−12). However, depending on
how teachers tailor the curriculum, the topics can be helpful for any grade level.
How do kids learn from the game?

The game reinforces curriculum concepts by allowing them the freedom to explore
healthy digital practices through play and understand digital interactions (and their
consequences) in a safe, educational space.
Can each lesson be used in Google Classroom?

Yes, yes, and more yes. You can assign Interland to specific classes or sections, or
make the resource available to all your students in the form of a class announcement.
10
Is there a shared folder or website with worksheet handouts easily accessible to
project onto a whiteboard?
Yes—in the form of presentation decks. For the most current updates, we worked with
Pear Deck to adapt the curriculum to slide decks for easy presentation, distribution,
and sharing. You can find them at g.co/BeInternetAwesomeEducators.
Do I need to be a digital citizenship expert to use this program?

Not at all. The curriculum was designed so that any teacher can pick it up and teach
it in their class. Furthermore, if you are interested in brushing up or learning more on
digital safety and citizenship topics, you can take our online course for educators at
g.co/OnlineSafetyEduTraining.
Is the Be Internet Awesome curriculum aligned with any national or state standards?
Glad you asked. Yes, it is. The curriculum is aligned with both ISTE (International
Society for Technology in Education) and AASL (American Association of School
Librarians) standards.
Can my students save their work on Interland?

Not in the current version, and that’s not likely to change. Be Internet Awesome does
not generate or store any personal identifiable information whatsoever—including
savefiles. The reasons for this were purposeful—we do not collect student data, and
we wanted the experience to be accessible to everyone—so it’s not necessary to have
an account, a login or a password.
That’s good, but a lot of my students are proud they finished the game and of what
they learned.
We hear you, and for that reason we have created a customizable certificate template
so that you can enter a student’s name and create a printable, personalized certificate
of course completion for your students.
Where can I find the other educator resources?

All Be Internet Awesome educator materials can be found on our resources page at
g.co/BeInternetAwesomeEducators.
Is there an online community of Be Internet Awesome users to share ideas or get help?
Yes! (And we love it.) We frequently share ideas and engage with teachers on Twitter.
Please follow us to learn more about Be Internet Awesome and other topics at
@GoogleForEdu.
11
Unit 01: Be Internet Smart
Share
with Care
Protecting yourself, your information and your privacy online
Lesson overview Lesson 1 When not to share Grades 2−6

Lesson 2 Keeping it private Grades 2−6
Lesson 3 That’s not what I meant! ML Grades 2−6
Lesson 4 Frame it ML Grades 2−6
Lesson 5 Who is this person anyway? Grades 2−6
Lesson 6 How do others see us online? Grades 2−6
Lesson 7 Interland: Mindful Mountain Grades 2−6
Themes Teachers and parents understand how digital mistakes can hurt feelings, reputations,
and privacy. But it can be harder to convince kids that a seemingly harmless post today
could be misunderstood tomorrow—let alone in the future and by people they never
thought would see it.
These activities use concrete examples and thought‑provoking discussions to teach

young learners how to maintain a positive online presence and protect their privacy.
Goals for students ✓ Create and manage a positive reputation both online and offline.
✓ Respect the privacy boundaries of others, even if different from one’s own.
✓ Understand the potential impact of a mismanaged digital footprint.
✓ Ask for adult help when dealing with sticky situations.
Standards ISTE Standards for Educators: 1a, 1b, 2a, 2c, 3b, 3c, 3d, 4b, 4d, 5a, 6a, 6b, 6d, 7a
addressed ISTE Standards for Students: 1c, 1d, 2a, 2b, 2d, 3b, 3d
AASL Learning Standards: I.a.1, I.b.1, I.c.1, I.d.3, I.d.4, II.a.2, II.b.1, II.b.2, II.b.3, II.c.1,
II.c.2, d.2., III.a.1, III.a.2, III.a.3, III.b.1, III.c.1, III.c.2, III.d.1, III.d.2, IV.a.1, IV.a.2, V.a.2,
VI.a.1, VI.a.2, VI.a.3
Share with Care 13

Share with Care
Vocabulary
Lessons 1 and 2 Lesson 4
Online privacy: A broad term that usually means the Frame: When you take a photo or video of a
ability to control what information you share about landscape, person or object, the frame is what
yourself online and who can see and share it defines the section that the viewer can see. The
part you decide to leave outside the frame is what
Personal information: Information that identifies
your viewer won’t be able to see.
you—for example, your name, street address, phone
number, social security number, email address, Lessons 5 and 6
etc.—is called personal (or sensitive) info. It’s a Assumption: Something that you or other people
good idea to make a rule for yourself not to share think is true about a person or thing but there is no
this kind of information online. proof that it’s true
Reputation: The ideas, opinions, impressions, or Curate: To decide what to post online—text, photos,
beliefs that other people have about you—something sounds, illustrations or videos—and then organize
that you can’t be totally sure about but that you and present it while thinking about what effects it
usually want to be positive or good might have on people who see it, or what it might
make them think about you
Lesson 3
Code: A word or phrase, an image (like a logo or Digital footprint (or digital presence): Your digital
emoji) or some other symbol or collection of symbols footprint is all the information about you that appears
that represent a certain meaning or message. online. This can mean anything from photos, audio,
Sometimes it’s a secret code that only certain people videos and texts to “likes” and comments you post
understand; often it’s just a symbol that stands for on friendsʼ profiles. Just as your footsteps leave
something almost everybody understands. prints on the ground while you walk, what you post
online leaves a trail too.
Context: Information that surrounds the message or
whatever we’re seeing which helps us understand it. Fact: Something that is or can be proven to be true
Context can include the place where the message is,
Opinion: Something you or other people believe
the time when it appears or who it’s coming from.
about a person or a thing that isn’t necessarily a fact
Interpret: The way a person understands a message, because a belief can’t be proved
or the meaning they get from it
Lesson 7
Representation: A picture, symbol or description that Oversharing: Sharing too much online—usually it
says a lot about (or expresses a truth about) a thing, means sharing personal information or just too much
a person or a group about yourself in a certain situation or conversation
online
14
Share with Care: Lesson 1
When not to share

Students pair up and compare pretend secrets to start thinking about zones of privacy.
About this lesson: This is a foundational lesson on Internet privacy for people of all ages. It’s the one about how it’s
almost impossible to take back what you share, control who will see it and how far into the future it’ll be seen. It might
help if you ask your students what technologies they use first—and then refer to those media and devices in the activity.
If you aren’t familiar with the apps, no problem! As you know, your students would probably love it if you ask them to
help you with that.
Goals for students ✓ Understand what kinds of personal information should be kept private and why.
✓ Remember that everyone deserves to have their privacy decisions respected.
Letʼs talk Why does privacy matter?

The Internet makes it so easy to communicate with family, friends—everybody. We send
messages, share photos, join chats and livestream—sometimes without thinking about
who can see them, either right then or at a completely different time. A picture or post
you think is funny and harmless could be misunderstood by people you never thought
would see it—now or way off in the future. Feelings could get hurt. Someone who
doesn’t get the joke could think you’re mean just because they don’t know you. Once
somethingʼs out there, it’s hard to take it back, and people can copy, screenshot it and
share it. Remember:
• What you post or share could be seen by people you’ll never meet.
• Once something about you is online, it could be there forever—even if someone else
just takes a screenshot and shares it. It’s kind of like a permanent marker: the marks
it makes are really hard to erase.
• All put together, lots of bits of information that are public and hard to erase are what
make up a reputation—what people think of you. So you want to have as much control
as possible over what you share.
Thatʼs why your privacy matters. You can protect it by posting it privately or sharing
only things that youʼre totally sure you want to share—in other words, by being careful
about what you say, post and share online.
It’s also good to know when to post nothing at all—not to react to somebody’s post,
photo or comment, share something that might not be true (even if it’s just a joke),
overshare (share too much) or post personal information. Everybody’s heard “think
before you post,” and that’s because it’s really good advice. The way to respect your
own and other people’s privacy is to think about what’s ok to post, who might see what
you post, what effect it could have on you and other people (tomorrow or when you’re
all 16!) and when not to post anything at all.
Continued on the next page →
Share with Care 15

Some questions for further discussion (these questions can also go home with
students for follow up family discussions):
• Why should we never post our full name, address, phone number and other personal
info online?
• When is it ok to share a photo or video of someone else?
• Is it ever ok to tell someone else’s secret or private information—why/why not?
What if you think it’s a joke?
• What if someone you care about is posting something private that makes you think
they’re in danger—would you share it? If you think so, should you tell them you’re
worried? Should you tell them you’re thinking about telling an adult who cares about
them?
Activity 1. Make up a secret

Make sure it’s a pretend secret not a real one.
2. Tell your partner

Okay, got your secrets? Now letʼs all pair up, share your secret with your partner, and
discuss these three questions:
• Would you share this secret with anyone?
• Who would you share your secret with and why?
• How would you feel if someone told everyone your secret without your permission?
3. Tell the class

Finally, each student tells the class their pretend secret and how they felt about sharing
it. The class can discuss their answers to the questions just above.
Takeaway Secrets are just one type of personal information that we keep private online—or share
only with trusted family or friends. Once you’ve shared a secret, you’re no longer in
control of where it can go. That’s why people say we should always think before we
post (they’re right!). Other kinds of information you should never post online:
• Your home address and phone number
• Your email
• Your passwords
• Your full name
• Your grades and schoolwork
16
Keeping it private
The class reviews four written scenarios and discusses what might be the best privacy solution for each one.
Goals for students ✓ Analyze how to see privacy concerns from different peopleʼs points of view.
✓ Understand how different scenarios call for different levels of privacy.
Letʼs talk Privacy scenarios: What should you do?

Take a look at the following scenarios below to learn more.
Activity Weʼre going to review the five scenarios and talk about how each one might have a
different privacy solution. We’ll split up into four groups, discuss one scenario each,
and then come back for a class discussion about our findings.
Materials needed:
• Teacher’s outline:
“Keeping it private”
Scenarios Scenario 1: Someone told Kid A that it’s good to change up passwords and passcodes
on our phones every now and then. So they decide to change their password for their
favorite game. Kid A’s best friend, Kid B, likes to play the game too but doesn’t have a
login for it, so Kid B plays the game with Kid A’s log‑in. Kid A shares the new password
with Kid B.
• Was it good that Kid A changed their password?
• Was it good that Kid A shared their password with Kid B? Why or why not?
What if Kid A shares their password for a social media account too? Same answer?
Same answer when they’re in high school and have different friends?
Scenario 2: Someone writes in their personal journal. You find out that a friend found
it when they spent the night at their house and thought it would be a funny joke to post
parts of it online.
• Was the friend wrong to post that information online? Was it funny? Why or why not?
• How would you feel if someone did this with something you didn’t want anyone else
to see?
Share with Care 17

Scenario 3: Someone posts, “Have a great vacation,” on a friendʼs social media page.
• Had the friend announced publicly that they were going away? Did they want
everybody on the planet to know? (Well not everybody on the planet, but you never
know.)
• Are there more private ways to communicate this message?
Scenario 4: You know that another student made a fake social media account that’s
impersonating someone else and makes them look bad. It also includes their personal
information.
• Does the student being impersonated have a right to know—would you tell them?
• It’s not obvious who made it, but you know who did it. Should you tell the person to
take it down?
• Should you tell a teacher or other trusted adult?
• What could happen if nobody does?
Scenario 5: The kids at your house take turns using your mom’s tablet, so everybody
knows the passcode. Your whole family also has one account for doing online
shopping at this one website. That was all fine until one day your brother had a friend
over and they were using your mom’s tablet to look at some amazing headphones for
gamers on that shopping site. Your brother went to get a snack in the kitchen, then they
went outside to shoot some hoops. A few days later, this box arrived at your house.
It had headphones in it. Your brother said he didn’t order them. You believe him.
• Your parents are going to wonder how that headset arrived at your house—what do
you and your brother decide to do?
• What about the password part? Do you see a problem with everybody in a family using
the same passwords for family devices and accounts if friends can use those devices
and accounts? Would you talk to your family about that?
Takeaway Different situations call for different responses, online and offline. It’s always important
to respect other people’s privacy choices, even if they aren’t the choices you’d make
yourself.
18
Teacher’s outline: Lesson 2
Keeping it private
Note to teachers: This sheet is to help you guide the discussions for this lesson; it’s not a handout for your students.
Write their correct and/or best responses on the board and discuss.
Scenario 1 • Was it good that Kid A changed their password?

Yes, it’s basic privacy good practice to have different passwords for different devices
and services and to change them at least once a year.
• Was it good that Kid A shared their password with Kid B? Why or why not?
No, we know that kids often share passwords with their friends and that they need
to learn this is not good digital privacy or security. This is where you can help tease
out reasons why it’s not good. You can ask them the question: “Can you think of any
situations where you wouldn’t want someone besides a trusted adult to have your
password forever?” Examples could include:
- Sometimes friendships go south and people get mad—would you want someone
mad at you to be able to share your password with anybody?
- What if a friend of yours had the passcode to your phone and logged in, pretended
to be you and—just for a joke—said weird or mean things about someone else you
both know? They’d be making it look like you’re saying those things.
- If you shared your password with someone who moved away, would you want them
to be able to access your accounts and private information forever?
- What if you’re playing a game and another player asks for your log‑in so they can
play as you? Would you give them that log‑in info even if they’re a friend? Think
about what you can do in that game and how they’d be able to do everything in
your account that you can do. Is that ok? Would that be ok next week or next year?
• What if Kid A shares their password for a social media account too? Same answer?
Same answer when they’re in high school and have different friends?
- Yes, same answer, because it’s not good to share passwords for any kind of
account with friends, even the closest ones, because—as in the first point just
above, friendships change, sometimes friends sometimes become ex‑friends, and
you wouldn’t want to just open your account or profile to someone who doesn’t
care about you. Because then they could edit your info, make you look bad, make
it look like you’re posting something mean about someone else, etc.
Scenario 2 • Was the friend wrong to post that information online? Was it funny? Why or why not?
Some students might say it’s funny if what they’re sharing is funny, so drill down a bit
and ask those students the next question…
• How would you feel if someone did this with something you didn’t want anyone else
to see?
Share with Care 19

Scenario 3 • Had the friend announced publicly that they were going away?
For the sake of discussion, let’s say the answer is yes, then ask the class…
• Did they want everybody on the planet to know?
No. (Probably)
• Why not?
Some good answers could include: Because their family may want their whereabouts
confidential or may be concerned about the security of their home when nobody’s there.
• Are there more private ways to communicate this message?
They’ll probably come up with some good answers, e.g., sending a private message,
a text, calling them on the phone, etc.
Scenario 4 • Does the student being impersonated have a right to know—would you tell them?
You’ll have your own answer for the first part of this question, but it might be interesting
to hear the students’ answers and have a discussion about that, whether they’d tell the
victim and what they’d tell them.
• It’s not obvious who made it, but you know who did it. Should you tell the person to
take it down?
Not everyone would feel comfortable confronting the aggressor, and that’s ok. Ask the
class if anyone would feel comfortable doing so and why. See if a discussion ensues.
• Should someone tell a teacher or other trusted adult?
Yes, if no one tells the aggressor to take it down or if someone does and the account
stays up.
Help your students see that protecting someone else from harm—including
embarrassment, social exclusion, harassment and bullying—is important. It’s not
“tattling.” What’s important is that the intention is protecting someone not getting
the other person in trouble.
• What could happen if nobody does?
Harm being done to someone is not stopped.
This is a good talking point for class discussion about caring for others and why that’s
important. More on that in the Be Internet Kind section.
Scenario 5 • Your parents are going to wonder how those headphones arrived at your house—what
do you and your brother decide to do?
Your students may reflexively focus on what is and isn’t the right thing to do and
say—which is just fine—have a short discussion about that and see if they reach any
consensus on that.
• What about the password part? Talk to me about the risks of everybody in a family
using the same passwords for family devices and accounts.
A lot of families do this. See if you can get students thinking out loud about 1) protecting
family passwords when friends come over, 2) why it’s important not to share family
passwords with friends and other people outside the family and 3) what other problems
could happen besides friends ordering stuff with family accounts.
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That’s not what I meant!

Using only emojis, students create t‑shirts to represent themselves. In the process, they learn that different people
can interpret the same message differently.
Media literacy background for teachers: When we wear t‑shirts featuring corporate logos, sports teams, schools,
musicians, politicians, etc., we are essentially walking billboards. This activity demonstrates that a t‑shirt is both direct
communication and media at the same time and helps students see that screens aren’t the only kind of place where
media can be found.
Goals for students ✓ Learn the importance of asking the question: How might others see this message
differently from me?
✓ Grow awareness of the many visual cues people use to communicate.
✓ See that sharing something online as well as on a t‑shirt is making media.
✓ Learn what “context” and “representation” mean.
Letʼs talk Has anyone ever misunderstood something you said, did, wrote or posted online?
Did they get mad or sad, so you had to explain that you didn’t mean what they thought
you meant?
Sometimes when we are communicating, we know what we mean, but the people we
are communicating with don’t understand, especially if we aren’t in the same space.
That’s because people’s experiences affect the way they interpret things like images
and words.
To add to the confusion, there are a lot of messages we communicate without even
knowing it. We tell people who we are—and judge who they are—using cues like our
clothes, our hair style, and even the way we walk or gesture with our hands. This is
called “representation”—expressing something about a thing, person, or group by
using pictures, symbols, style and words.
Here’s an example: If you were online and saw a picture of a person wearing a sports
jersey with a team logo, you would probably think that the person is a fan of that team,
and you’d probably be right. That’s because most of us recognize the design of sports
jerseys—we know that’s sports “code.” So even if we aren’t sure which team is being
represented, we know it’s probably a sports team.
But what if you saw a picture of someone wearing a cheese wedge on top of their
head? What would you think about that person? If you live in Wisconsin or you’re
a football fan, you know that “cheese head” is a nickname for Green Bay Packers
football fans. The person in the picture was using the cheese wedge hat to represent
their support for the Packers.
If you didn’t know the Packers fan “code,” you might think that the cheese hat was part
of a Halloween costume or just plain weird. You might even be tempted to comment on
Share with Care 21

how weird it was. That might make Packer fans mad. To them, your comment is rude
and they might be tempted to respond with a mean comment about you. That makes
you mad, so we end up with a mess of negative comments and hurt feelings.
So how do we make sure other people will understand what we mean when we post
online? One way is to see ourselves as media creators—not just communicators or
players. Every time we create an online profile, text someone, comment in game chat,
or share a picture, we are making media. Like all good media creators, we want to be
thoughtful about the media we make and share by pausing before we post and asking:
“How might someone who is different from me interpret my message?”
Activity 1. Describe yourself with emojis

To help us think about being skillful media creators, we’re going to decorate t‑shirts.
Using the handout of the blank t‑shirt outline, draw a representation of yourself using
only emojis. You can use one, two, or three emojis, but no more. You can copy emojis
from the grid or invent your own.
Materials needed:
• Handout: “Blank t‑shirt”
(one per student) 2. Show and tell
• Handout: “Emoji grid” Pair up and try to guess what the emojis on your partner’s t‑shirt say about them.
(projected or posted so
everyone can see)
Are your guesses accurate or do you have to explain to each other what your emoji
picks mean?
• Markers, colored pencils,
or crayons to draw with
• Tape (or a way to display 3. Learn about each other
t‑shirt drawings for a Post the “t‑shirts” around the room so everyone can look at everyone else’s shirt.
walkabout)
Can you accurately match each shirt with its owner?
4. A s a class, discuss:
• What made it hard or easy to match shirts with classmates? What did you notice
about the symbols on the shirts that were easy to match? Were some emojis used by
lots of people? Were some used by only one person?
• Did everyone agree on the meaning of every emoji? How can context change the
meaning of the emoji? Look at the emoji of the hands with the two fingers. How do
you know if it means peace, victory, or the number 2? How about the fire emoji? Does
it mean danger/emergency? Really popular or successful (“You’re on fire, dude!”)?
Does the meaning change depending on where it appears (grinning emoji on your
homework might mean that your teacher thinks you did good work but in a text from
a friend it might mean they’re happy or joking)? Does the meaning change depending
on what other emojis it’s with?
Takeaway As media creators, before we post messages or pictures online, it’s a good idea to
pause and ask: “How could someone who is different from me interpret this? Am I
sure they’ll understand what I mean?” Could they take it wrong? And we should ask
ourselves the same things before we post or comment too. “Am I sure I understand
what they mean? How can I know?”
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Handout: Lesson 3
Blank t‑shirt
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Handout: Lesson 3
Emoji grid
24
Frame it
Media literacy background for teachers: Media are made by people who make choices. The most basic of these are
what to include and exclude. This lesson helps students see themselves as media makers when they decide what to
share online.
Goals for students ✓ Visualize themselves as media creators.

✓ Understand media makers make choices about what to show and what to keep
outside the frame.
✓ Use the concept of framing to understand the difference between what to make
visible and public and what to keep secure or invisible.
Letʼs talk Visual media makers control how much information they want to share by framing.
They decide what to include inside the frame (what we can see), and they decide what
stays outside the frame (what’s invisible).
Activity Run through each activity as a class, then discuss:
1. Framing
All pieces of media are the product of a series of choices by their media makers.
One important choice is what to include and another is what to leave out. When we
Materials needed:
take pictures or video, “in” and “out” are separated by a frame.
• Index cards and scissors
(one set per student)
• Handout: “What’s in To see how this works, take your index card and cut a rectangle out of the center to
the frame?” or screen make your own frame.
or smartboard with
images projected
Hold the frame at arm’s length and move it slowly toward your face and back out (you
could also try this with the zoom function on a camera). What do you notice about what
you can see inside the frame? How about if you move it side to side? Is there a way to
hold the frame so you can see some of your classmates but not others, or some of the
things on a wall but not others?
When you control the frame, you are the media maker. You have the power to decide
what to include or leave out. What you choose to leave outside the frame is still there
in real life, but people who view the media you made would never be able to see it.
2. Keep it in or leave it out?

Grab a handout, and look at picture 1A. What do you think you’re looking at and how
do you know? Now look at 1B. How does the added information help you get a better
idea of what you’re looking at?
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Try it again with picture 2A. What do you think is casting the shadow? What’s your
evidence? 2B adds more information. Was your guess correct?
3. Too Much Information (TMI)?

Extra information isn’t always welcome. Sometimes it’s a distraction that takes away
from our ability to enjoy or understand the smaller frame image. Take a look at
example #3 on the handout.
It’s fun to see how things are made sometimes. But what would it be like if every
time you watched a movie, a TV show, or video you weren’t just seeing the small
frame—what if you were also seeing all the cameras, microphones, crew members,
and the edges of the set? Do you think you would enjoy the story as much?
4. You decide
Every time you share something online, you are making media. And like the producers
of a film, video or TV show, you can decide what people will see—what’s inside the
frame and what stays out of sight, outside the frame.
Takeaway As a media maker, you put a “frame” around what you share online so other people see
only what you want them to see.
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Handout: Lesson 4
What’s in the frame?
1A 1B
2A 2B
Tiger
3A 3B
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Who is this person anyway?

This lesson provides examples of what a “digital footprint” actually looks like. Students study a collection of
personal information about a fictitious character—part of the character’s footprint—in order to try to deduce
things about this person.
Goals for students ✓ Identify ways information can be found online about people.
✓ Consider how judgments are made about a person when they post things online,
things that become part of their digital footprint.
✓ Determine accuracy of information and understand the difference between
assumption, opinion and fact.
Letʼs talk How we know what we (think we) know?

A lot of personal information can be found on the Internet. Some of it can cause us to
think things or make guesses about people that turn out not to be true. These are the
questions weʼre going to explore:
• What might we learn about a person from their personal information or things they
post?
• What can we guess from personal information, even if we arenʼt sure?
• Do we know how this information was collected in the first place? How can we
identify the source?
Activity Possible modification for grades 2−3: If you feel your 2nd or 3rd graders are ready to
talk about “digital footprints” in media, consider using the “I Do, We Do, You Do” strategy
(where you model the first example on the worksheet, complete the 2nd example as a
class, then turn it over to the students as individuals—and discuss!)
Materials needed:
1. Study the person
• Worksheet: “Who is
this person anyway?” Have everyone read the collections of information about Kristi, Tyler, Connor or a
(one per student)
fictional character they create.
2. Write a description
Separate into groups, one character per group. Each group develops its own brief
description of the person, answering the question: “Who do you think this person is?”
3. Read the description

Each group reads the description they came up with for their character.
4. Reveal the truth

Okay, now hereʼs the truth about our characters. Let’s compare it to what you thought
the info they posted said about them:
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• Kristi is a high school senior. She’s going to college next year, hopes to study chemical
engineering, and eventually wants to start her own company. She cares most about:
family, volunteering, pop culture, fashion.
• Tyler is the starting pitcher on her high school softball team. She’s 15 and lives in
Philadelphia. She has an 8‑year‑old sister. She cares most about: baseball, studying
art, playing the guitar, hanging with her friends.
• Connor is 14. He just joined the soccer team and has two cats. He’s very good at
sketching and likes to build robots on weekends. He cares most about: technology,
his soccer team, animals and animal rights.
5. Discuss
How close were your descriptions of the characters to the facts about them? Why
do you think you came up with your descriptions? Are your descriptions opinions,
assumptions or facts—and explain why? What did you learn from this lesson?
Takeaway When we see or hear people’s posts, comments, photos and videos, we make guesses
about them that arenʼt always correct, especially if we don’t know them. That’s because
what we’re seeing online or at a certain moment in time is only part of who they are
and what they care about. It could also be someone they’re just pretending to be, or
it’s something they’re feeling only in the moment that they’re posting it. We can’t really
know who they are or how they really feel until we know them in person—and even then
it takes time!
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Worksheet: Lesson 5
Who is this person anyway?

Read each collection of the person’s online activity below. Based on what you see here, write a short description of
what you think this person is like: What do they like, dislike, and care about most?
Kristi Tyler Connor

Under‑the‑sea photos from the Won game! One more game to go
Barney’s Burger Emporium
dance! Looking good, y’all! before the championship. Gotta
practice more throws.
Missed the winning goal. Ugh.

Best Ways to Battle Zits
I hate school dances. #notgoing At least we tied.
My little brother alex is SOO Field Museum

25 Photos of Puppies
annoying. Maybe he’s an alien. Chicago, IL
Heading to Seattle for my The Westfield High

Speeding ticket
golden birthday! Can’t wait. Junior Prom
Young Chemists Conference Playing catch with my dad at Penny Check out my friend’s website!
at Thompson University Pack Park! Gonna be awesome I wrote a lot of the code for it.
FINALLY SAW THE NEW SPY La Luna at New high score!! Yassss.
WARS MOVIE. Omg obsessed! City Center Area I luv gem jam!!
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How do others see us online?

Students explore how different types of people—parents, employers, friends, the police—would see the character from
the previous lesson, or what bits of their digital footprint can suggest about them.
Goals for students ✓ Understand the perspectives of other people when weʼre deciding whether or not
to share information online.
✓ Consider the consequences of exposing personal information: what you share
becomes part of your digital footprint, which can last a long time.
✓ Start to think about what it means to curate what they post online and how that
relates to their digital footprint.
Letʼs talk A new point of view

The information in your digital footprint could tell people more—or just different—stuff
about you than you want them to know. We’re going to look at the consequences of that.
So letʼs pick one of those characters and pretend that we’re them and we posted those
comments. We’re going to try on their point of view.
• Do you think your character wants people to know all this personal info? Why or why
not? What types of people would your character want (or not want to see that info?
• How do you think this information would be seen by other people?
• How do you think it would be used by other people?
Different situations call for different levels of privacy. Thinking about how other people
would view what you post is the key to good online privacy habits.
Activity Possible modification for grades 2−3: If you feel your 2nd or 3rd graders are ready
to talk about how they’re seen in social media, consider reducing the number of
perspectives, maybe Parent, Friend, Police Officer and themselves 10 years from now,
then discuss as a class.
Materials needed:
1. Take a new point of view
• Worksheet: “Who is this
person anyway?” from We’re going to go around the room and count off from 1 to 3, then form three groups.
Lesson 5 (one per student)
The 1’s get to be Kristi, the 2’s Tyler and the 3’s Connor. Then I (teacher) am going to go
around to each group and pretend to be one or two of the following people (read list).
Then your group will discuss how your character feels about the way the person I’m
pretending to be reacted to your information.
As teacher, you’ll be role‑playing how a parent, police officer, peer, high school student,
etc. would react to the information on each character on the worksheet (pick 2−3 or ask
the groups which characters they want you to be). Briefly—no more than 2 min. per role.
• Parent • Coach • Advertiser
• Friend • Police • Employer
• Yourself in 10 years
Share with Care 31

2. Group discussion
For 5−10 min., each group will discuss the choices their character made, the reactions
of the people the teacher played and how they felt about those views of Kristi, Tyler
and Connor. Then I’ll ask each group to share with all of us what they discussed and
learned about privacy choices online.
3. Class discussion
What are your top 3 takeaways from this activity? Did the different people who saw
your information online make accurate assumptions about you? Do you think they
formed positive or negative opinions about you? Were you satisfied with their
responses? What do you think might be the consequences of someone forming a
negative opinion about you from the information you post online? How would you
curate the information or post differently now, knowing who saw it?
Takeaway Different people can see the same information and draw different conclusions from it.
Donʼt assume that people online will see you the way you think theyʼll see you.
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Interland: Mindful Mountain

The mountainous town center of Interland is a place where everyone mingles and crosses paths. But you must
be very intentional about what you share and with whom. Information travels at the speed of light, and there’s an
oversharer among the Internauts you know.
Open a web browser on your desktop or mobile device (e.g., tablet), visit g.co/MindfulMountain.
Discussion topics Have your students play Mindful Mountain and use the questions below to prompt
further discussion about the lessons learned in the game. Most students get the
most out of the experience by playing solo, but you can also have students pair up.
This may be especially valuable for younger learners.
• Of all the posts you shared in the game, which type do you think you would share
most often in real life? Why?
• Describe a time when you may have accidentally shared something that you
shouldnʼt have.
• Why do you think the character in Mindful Mountain is called an oversharer?
• Describe the oversharer’s character and how his actions affect the game.
• Did playing Mindful Mountain change the way you’ll think about sharing with others
online in the future?
• Name one thing youʼll do differently after joining in these lessons and playing the
game.
• What is one example of a possible negative consequence from sharing something
with the public instead of just your friends?
• What steps can you take if you accidentally share something personal? What about
if someone accidentally shares something too personal with you?
Share with Care 33

Unit 02: Be Internet Alert
Don’t Fall
for Fake
Steering clear of scammers, fakers, info that doesn’t help and other Internet stuff that
tries to trick your brain—and learning how to find the good stuff
Lesson overview Lesson 1 Popups, catfishing and other scams Grades 2−6
Lesson 2 Who’s this ‘talking’ to me? Grades 2−6
Lesson 3 Is that really true? ML Grades 2−6
Lesson 4 Spotting untrustworthy information online ML Grades 4−6
Lesson 5 If we were a search engine ML Grades 2−6
Lesson 6 Practicing Internet search ML Grades 2−6
Lesson 7 Interland: Reality River Grades 2−6
Themes Itʼs important for kids to understand that contacts or content they encounter online
arenʼt necessarily true or reliable, and could involve efforts to trick them or steal their
information, identity or property. Online scams aim to get Internet users of all ages to
respond to fraudulent posts and pitches—sometimes from people pretending to be
someone they know.
Goals for students ✓ Understand that what people tell you online isn’t necessarily true.
✓ Learn how scams work, why they’re a threat, and how to avoid them.
✓ Determine the validity of information and messages online and be wary of
manipulation, unsubstantiated claims, fake offers or prizes and other online scams.
Standards ISTE Standards for Educators: 1a, 2c, 3b, 3c, 4b, 5a, 6a, 6d, 7a
addressed ISTE Standards for Students 2016: 1c, 1d, 2b, 2d, 3b, 3d, 7b, 7c
AASL Learning Standards: I.b.1, I.c.1, I.c.2, Ic.3, I.d.3, I.d.4, II.a.1, II.a.2, II.b.1, II.b.2,
II.b.3, II.c.1, II.c.2, II.d.1, II.d.2., III.a.1, III.a.2, III.a.3, III.b.1, III.c.1, III.c.2, III.d.1, III.d.2,
IV.a.1, IV.a.2, IV.b.3, V.a.2, VI.a.1, VI.a.2, VI.a.3
Don’t Fall for Fake 35

Don’t Fall for Fake
Vocabulary
Lessons 1 and 2
Catfishing: Creating a fake identity or account online Vlogger: A person who is known for regularly posting
to trick people into friending them or sharing their short videos on a blog or social media.
personal information
Lesson 4
Malicious: Words or actions intended to be cruel or Deceptive: False; an action or message designed to
hurtful. This word can also refer to harmful software fool, trick or lie to someone
intended to do damage to a person’s device, account,
or personal information Deceptive news: News that intentionally lies or
distorts the truth—the popular name for it these days
Phishing: An attempt to scam you or trick you into is “fake news”
sharing your login or other personal information
online. Phishing is done through email, social media, Disinformation: False information intended to trick
texts, ads or web pages that look similar to ones or mislead you
you’re already used to but are fake. Evidence: Facts or examples that prove something
Scam: A dishonest attempt to make money by tricking is true or false
people into sharing their login, personal info, contacts, Misinformation: False Information
etc. or tricking people out of their money or digital
property Skeptical: Willing to question claims of truth
Smishing (or SMiShing): A scam that uses text Lessons 5 and 6

messages to trick you into doing something, like Clickbait: Content that attracts attention and could
share a login or other personal info, click on a link to push you to click on a link to a certain site by using
a bad site or download bad software interesting formatting or catchy phrases
Spearphishing: A phishing scam where an attacker Keyword: A word directly related to the topic of your
targets you more specifically by using pieces of your Internet search—one of the words you really need to
own personal information do your search because no other word describes your
topic better
Trustworthy: Able to be relied on to do what is right
or what is needed Query: A keyword, set of keywords or a question you
type into a search window (or box) to find information
Lesson 3 online. Sometimes a search takes more than one
Credible: Believable; someone who is credible uses query to find what you’re looking for.
evidence, and you can be confident they are telling
the truth. Search engine/Internet search: A software program
or “tool” people use to find information—including
Expertise: Special skill or knowledge about a locations, photos and videos—on the Web
particular thing; experts have expertise
Search results: A collection of information you get in
Motive: The reason that someone does something; a search engine after you type your query and hit the
intention “Search” or “Send” button
Source: Someone or something that provides
information
36
Donʼt Fall for Fake: Lesson 1
Popups, catfishing and other scams

A game where students study various messages and texts and try to decide which messages are legit and which
are scams.
Goals for students ✓ Learn techniques people use to scam other people online or on devices.
✓ Review ways to prevent online theft.
✓ Know to talk to a trusted adult if they think theyʼre a victim of an online scam.
✓ Recognize the signs of scam attempts.
✓ Be careful about how and with whom they share personal info.
Letʼs talk What’s a scam, anyway?

A scam is when someone tries to trick you so they can steal something—like your
login, personal information, money or digital property. Scammers sometimes pretend
to be someone you trust, and they can show up in a popup, webpage, text or even a
fake app in ad or app stores. Their messages—and the unsafe pages they try to send
you to—can also put viruses on your device. Some use your contact list to target your
friends and family with the same kind of attack. Other types of scams might try to trick
you into downloading a bad app by looking like the real one or bad software by telling
you thereʼs something wrong with your device.
Remember: A texter, website or ad canʼt tell if thereʼs anything wrong with your device
or computer! So if they say there is something wrong, they’re trying to scam you.
Also remember (you may have heard this before, but it’s good): If you get a message
from someone you don’t know or even think you might know, and it sounds fantastic,
exciting, or a little too good to be true, it very probably is exactly that (too good to
be true).
Note to teacher: You could ask the class if they’ve ever heard that, get a show of hands,
then ask them if they’ve ever seen a message like that themselves—or if a family member
has. If not, GREAT, and if it happens in the future, they know how to protect themselves,
their family and their stuff.
Some scams are obviously fake. Others can be sneaky and really convincing—like when
a scammer sends you a message that includes some of your personal information.
Thatʼs called spearphishing, and it can be very hard to spot because using your info
can make it seem like they know you. Another kind, which you’ve probably heard of, is
catfishing—when someone creates a fake page or profile pretending to be someone
you know or you’re a fan of so they can trick you. Then there’s smishing (scams in text
messages) and phishing (in email).
So before you do what someone asks—like click on a link or share your login—itʼs
a good idea to ask yourself some questions about that message. Here are some
questions you could ask:

• If it’s from a business, does it look professional, with the product’s or company’s usual
logo and text that doesn’t have spelling errors?
• It’s never a good idea to click to a website from the message, but you can go to your
web browser, search for the business and click to it from search, then ask yourself:
Does the siteʼs URL match the product’s or company’s name and information youʼre
looking for? Are there misspellings?
• Is the message coming in the form of really annoying spammy popups?
• Does the URL start with https:// with a little green padlock to the left of it? (That’s
good, it means the connection is secure.)
• Whatʼs in the fine print? (Thatʼs sometimes where they put sneaky stuff, if they bother
to. It’s also not good if there’s no fine print.)
• Is the message offering something that sounds too good to be true, like a chance to
make money, get a better digital thing for your avatar or character, become famous,
etc.? (It’s almost always too good to be true.)
• Does the message sound just a little bit weird? Like they’re saying they know you and
you think it’s possible, but you’re not completely sure?
And what if you do fall for a scam? Start with this: Donʼt panic! Lots of people do.
• Tell your parent, teacher or other adult you trust right away. The longer you wait, the
worse things could get.
• Change your passwords for online accounts.
• If you do get tricked by a scam, let your friends and people in your contacts know right
away, because they could get that tricky message next.
• Report the message as spam, if possible.
Activity Possible modification for grades 2−3: Divide the class into 5 groups and assign one
example from the worksheet to each group. After each group has had a chance to
analyze the example, discuss as a class.
1. Divide class into groups

Materials needed:
• Handout: “Phishing
examples” (answers 2. Each group studies examples
provided on page 39) Let’s divide into groups, and each group study these examples of messages and
websites.
3. Individuals indicate choices

Decide “real” or “fake” for each example, and list reasons why below it.
4. Groups discuss choices

Which examples seemed trustworthy and which seem suspicious? Did any answers
surprise you? If so, why?
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Answers to student handout: 5. Further discussion
“Phishing examples”
Here are some more questions to ask yourself when assessing messages and sites
1. Real. The message asks the
user to go to the company’s you find online:
website and sign into their
account on their own, rather • Does this message look right?
than providing a link in the
message or asking you to Whatʼs your first instinct? Do you notice any untrustworthy parts? Does it offer to
email your password (links fix something you didn’t know was a problem?
can send you to malicious
websites).
• Does this app look right?
2. F
ake. Suspicious and not
secure URL Sometimes fake apps—apps that look a whole lot like real ones—get advertised in
3. R
eal. Note the https:// in website popups or show up in app stores. There are all kinds of nasty things they
the URL do if they’re downloaded to a phone—steal your information or contacts, install bad
4. F
ake. Suspicious offer in software, etc. Look out for spelling mistakes, a tiny number of user review or sloppy
exchange for bank details
(not very professional) graphics.
5. F
ake. Not secure and
suspicious URL
• Is the message offering you something for free?
6. F
ake. Not secure and
suspicious URL Free offers usually arenʼt really free—the senders usually want to get something
7. F
ake. Not secure and from you.
suspicious URL and
suspicious offer in
exchange for bank details • Is it asking for your personal information?
Some scammers ask for personal info so they can send you more scams. For
example, quizzes or “personality tests” could be gathering facts to make it easy to
guess your password or other secret information. Most real businesses wonʼt ask
for personal information in a message or from anywhere except their own websites.
• Is it a chain message or social post?

Texts and posts that ask you to forward them to everyone you know can put you and
others at risk. Donʼt do it unless youʼre sure of the source and sure the message is
safe to pass on.
• Does it have fine print?

At the bottom of most documents youʼll find the “fine print.” This text is tiny and often
contains the stuff youʼre supposed to miss. For example, a headline at the top might
say youʼve won a free phone, but in the fine print youʼll read that you actually have to
pay that company $200 per month. No fine print at all can be just as bad, so definitely
pay attention to that too.
Note: For the purposes of this exercise, assume that Internaut mail is a real, trusted
service.
Takeaway When youʼre online, always be on the lookout for scams in games, webpages, apps and
messages—and know that if it sounds fabulous or a way to get something for free, it’s
probably fake. And if you do get fooled, make sure you tell an adult you trust right away.

Worksheet: Lesson 1
Phishing examples
Email
https://mail.internaut.com/mail/u/0/#inbox 1. Is this real or fake?
Subject: Important information about your membership
From: Owl Cinemas<memberships@owlcinemas-example.com>
Body: Dear John,
Real Fake
A big “Thank You” from Owl Cinemas for your Unlimited
membership so far with us.
We are writing to remind you that your initial 12-month
membership with us is almost complete. We hope that
you have had an amazing year of film at Owl Cinemas.
And because youʼve been such a loyal member, weʼll
shortly be upgrading you to our premium membership
at no additional cost!
Please check and update your details online now
to ensure you benefit from all of the perks of our
premium membership.
The Owl Cinemas Team
Internaut Docs
www.d0cs.intern4ut.com 2. Is this real or fake?
Real Fake
Internaut mail
Email
Password
Sign in to view file
Donuts & more

https://www.donutsandmoreshop.com 3. Is this real or fake?
News Donuts More
Real Fake
40
Email
https://internaut.mail.com/mail/u/0/#inbox 4. Is this real or fake?
Subject: Great Opportunity my friend
From: Robin<robin@robin-hood-example.com>
Body: Dear Friend.
My name is Robin and I am a teacher from the town of
Real Fake
Nottingham. I am teaching a massive group of students
and I believe that I make a lot of a difference in the lives of
these children. Unfortunately, the sheriff of the town has
been overcharging me on my taxes. As you know, teachers
are never meant to be paying this much tax because we
are not being paid well. I am due to inherit a huge amount
of money (over 5 million dollars) and I donʼt want the
sheriff to get it.
You have always been a good friend to me so I want to
keep the money in your bank account until after tax period.
As a reward, I am willing to leave you 1 million dollar. This
is such a good deal and only for you my friend. Please
send me your complete bank details so I can put this
money in your account.
Your good friend for ever,

Robin Loxley
Internaut Accounts
http://www.internautaccounts.com-genuine-login.com/ 5. Is this real or fake?
Internaut Accounts
Hey, is that really you? Real Fake
It looks like youʼre signing into your account from a new location.
Just so we know this is you — and not someone trying to hijack
your account— please complete this quick verification. Learn more
about this additional security measure.
Choose verification method
Confirm my phone number:

Enter full phone number
Internaut mail will check if this is the same phone number
we have on file— we donʼt send you any messages.
Confirm my recovery email address:

Enter full email address
Internaut mail will check if this is the same email address
we have on file — we won’t send you any messages.
Continue

6. Is this real or fake?
3 0:22
Real Fake
PHISHER GAMES
hp://www.phishergames.com/level5/player20
CLICK HERE FOR
1,000
BONUS COINS
TO SKIP 7 LEVELS !
CLICK !
10
Sneakerhead Land
http://www.sneakerheadland.com/shopping/freestu
7. Is this real or fake?
! SNEAKER SALE !
Real Fake
CONGRATS! YOU’RE THE WINNER!!

Just pay the shipping cost. Enter your credit card number below
for 3 free sneakers of your choice.
42
Who’s this ‘talking’ to me?

Students practice their anti‑scam skills by acting out—and discussing possible responses to—suspicious online
messages, posts, friend requests, apps, pictures and email.
About this lesson: Because it’s about social interaction, this lesson would seem to be for students in upper elementary
grades (5−6), but because more and more kids aged 7−9 are playing online games, many of them with other players
rather than solo, this lesson is good preparation even for grades 2−3. We hope teachers in those grade levels will find
out if their students are gaming and, if so, what they love about it and whether they’ve experienced anything sketchy.
To maximize learning, just keep it light, open and judgment‑free.
Goals for students ✓ Understand that people contacting us may not be who they say they are.
✓ Be sure the person is who they say they are before replying.
✓ Ask questions or get help from an adult if it’s hard to tell who the person is.
Letʼs talk How do you know itʼs really them?

When you’re on the phone with your friend, you can tell it’s them by the sound of their
voice, even though you can’t see them. The online world is a little different. Sometimes
it’s harder to be sure someone is who they say they are. In apps and games, people
sometimes pretend to be someone else as a joke, to get something from you or to be
mean. Other times, they impersonate people to steal personal information or digital
property like skins or game money. The safest thing to do is not to respond or to tell
a parent or other adult you trust that you don’t know the person trying to connect with
you. But if you decide it’s okay to respond, it’s a really good idea to see what you can
find out about them first. Check their page or profile, see who their friends are or search
for other information that tells you they’re who they say they are.
There are lots of ways to verify someone’s identity online. Here are a few examples to
get us started.
Note to teacher: You might consider leading a class brainstorm on the question “How
do we verify a person’s identity online?” first; then continue the conversation with these
thought starters.
• If there’s a photo of the message sender, is it a little suspicious?

Is their photo blurry or hard to see? Or, is there no photo at all, like a bitmoji or cartoon
character’s face? Bad photos, bitmojis, photos of pets, etc. make it easy for a person
to hide their identity in social media. Itʼs also common for scammers to steal photos
from a real person in order to set up a fake profile and pretend to be them. If there’s
a photo, can you find more photos of the person with that name online?

• Does their screen name contain their real name?
On social media, for instance, does their screen name match a real name? (For
example, Jane Doe’s profile has a URL like SocialMedia.com/jane_doe.)
• Does their page have info about them?

If so, does it sound like it was written by a real person? Fake accounts might not have
much “About Me” information, or might have a bunch of information copied or pulled
together randomly to create a fake profile. Is there anything in their info that you can
confirm by searching for it with the name on the profile?
• How long has the account been active? Does the activity make sense to you?
Is the page or profile new, or does it show a lot of activity going back a ways? Does
the person have mutual friends with you, like you would expect? Fake accounts
usually don’t have much content or signs of other people posting, commenting,
and socializing in them.
Activity 1. Groups review scenarios

Okay, now weʼre going to separate into 5 groups. Each group will pick a scenario from
this container.
2. Groups choose one or more responses from the cheat sheet and talk about why
Materials needed:
you picked that response to the situation. Feel free to write more messages that you
• Worksheet: “Who’s this
‘talking’ to me?” cut into think would be even trickier.
strips, with one scenario
on each strip
3. Class discusses groupsʼ choices
• A bowl or container to hold
the strips (each group of Finally, letʼs use this cheat sheet for class discussion about all the scenarios. Each
students will pick one)
group reads its scenario and tells the class about their response and why they chose
• Student outline on page 46 it (or them). The class discusses.
(one per student to follow
along)
Takeaway You control who you talk to online. Make sure the people you connect with are who they
say they are!
44
Worksheet: Lesson 2
Scenario 1 You get a friend request from a random player in a game: “Hey you’re good! We should
play together! Add me?”
Scenario 2 You get a text message on your cell phone from someone you donʼt recognize.
“Hey, this is Corey! Remember me from last summer?”
Scenario 3 You get a message from someone you donʼt follow. “Hey! Love your posts, you’re SO
funny! Give me your phone number and we can talk more!”
Scenario 4 You get a chat from someone you don’t know. “I saw you in the hall today. U R CUTE!
What is your address? I can come over 2 hang out.”
Scenario 5 You receive a message online. “Hey, I just met your friend Sam! She told me about you,
I want 2 meet u. Where do u live?”

Student outline: Lesson 2

Here are five scenarios of messages anyone could get online or on their phone. Each one has a list of ways you
could respond, some great and others not so much. See which one (or two) makes the most sense to you—or if
you think of other responses. Now talk about it, then we’ll discuss it as a class.
Everybody please note: If one of these scenarios really happens to you and you’re not sure what to do, the easiest
response is no response. You can always ignore them or block them. It also never hurts to talk with a parent or teacher
about it, especially if it bothers you.
Scenario 1 You get a friend request from a random player in a game: “Hey you’re good! We should
play together! Add me?” What do you do?
• Ignore it. If you donʼt know them, you can just decide not to add them.
• Block them. You wonʼt get any more messages from them—and, In most games
and apps, they won’t even know you blocked them.
• Change your settings. Go into the game’s settings, see if you can turn off all friend
requests and check that box. That way, you won’t even have to decide whether or
not to accept requests from random players.
• Check them out online. See if they have a page or profile so you can see if they’re
really a player—do they have experience, followers, have they streamed content?
Do your friends know if they’re for real? Only if they look like they’re a gamer really
into this game should you even consider friending them. But it’s really best for kids
just to play with their offline friends.
• Add them to your friends list. IF they seem ok. This isn’t recommended, unless
youʼve verified who they are and checked with an adult you trust or at least your
friends, to see if they know who the person is. If you play with them, with a mic or
headset, be sure to keep the chat only about the game—never share your full name
or any other personal info.
• Give them personal info. Definitely not. You know: Never ever give away personal
information to people you donʼt know.
Scenario 2 You get a text message on your cell phone from someone you donʼt recognize. “Hey,
this is Corey! Remember me from last summer?” What do you do?
• Block Corey. This would feel rude if you actually know her. But if youʼre sure you
didnʼt meet anyone named Corey last summer or she’s sending you too many texts
and oversharing about herself, it would be fine to block her.
46
• Ignore Corey. Like we said above, if you donʼt know this person, you can just not
respond.
• “Hi, Corey. Do I know you?” This is a safe option if you arenʼt sure whether you met her
and want to figure out if you did by finding out a little more. But don’t tell Corey where
you were last summer!
• “I donʼt remember you but we can still meet sometime.” Really not a good idea; you
should never offer to meet with anyone you donʼt know.
Scenario 3 You get a direct message from @soccergirl12, someone you donʼt follow. “Hey! Love
your posts, you are SO funny! Give me your phone number and we can talk more!” What
do you do?
• Ignore @soccergirl12. You donʼt have to respond if you donʼt want to.
• Block @soccergirl12. If you find this person strange and block them, youʼll never hear
from them again—unless they start a new fake profile and contact you as a different
fake person…
• “Hi, do I know you?” If you arenʼt sure, be sure to ask questions before giving out
personal information like your phone number.
• “Okay, my number is…” Nope! Even if youʼve verified who this person is, it isnʼt a good
idea to give out personal information over social media. Find another way to get in
touch, whether it’s through parents, teachers, or some other trusted person.
Scenario 4 You get a chat from someone you donʼt know. “I saw you in the hall today. U R CUTE!
What is your address? I can come over 2 hang out.” What do you do?
• Ignore. Probably a good choice.
• Block this person. Donʼt hesitate if you get a bad feeling about someone.
• “Who are you?” Probably not. If the message sounds sketchy, it might be better not
to answer—or just block them.
• “Is that you Lizi? U R CUTE too! I live in 240 Circle Ct.” This isnʼt a good idea, even
if you think you know who it is. Before you give someone your address or any other
personal information, check them out, even if you think you know them. Never meet
someone in person that you only know from online interactions.

Scenario 5 You receive this message: “Hey, I just met your friend Sam! She told me about you,
I want 2 meet u. Where do u live?” What do you do?
• Ignore. If you donʼt know this person but you do have a friend named Sam, the best
thing to do is check with Sam first before responding to this message.
• Block. If you donʼt know this person and you donʼt have a friend named Sam, it’s
probably best to use your settings to block this person from contacting you further.
• “Who are you?” Probably not a great idea. If you donʼt know the person, itʼs better not
to answer, at least until youʼve heard back from Sam.
48
Is that really true?

Media literacy background for teachers: In addition to helping students use analytical questions to evaluate source
credibility, we also want them to understand that information comes from lots of places (not just textbooks). So they
need to apply their skills to analyze all types of media. When they get to that point, they’re ready to move on to analyzing
special categories of media, like news or scientific data.
Note: This is a media literacy lesson good for everybody to learn but may be a little over the heads of students in grades
2−3, so see a suggested modification below under “Activity.”
Goals for students ✓ Identify the tools you already use to know that information is credible.
✓ Consider how certain things like expertise and motive affect credibility.
✓ Learn 4 questions for evaluating source credibility.
✓ Understand that a source that’s credible on one topic is not necessarily credible
on other topics.
✓ Know that checking multiple sources often helps you see whether information
is credible.
Letʼs talk What makes something or someone credible or trustworthy?

Every day you make decisions about what to believe and what not to believe. Was that
video you saw credible? Was it trying to persuade you of something? Is your older
brother telling you the truth or teasing? Is that rumor you heard about a friend true?
What do you do when you’re trying to decide if someone is telling the truth? Do you
already use these clues?:
• What you know about a person

For example, you know if a classmate is really good at something or has a history of
being truthful or playing practical jokes or being mean, so you can usually tell when
they are serious or joking or lying.
• What a person knows about you

For example, your parents know what kinds of foods give you a stomachache; the
ads on TV do not, so you follow your parents’ advice about what to eat. The school
librarian knows your interests and what kinds of books you like, so you trust her book
recommendations.
• Tone of voice and facial expression

For example, you know that your friend means the opposite of the words they say if
they roll their eyes and act snarky while they tell you they had a terrible time at the
new skate park.
• The situation
For example, when friends are playing around and one teases you about your new
haircut, you know it’s just a joke. But if someone at school says the exact same words
to embarrass you in front of the whole class, it’s an insult.

When we hear things from a media source like a video, a person on TV, or website,
we don’t personally know the source and they don’t know us. We may not be sure
about whether to believe them.
Even when someone we know sends us a text there are no clues from facial
expressions or tone of voice, so we might not be sure what they mean. That’s when
we need to ask questions…
Activity Recommended modification for grades 2−3: If you feel your students are ready to
discuss whether a source is credible, complete steps 1 and 2 only.
1. Evaluating sources
If you wanted a recommendation for a great new video game, would you ask your
Materials needed:
grandmother? Or, to ask it another way, is your grandmother a credible source for
• Handout: “Deciding what’s
credible” (one per student) information on video games? A credible source is one that we can trust to give us
accurate and relevant information.
Make a pro/con list to explain the benefits and drawbacks of asking your grandmother
for video game advice.
Did your list look something like this?
PRO CON
Grandma loves me and wants me Grandma doesn’t play video games

to be happy and doesn’t know much about them
Grandma is pretty good at finding Grandma doesn’t know which games

information when she doesn’t know I already have or what types of games
the answer herself I like
If your list looked like that, you’ve just used two of the most common tools we have
to decide if a source is credible: motive and expertise. “Expertise” is a special skill
or knowledge about a particular thing; experts have expertise. “Motive” is someone’s
intention, the reason they say or do something.
Which item in the list gives you information about grandma’s motives? Which items
say something about her expertise? So is the grandma on this pro/con chart a credible
source for information about which new video game to get? She wouldn’t lie, but it
would probably be better to ask someone who cares about us and who also knows
something about gaming and the types of games we like.
50
We may also know that Dad is a great cook but is clueless about fashion, our coach
knows basketball but not gymnastics, or that Grandma can fix almost any toy but
doesn’t know anything about video games. Just because a person is an expert on
one thing doesn’t make them an expert on everything.
2. Make your own pros and cons list

If this is the first time you have thought about how you use motive and expertise as
clues to decide which information sources are credible, you might want to practice
some more.
Imagine that you want to know how to be a better soccer player. Make pro/con lists
for these choices so you can decide if they’re credible sources:
• your grandma
• a blog by a winning high school basketball coach
• the best player on your team
• a website that sells soccer shoes and gives advice
• Videos that teach soccer practice techniques
What do you notice about the strengths and weaknesses of each source?
• Is there one that knows how to teach, but may not be familiar with soccer skills?
• Is there one that is a soccer expert but may not know how to teach?
• Is there one whose advice always seems to include buying something from them?
• Is there one that knows soccer but doesn’t know you or which skills you need to
work on?
Discuss: Who would be a good source to go to and why do you think so?
Credibility is rarely an all‑or‑nothing call. Most sources have strengths and weaknesses.
That’s why the very best answers often come from asking many sources and comparing
their answers.
3. Steps to consider
Credibility isn’t just about who we believe. It’s also about what we believe. We get
ideas about the world from all sorts of places, not just directly from people. A movie
about a tsunami shows a giant wave—taller than a skyscraper—heading towards people
on shore. Is that what tsunamis really look like? An ad implies that most scientists are
men with crazy hair who wear thick glasses and white lab coats all the time. Is that true?
We can check out any source using the 3 Steps on the Deciding what’s credible
handout. They’re about what we already know about motive and expertise.

Step 1: Use common sense
Ask: Is it logical—does it make sense?
If a) what you’re seeing doesn’t make sense, b) you know it isn’t true from your own
experience, or c) it just doesn’t work with facts you already know, you don’t have to
take any additional steps. You are looking at a source that is not credible.
Step 2: Ask questions

Not just any questions, but these four:
Expertise
a) Does this source know me or care about me?
The answer to this question depends on the information you’re looking for. If you’re
checking some information about plastic water bottles polluting the ocean, it really
doesn’t matter if the source knows you or not. But if a site promises that you will love
their new toy, it would need to know what kinds of toys, games, or activities you like
for their promise to be credible.
b) Does this source know a lot about this topic? How did they learn what they know?
Some people think that the easiest way to find credible information is to ask a digital
voice assistant. Digital assistants seem to know everything! Did you ever wonder
how they can know all those answers? They use mathematical calculations (called
“algorithms”) to find answers.
For simple questions that only have one possible answer (like the temperature
outside or the name of a celebrity famous for singing a particular pop song) they
are usually a credible source. But if the question is complicated, it would be better
to start with people or groups who have lots of experience or have earned awards
or PhDs related to your topic. Then you can use a voice assistant to confirm that
information (see Step 3).
Motive
c) What does this source want me to do or believe and why would they want me to do
or believe that?
Does the source make money if you follow their advice? For example, do you think
an influencer earns a fee if you buy the product they’re wearing or talking about?
Does a professional athlete wear a certain brand of shoe or shirt just because they
like that brand or because they’re paid to talk about it?
Money can often be one reason why you’re seeing a logo or brand name in a video
or ad—it can affect what the influencer or athlete is telling you (and what they’re
not telling you). They probably don’t intend to hurt you, but it’s possible that making
money is more important to them than giving you all the facts or saying what is
good for you.
52
d) Who benefits and who might be hurt if people believe this source?
This isn’t always easy to tell. Here’s an example:
Imagine an ad for an app that promises to make you a better student.
• What are the possible benefits? The app maker would benefit if you buy the app
because they would make money. And you might benefit if the app really helped
you.
• Who might be hurt if you believed the ad? You might be wasting your money if
you bought the app. You might also be spending time practicing the wrong things,
and then actually do worse in school. Or you might rely on the app, which can only
make guesses about what you need, instead of seeking help from your teacher,
who actually knows what you need.
Step 3: Confirm
Ask: Do other credible sources back up what this source says?
The job isn’t just to check more sources. It’s to look for a variety of sources. If you
can’t find a variety of credible sources that agree with the source you are checking,
you shouldn’t believe that source.
4. Check your sources

Now that you understand, it’s time to practice. Pick a question related to something
you are covering in class or something you have seen online. Find a source that
provides an answer to that question and, in small groups, use the questions on the
handout to decide if the source is credible.
If you need some ideas, here you go:

• You need ideas for a birthday present for your friend. An ad for a local store claims
their search tool, which has every item offered by the store, can help you find a gift
for anyone on your list. Does that work for you?
• You are reading online reviews of a new pizza place and notice that three of the six
5‑star reviews are from people with the same last name as the restaurant. Two
others say it is the best pizza on the planet and one says it was not bad for a cheap
slice. There are also fourteen negative comments. Would the positive reviews
convince you to try their pizza?
• A pop up ad says that you are part of a very small group that has been selected to try
a special “mermaid pill” that will give you the power to breathe underwater without
scuba gear. All you have to do is send $9.99 to cover shipping. Would you do it?
• You like a lot of the videos by a popular vlogger because they’re funny, but they also
say nasty things that you don’t like about minority groups. Do you buy what they say
because they’re funny and really popular? Do you think that influences people?
Takeaway Questions are our friends. When you ask good questions about sources and the
information they provide, you’ll get much better information. The more sources you
use, the better. And remember that a great source for one subject doesn’t mean it’s
great for everything.

Handout: Lesson 3
Deciding what’s credible

Helpful steps to identify credible from non-credible sources.
Step 1 Use common sense

Is it logical?
Step 2 Ask questions

Not just any questions, but these four:
Expertise
• Does this source know me or care about me (and does that matter)?
• Does this source know a lot about this topic? How did they learn what they know?
Motive
• What does this source want me to do or believe and why would they want me to do
or believe that?
• Who benefits and who might be hurt if people believe this source?
Step 3 Confirm
Do other credible sources back up what this source says? Use online search—or work
with your school media specialist in the library—to find other sources of information
about your subject (the sources could be book or news or magazine articles, online or
offline). Go through Steps 1 and 2 with them too—ask the same questions about these
sources too. If they’re giving you the same information about your subject, it’s pretty
likely they’re confirming that your source is credible.
54
Spotting untrustworthy information online

Media literacy background for teachers: Media literacy questions and observation techniques give students tools to
navigate their way through disinformation without getting stuck in arguments or hurting relationships with friends and
family. But they need to ask questions and get used to applying critical inquiry to information that comes their way.
Goals for students ✓ Identify clues which indicate that a news or information source is deceptive.
✓ Use analytical questions and careful observation to evaluate source credibility.
✓ Understand the importance of checking a source’s credibility before sharing their
message.
✓ Develop the habit of analyzing all news and information, not just the stories we
think are suspicious.
Letʼs talk Did you ever play one of those games where you hunt for mistakes hidden in a picture?
Sometimes dealing with news is like that. There are a lot of people and groups who are
so passionate about what they believe that they twist the truth to get us to agree with
them. When their twisting is disguised as a news story, that’s disinformation.
Some people don’t learn how to spot fake information, but they share it anyway. That’s
how it spreads. And when people make choices about the things they do or believe
based on that disinformation, it can get really hard for people to listen to each other
calmly, argue respectfully, understand each other better, and solve problems.
So, if something looks or sounds like news, how can we tell the difference between
what’s real or credible and what’s fake or misleading? There are clues we can learn to
spot it—tricks used by people who are trying to mislead you. And there are questions
we can ask that help us spot stories that aren’t based on facts.

Activity 1. What’s wrong with this picture?
Take a look at the image below. Look carefully. Can you spot the differences between
the two pictures?
Materials needed:
• Image: “What’s Wrong
with this picture”
• Handout: “Deciding
what’s credible” from
Lesson 3 (page 54)
• Worksheet: “Spotting
phony URLs”
Answers for worksheet:

“Spotting phony URLs”
Real:
abcnews.go.com
bbc.com/news
nbcnews.com
nytimes.com
washingtonpost.com
usatoday.com
Fake:
abcnews.com.co
abcnews‑us.com
nbc.com.co
nytimesofficial.com
bbc1.site/business‑news
washinqtonpost.com
washingtonpost.com.co
usatosday.com
What if someone told you where to look? Would that make it easier?
56
There are 9 differences, did you spot them all?
Trying to tell if a news story is real or fake is sort of like this picture game. By looking
really carefully, you can find important information. And it’s a lot easier if you know
what to look for.
So here are some clues to finding disinformation. If you spot these things, you are
probably looking at a fake, or deceptive, story.
Spotting phony URL’s Handout

The first thing to look at is the URL (web address) for the site that published the story.
Some fake sites try to fool you by choosing names that mimic a real site but with small
differences. Most companies use short URLs because they are easier to remember and
type, so URLs with added, unnecessary letters are often sites with false information.
Look at the handout:

• Circle all of the URLs that you think are real.
• When everyone is done, look at the answer key. Did you get them all right?
How could you check to see if a URL was a real news site? One way is to do a web
search for the news organization or the URL. If the organization is credible a box can
appear to the right of the search results on many platforms with a description of the
organization, including their website address. If the URL isn’t credible, you will often be
able to scroll down and see headlines about the site being reported as a fake—or you’ll
find out the site isn’t available anymore.

2. Inspecting headlines
Sometimes someone shares a news story without a URL. In those cases, here are
some clues to use:
a) A story starts with a picture of something that would interest us, like a cute dog,
a celebrity, or an unusual stunt. But when we click, the story has little or nothing to
do with the picture.
b) Instead of letting you decide for yourself, people who are trying to convince you
to agree with them sometimes use things like boldface, ALL CAPS, underlining,
or exclamation points to get you to think what you’re seeing is important and click
on them, called clickbait. Real journalists don’t use those techniques.
c) To get you to read a story, some people include words in the headline like “shocking”
or “outrageous” or “surprising.” They know words like that make us curious. But real
journalists let the news speak for itself. They tell the story and let us decide if it is
shocking or surprising.
For example, look at this picture and headline:
The shocking truth about what

teachers do after school
Without reading ahead, what do you imagine the story is going to say? Why do you think
that? What’s your evidence?
58
Here’s the story:
“A recent State University survey of teachers found that 86% of teachers do what
everyone does after work. They run errands, fix dinner, spend time with family, do
household chores, and get ready for the next day. But lately, many teachers have
been doing something unexpected.
A decade ago, economic troubles led many states to slash education budgets. That
meant years without a pay raise for teachers. Unable to meet basic expenses on low
salaries, many teachers now work second jobs. In some states teachers have even
gone on strike for pay increases so they can quit second jobs and devote more time
to their students.”
Was the story what you thought it would be? Do you think that the picture and headline
were accurate or misleading? What’s your evidence?
3. Inspecting sources
When we analyze news, clues can be helpful, but they aren’t always enough. Sometimes
trustworthy news stories use techniques to attract our attention, and that can make
them seem fake. And sometimes fake sources are so good at copying the real thing
that it’s hard to tell they’re not. It’s hard to tell them apart. For example…
Do these sound like trustworthy news organizations to you?:

American News
National Review
News Examiner
World News Daily Report
Weekly World News
NewsWatch33
Actually, only National Review is real. How could you find that out? You could start by
doing a Web search of the organization’s name. See where the name appears besides
the organization’s own website. If it appears in Wikipedia or an article at a newspaper
or news magazine’s site, it’s probably a credible organization. But see what those
articles say about it! It’s possible that they’re all saying it’s fake.
Find a story about your school, community, the latest diet fad, or anything in the news
that interests you. Use the 3 Steps on the Deciding what’s credible handout, along with
the new clues you know, to decide if the story is real or deceptive.

Step 1: Use common sense
Ask: Is it logical—does it make sense?
Sometimes it’s obvious. If you see a headline like: CELEBRITY HAS SECRET BABY
WITH SPACE ALIEN, logic probably tells you it isn’t real.
Sometimes it isn’t so obvious. If:

a) what you’re seeing doesn’t make sense
b) you know it isn’t true from your own experience, or
c) it just doesn’t work with facts your already know
…you are looking at a source that is probably fake news.
Step 2: Ask the expertise and motive questions

(see pages 52 and 53)
Step 3: Confirm
Ask: Do other credible sources back up what this source says?
Who else is reporting this story? (You can use Internet search to see if this story is
covered by other news sources…) What other stories does the site include? Are they
all from the same perspective or are there many views included? If you can’t find a
variety of reliable sources that are covering the story, you should be skeptical of
that source.
Takeaway Now that you know how to use clues and questions to spot disinformation, you can
ask smart questions and make careful observation part of your daily routine and
with time, you’ll be an expert in spotting fake stuff online. You now know how to
analyze the information you get online. It’s called critical thinking, and it’s a media
user’s superpower.
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Worksheet: Lesson 4
Spotting phony URLs

Real or fake? usatoday.com Real Fake
Circle the correct answer.
abcnews.com.co Real Fake
washinqtonpost.com Real Fake
abcnews‑us.com Real Fake
bbc.com/news Real Fake
abcnews.go.com Real Fake
nytimesofficial.com Real Fake
nbc.com.co Real Fake
washingtonpost.com Real Fake
nytimes.com Real Fake
washingtonpost.com.co Real Fake
bbc1.site/business‑news Real Fake
nbcnews.com Real Fake
usatosday.com Real Fake

If we were a search engine

Without using any technology (we’ll do that in the next activity), students create “search results” together to start
learning how Internet search works from the “inside out.”
Goals for students ✓ Learn fundamentals of online search.

✓ Search for information about a topic.
✓ Understand that search results are collections of information, not usually answers
to a question.
Letʼs talk What is search?

The internet is a place that has a gazillion (well, billions and billions of) pieces of
information. Internet search, sometimes called a search engine, helps us narrow down
that crazy amount of information that comes from all over the world. It’s a software
tool that people use to find information on all kinds of topics.
You might already know that, to use this tool, you type a few key words about a topic
you want to know more about into the search bar (the empty box on a search engine
page) or in your browser window (where you also type web addresses). Then, when
you’re ready, you hit the Return or Search key, and—voila!—the search engine works its
magic (in about a half second), and you get your search results. Ok, so it’s not actually
magic. Internet search uses algorithms, which is a fancy way of saying people at the
search company taught the software how to find and turn up information for you. Don’t
worry about how algorithms work for now. You just need to know that Search does the
“searching” for you.
It’s also good to know that search results aren’t necessarily answers to a question.
They’re just collections of information you’re interested in or looking for. If you do have
a question that you’re taking to a search engine, you can often find an answer in your
search results, but sometimes it takes a few queries to get to the answer you’re looking
for. That’s called “refining” your search.
So let’s practice how search works by pretending to be a search engine together…
Activity 1. Organize students into groups of 2.
2. Distribute a copy of the worksheet to each student.
3. S
hare a search topic with the class. Here are some possibilities:
Materials needed:
• pizza • solar system • volcanoes • basketball
• Worksheet: “If we were
a search engine” (one • tornado • farmer • cooking • dentist
per student) • airplane • soccer • sharks • construction
62
4. Students work with their partners to create possible “search results” in each
category on the handout: “Website,” “Image,” “Map” and “Video.” Their results can be
in the form of words or drawings, as appropriate.
Encourage students to be creative, and make sure they know there are no “wrong”
answers. For example, if the topic is “sharks,” students might brainstorm the following
search results:
• Website: information about different kinds of sharks
• Image: a drawing of a shark
• Video: sharks swimming through the ocean
• Map: the location of a beach where people saw a shark
5. When students finish all four search result categories for the given topic, pick which
category (website, image, video or map) to talk about as a class.
6. Have one student from each pair share out their example of one of the search
results.
For example, let’s say the topic is “pizza.” You can decide to have each group share
their image results for pizza. Students can hold up their drawing and explain what they
created. This allows students to see all the different search results that can be generated
from a single query.
7. After students share examples, ask the class the following discussion questions:
• About how many different results did we have?
• About how many results were similar?
• If I changed my topic to , how do you think that would change your
results? For example, if the search topic was “pizza,” how would the results change if
I changed my query to “pepperoni pizza”?
Suggestion: Complete 4 rounds in total…

• Choose a different topic from each round and repeat the same steps as listed above.
• Complete 4 rounds so you can have discussions about the 4 main types of search
results.
Takeaway Internet search is a tool you can use to find information online. The info can be in the
form of text on a website, videos, images, maps and more. The key words you type into
a search engine determine what results you get.

Worksheet: Lesson 5
If we were a search engine

Search Topic Website
Image | Video | Map
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Practicing Internet search

Using an Internet connection, students explore using a search engine and practice creating ever more effective
search queries.
Goals for students ✓ Navigate a search engine.

✓ Practice searching for information about a topic.
✓ Create search queries.
✓ Change keywords and notice differences in search results.
Letʼs talk Search is a tool that helps you find information on the internet. To use search, you can
go to a search engine and type a query—a question or keywords—into the search bar
to get info on a topic you want to know more about. Sometimes using keywords works
better than just asking a question. That’s because, first, the words you use in your query
and, second, the order you put them in are really important. If you just ask a question,
it may not have the words and the order that help the search engine turn up the results
you’re looking for. But—no worries—it’s perfectly fine to start with a question if you like.
The important thing is, just start, because lots of times it takes more than one query to
get to the information you want. So type your question into the search engine, look at
the search results and—if they’re not good enough—you can use those results to guide
you on how to create a better query and get even closer to what you’re looking for.
For example: Let’s say I want to start a garden. I want to grow vegetables I can use to
cook in my kitchen.
• I have no idea how to do this, so I’m going to do an Internet search to find out how.
I go to a search engine and type in the question, “How do I start a garden?”
Display your computer screen so students can see you searching.
• Ok, let’s take a look at these results.
Review the results with your class. Be sure to point out that there are websites, images,
videos and other types of results. Also point out search results that are not relevant to
helping you grow a garden for vegetables and spices for cooking.
• I’m noticing that a lot of these results are about all kinds of gardens, but I need
information about creating a garden at home, in my own yard. Also, I only want
to grow stuff I can eat. I should probably include a keyword about vegetables, right?
Ok, let’s try searching this: “home garden vegetables”.
Display your computer screen so students can see you searching.
• Take a look at these results. What do you notice?
Allow the students to share what they notice in the search results.
oth sets of search results gave me information about starting a garden, right? But
B
the first set was about all kinds of gardens. It showed me I had to add a couple of
important keywords to my original query to get the search results I needed to learn
how to start a garden for cooking (BTW, did you know that’s called a “kitchen garden”?).

The more you practice creating search queries, the easier search gets. You can
always start with a question, and if you don’t get your answer, the search results will
give you keywords you can try to get closer to what you need to know. If you want
to start with keywords and aren’t sure which ones to use, just know that there are
no wrong keywords. Just try some! You can always try a different query if you’re not
seeing the results you were hoping for. Let’s try it out…
Activity 1. Create the first search query

Explain to students that they are going to explore using a search engine and practice
creating search queries. On the handout, they’ll find four different characters, each
character thinking (in a thought bubble) about something they want to learn more
about. Then have your students…
Materials needed:
• Type the original search query (provided on the handout) into the search engine,
• Worksheet: “Practicing
Internet search” (one per and explore the search results.
student)
• Record 4−5 search results on their handout.
• Internet‑connected device
2. Create their own (second) search query

Have students look again at what the character wants to know (in the thought bubble).
Ask students, did the original search results give enough information relevant to this
topic?
• Direct students to change the original query to include keywords that will get them
more useful search results.
Hint: Students can look for keywords they found in the first search results or in the
character’s thought bubble.
• Have them type this second search query into the search engine and explore the
search results.
• Have students record 4−5 results on their handout.
3. Discuss
Have students find a partner and ask them to share with their partners how they
changed the original search query and the types of results they got from that revised
search query. Ask them to share what they discovered in a brief class discussion.
4. Repeat Steps 1−3 for the remaining characters
Takeaway The more you practice creating search queries, the easier it will get to find the
information you are looking for in a search engine.
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Worksheet: Lesson 6
Practicing Internet search

Original search query
Books about imaginary characters and mystery
I’m looking for a book to read.
I love mysteries! I also enjoy reading books that Search results
have imaginary characters that live in the future.
I think my teacher calls that sci-fi.
Revised search query
Search results

No chocolate cake with fruit
I want to make a cake for my sister’s birthday.
She doesn’t like chocolate but loves fruit. Search results
I wonder what kind of cake I can make.
Search results

Video game jobs
I love playing video games.
Search results I wonder what it would be like if I grew up
and worked for a video gaming company.
It would be so cool if that was my job someday!
Search results

What do I need to fish?
My cousin invited me to go fishing.
Search results I have never fished before so I don’t know
what kind of equipment I need to bring with me.
Search results
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Interland: Reality River

The river that runs through Interland flows with fact and fiction. But things are not always as they seem. To cross the
rapids, use your best judgment—and don’t fall for the antics of the phisher lurking in these waters.
Open a web browser on your desktop or mobile device (e.g., tablet), visit g.co/RealityRiver.
Discussion topics Have your students play Reality River and use the questions below to prompt further
discussion about the lessons learned in the game. Most students get the most out of
the experience by playing solo, but you can also have students pair up. This may be
especially valuable for younger students.
• Describe a time when you had to decide if something was real or fake online. What
signs did you notice?
• What is a phisher? Describe its behaviors and how it affects the game.
• Did playing Reality River change the way youʼll evaluate things and people online in
the future? If so, how?
• Whatʼs one thing that you think youʼll do differently after joining in on these lessons
and playing the game?
• What are some clues that could signal that something is “off” or creepy about a
certain situation online?
• How does it feel when you come across something questionable online?
• If you really arenʼt sure whether something is real, what should you do?

Unit 03: Be Internet Strong
Secure
Your Secrets
Getting real about privacy and security
Lesson overview Lesson 1 But that wasn’t me! Grades 2−6

Lesson 2 How to build a great password Grades 2−6
Lesson 3 Keep it to yourself Grades 2−6
Lesson 4 Interland: Tower of Treasure Grades 2−6
Themes Anyone who uses a device that’s connected to the Internet—a game, a phone, a digital
assistant, a computer, etc.—needs to know the basics of online privacy and security.
Protecting those devices and the personal information on them—all that stuff about
you, your family and your friends—means thinking about what’s incoming and outgoing
and being smart about passwords.
Goals for students ✓ Learn why privacy and security matter and how they relate to each other.
✓ Practice how to create strong passwords and keep them to yourself (and the
adults who watch out for you).
✓ Review the tools and settings that protect against scams, hackers and other
threats.
Standards ISTE Standards for Educators: 1a, 2c, 3b, 3c, 3d, 4b, 6a, 6d, 7a
addressed ISTE Standards for Students 2016: 1c, 1d, 2b, 2d, 3d, 6a
AASL Learning Standards: I.b.2, I.c.1, I.c.3, II.c.1, III.a.2, III.b.1, III.c.1, III.d.1, III.d.2,
IV.b.3, V.d.3, VI.a.1, VI.d.1
Secure Your Secrets 71

Secure Your Secrets
Vocabulary
Lessons 1−4
Privacy: Protecting people’s data and personal Password or passcode: A secret combination used
information (also called sensitive information) to access something. It can take different forms;
for example, you may have a numbers‑only code that
Security: Protecting people’s devices and the
you use for your phone lock and much more complex
software on them
passwords for your email and other accounts. In
Lesson 1 general, it’s important to make your passwords as
Digital footprint: Your digital footprint is all the long and complex as you can while still being able
information about you that appears online. This can to remember them.
mean anything from photos, audio, videos and texts
Lesson 3
to “likes” and comments you post on friendsʼ profiles.
Settings: This is the area in any digital product, app,
Just as your footsteps leave prints on the ground
website, etc., where you can manage, or “set,” what
while you walk, what you post online leaves a trail too.
you share and how your account is handled—including
Reputation: The ideas, opinions, impressions, or your privacy settings.
beliefs that other people have about you—something
Two‑step verification (also called two‑factor
that you can’t be totally sure about but that you
verification and two‑step authentication): A security
usually want to be positive or good
process where logging in to a service requires two
Lesson 2 separate steps or two “factors,” such as a password
Hacker: A person who uses computers to and a one‑time code. For example, you may have to
gain unauthorized access to other people’s or enter your password and then enter a code that was
organizations’ devices and data texted to your phone or a code from an app.
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Secure Your Secrets: Lesson 1
But that wasn’t me!

Students explore outcomes of sharing their passwords and the impact those actions can have.
Goals for students ✓ Learn that sharing your password gives others control of your digital footprint.
✓ Consider what can happen when someone logs in as you.
✓ Understand how someone else’s actions can affect your digital footprint…and you!
Letʼs talk What happens when you share your password?

Think about a password you’ve created for some sort of app or device you use. Maybe
it was a password to unlock your phone or to log into your favorite game or video app.
Have you ever shared a password with someone else? Ok, let’s be honest, a lot of us
have. But there’s an important reason why you really should not share your passwords…
You have something called a digital footprint. A digital footprint represents you online.
It’s what all the things you leave online—likes, comments, your screen name, photos,
messages, recordings, etc. add up to and give other people an idea of what you’re
really like. It affects your reputation, how people think of you. They make guesses,
or assumptions, about you based on that footprint you leave. That’s one thing really
important to be aware of when you’re online.
Another thing really important to know is that, when you share your password, you
are giving someone else control of your digital footprint—you’re actually allowing
them to help create it and shape how other people think of you. Yikes, right?! Since
it’s your footprint, everybody believes you’re the one creating it. So if someone with
your password does something you don’t like, people will think that was you doing it!
That’s why it’s super important not to share your passwords.
For example: Let’s say you share your password to a social media account with
a friend. While logged in as you, your friend sends a message to someone in your
class like, “Can you send me your homework answers?” The next day in class, the
student goes to the teacher and says you were trying to cheat on your homework by
asking for answers. Then they show your teacher the message your friend sent from
your account. Who do you think your teacher will believe? How does this affect your
reputation? What else might happen?
Brainstorm with the class possible outcomes. Examples: Teacher calls home. You lose
points on an assignment. Your digital footprint shows that you tried to cheat in school.
You get into a fight with your friend who sent the message.
Remember, your digital footprint represents you online. Any time you share your
password with someone, you are giving them control of your digital footprint, which
can impact how people see you on the Internet and everywhere else. Let’s explore this
idea together.

Activity 1. Help students partner up.
2. Pick an account.
Students choose what type of account they’re sharing a password for and fill it in at the
top of the worksheet: social media account, gaming account, phone, tablet/computer,
Materials needed:
or streaming service.
• Worksheet: “But that
wasn’t me!” (one for
each pair of students. 3. Pick an action.
Partners fill in the first box with an action they choose from the choices below—or think
up themselves. This is an action taken by someone who has been given the password
to their account. They can draw or write what they come up with or choose from these
possible actions:
• “Likes” all of your crush’s recent posts.
• Buys $100 worth of clothes.
• Sends a message like, “Don’t you think Carmen is so annoying?”
• Plays your favorite game but loses points.
• Downloads new apps.
• Shares an embarrassing picture on your social media page.
• Reads all your texts and shares them with someone else.
• Watches episodes of an inappropriate TV show.
4. Create an outcome
In the second box, students create a possible outcome to the action they chose or
created.
5. Discussion
As a class, ask a few students to share out the action and outcomes that they created.
Below are some questions you can ask partners after they share:
• Why did you pick (or create) that action?
• How did you decide on the outcome?
• If you knew this was the outcome, how would you change your action?
6. Digital Footprint
In the last box, students write one sentence of how this action and outcome impacts
the feelings, life or digital footprint—any or all of those things. Guide students to think
about how this affects their reputation, or how others view them. Ask for volunteers or
choose pairs of students to discuss what they draw or wrote and what they think about
the story they created.
Takeaway When you share your password, you are giving someone else control of your digital
footprint, but you’re still accountable for whatever they do with it. If you want to be
in the driver’s seat when it comes to how people see you online, don’t share your
passwords with anyone but a parent or other adult you totally trust.
74
Worksheet: Lesson 1
But that wasn’t me!

I shared my password to: □ social media account □ gaming account □ phone
□ tablet/computer □ streaming service □
Action
Outcome
Digital Footprint Impact

How to build a great password

Students learn how to create a strong password—and then make sure it stays private after they create it.
Goals for students ✓ Recognize the importance of never sharing passwords, except with parents or
guardians.
✓ Understand the importance of screenlocks that protect devices.
✓ Know how to create passwords that are hard to guess, yet easy to remember.
✓ Choose the right security for their login settings, including two‑factor verification.
Letʼs talk Better safe than sorry

Digital technology makes it easy for us to communicate with friends, classmates,
teachers and relatives. We can connect with them in so many ways: texts, games, posts
and messages; with words, pics, and videos; using phones, tablets, laptops and digital
assistants. (How do you connect with your friends?)
But the same tools that make it easy for us to share information can also make it easy
for hackers and scammers to steal that information and use it to damage our devices,
steal our identities or hurt our relationships and reputations.
Protecting ourselves, our info, and our devices means doing simple, smart things like
using screen locks on phones, being careful about putting personal info on devices that
are unlocked or used by lots of people (like at school) and, above all, building strong
passwords—and not sharing them!
• Who can guess what the two most commonly used passwords are? (Answer: “1 2 3 4
5 6” and “password”)
• Letʼs brainstorm some other bad passwords and what specifically makes them bad.
(Examples: your full name, your phone number, the word “chocolate,” your dog’s name,
your address, etc.)
Who thinks these passwords are good? ; )
Activity Hereʼs an idea for creating an extra‑secure password:

• Think of a fun phrase that you can remember. It could be your favorite song lyric,
book title, line in a movie, etc.
• Choose the first letter or first couple letters from each word in the phrase.
• Change some letters to symbols or numbers.
Materials needed:
• Internet‑connected devices
• Make some letters uppercase and some lowercase.
for students or groups of
students Letʼs practice our new skills by playing the password game.
• A whiteboard or projection
screen
1. Create passwords
• Handout: “Guidelines for
creating strong passwords” Weʼll split into teams of two. Each team will have 60 seconds to create a password.
76
Challenge option: Students share clues with the class first to see how much
contextual information the class needs to be able to make an accurate guess.
2. Compare passwords
Two teams at a time will write their password on the board.
3. Vote!
For each pair of passwords, weʼll all vote and discuss whose is stronger.
Takeaway It’s important and fun to create strong passwords.

Handout: Lesson 2
Guidelines for creating strong passwords

Here are some tips for creating passwords to keep your information safe.
Strong passwords are based on a descriptive phrase or sentence thatʼs easy for you to remember and hard for
someone else to guess—like the first letters in words that make up a favorite title or song, the first letters of words
in a sentence about something you did—and include a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols. For example,
“I went to Western Elementary School for grade 3” could be used to build a password like: Iw2We$t4g3.
Moderate passwords are passwords that are strong and not easy for malicious software to guess, but could be
guessed by someone who knows you (for example, IwenttoWestern).
Weak passwords commonly use personal information like a pet’s name, are easy to crack, and can be guessed by
someone who knows you (for example, “IloveBuddy” or “Ilikechocolate”).
DOs • Use a different password for each of your important accounts.

• Use at least eight characters. The longer the better (as long as you can remember it!).
• Use combinations of letters (uppercase and lowercase), numbers, and symbols.
• Make your passwords memorable so you don’t need to write them down, which would
be risky.
• Immediately change your password if you think someone else knows it (besides a
parent or guardian).
• Change your passwords every now and then.
• Always use strong screenlocks on your devices. Set your devices to automatically lock
in case they end up in the wrong hands.
• Consider using a password manager, such as one built into your browser, to remember
your passwords. This way you can use a unique password for each of your accounts
and not have to remember them all.
DON’Ts • Donʼt use personal information (name, address, email, phone number, Social Security
number, motherʼs maiden name, birth dates or even a pet’s name, etc.) in your password.
• Donʼt use a password thatʼs easy to guess, like your nickname, chocolate, just the
name of your school, favorite sports team, a string of numbers (like 123456), etc.
And definitely don’t use the word ‘password”!
• Donʼt share your password with anyone other than your parent or guardian.
• Never write passwords down where someone can find them.
78
Keep it to yourself
Teacher uses a school device to demonstrate where to look, and what to look for, when youʼre customizing your
privacy settings.
Goals for students ✓ Customize privacy settings for the online services they use.
✓ Make decisions about information sharing on the sites and services they use.
✓ Understand what two‑factor and two‑step verifications mean and when to use them.
Letʼs talk Privacy + security

Online privacy and online security go hand‑in‑hand. Most apps and software offer ways
to control what information weʼre sharing and how.
When youʼre using an app or website, look for an option like “My Account” or “Settings.”
Thatʼs where youʼll find the privacy and security settings that let you decide:
• What information is visible on your page or profile
• Who can view your posts, photos, videos or other content that you share
Learning to use these settings to protect your privacy—and remembering to keep them
updated—will help you manage your privacy, security and safety.
In addition to setting, a really important thing to think about it who can friend or follow
you (that may or may not be in your Settings). The safest choice is to have only your
offline friends and family following you or on your friends list. If you allow other people,
don’t forget that whatever you share can be seen by people you’ve never met. That can
get a little creepy, and sometimes parents just don’t allow it at all. Talk it over with an
adult you trust to figure out what’s best for you—what keeps you safe and gives you
the most peace of mind.
Your parents or guardians should always be making these decisions with you. Plus,
it can be fun to go through your privacy settings together (so they can see how smart
you are!).
Activity Review options

I have this school device hooked up to the projection screen. Letʼs navigate to the
settings page of this app where we can see what our options are. Talk me through
[encourage your students to help you ]…
• Changing your password
Materials needed:
• Making your page or online profile—including photos and videos—public or private
• One school device hooked
up to a projector and able to (visible only to the family and friends you choose)
display an example account
deemed appropriate for
• Going through your location and other settings—which ones are best for you?
class demonstration (e.g., • Getting alerts if someone tries to log in to your account from an unknown device
a temporary email or class
account) • Getting an alert when somebody tags you

• Enabling two‑factor or two‑step verification
• Setting up recovery information in case you get locked out of your account
• Reporting problems
Which privacy and security settings are right for you is something to discuss with
your parent or guardian. But remember, the most important security setting is in your
brain—as you grow up, more and more you’ll be the one deciding how much of your
personal info to share, when, and with whom. So it’s important to get used to making
these decisions right now.
Takeaway Choosing a strong, unique password for each of your important accounts is a great first
step. Now, you need to remember your passwords and keep them private too.
80
Interland: Tower of Treasure

Mayday! The Tower of Treasure is unlocked, leaving the Internaut’s valuables like contact info and private messages
at high risk. Outrun the hacker and build a fortress with strong passwords to secure your secrets once and for all.
Open a web browser on your desktop or mobile device (e.g., tablet), visit g.co/TowerOfTreasure.
Discussion topics Have your students play Tower of Treasure and use the questions below to prompt
further discussion about the lessons learned in the game. Most students get the most
out of the experience by playing solo, but you can also have students pair up. This may
be especially valuable for younger students.
• What are the elements of a super strong password?
• When is it important to create strong passwords in real life? What tips have you
learned on how to do so?
• Whatʼs a hacker? Describe this characterʼs behaviors and how they affect the game.
• Did Tower of Treasure change the way you plan to protect your information in the
future?
• Name one thing youʼll do differently after learning these lessons and playing the game.
• Craft three practice passwords that pass the “super strong” test.
• What are some examples of sensitive information that should be protected?

Unit 04: Be Internet Kind
It’s Cool to
Be Kind
Learning and practicing the power of online kindness
Lesson overview Lesson 1.1 Noticing feelings SEL

Grades 2−3
Lesson 1.2 Practicing empathy SEL
Grades 4−6
Lesson 2.1 Your kindness gram SEL
Grades 2−3
Lesson 2.2 Ways to show kindness SEL
Grades 4−6
Lesson 3 From negative to nice SEL
Grades 2−6
Lesson 4 About your tone Grades 2−6
Lesson 5 How words can change the whole picture ML SEL Grades 2−6
Lesson 6 Interland: Kind Kingdom Grades 2−6
Themes The digital world creates new challenges and opportunities for social interaction,
for kids and all the rest of us. Social cues can be harder to read online, constant
connecting can bring both comfort and anxiety, and anonymity can fuel crushes
and compliments as well as harm to ourselves and others.
It’s complicated, but we know that the Internet can amplify kindness as well as
negativity. Learning to express kindness and empathy—and how to respond to
negativity and harassment—is essential for building healthy relationships and
reducing bullying, depression, academic struggles and other problems.
Research shows that, rather than simply telling kids not to be negative online, two
kinds of teaching can help address the underlying causes of negative behaviors:
social‑emotional learning and bullying prevention. These activities don’t replace
evidence‑based programs; they lay a great foundation, encouraging students to
interact positively and deal with negativity from the start.
Goals for students ✓ Define what being positive means and looks like, online and offline.
✓ Lead with positivity in online communications.
✓ Identify situations in which a trusted adult should be consulted.
Standards ISTE Standards for Educators: 1a, 1c, 2c, 3a, 3b, 3c, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 6d, 7a
addressed ISTE Standards for Students 2016: 1c, 2b, 3d, 4d, 7a, 7b, 7c
AASL Learning Standards: I.a.1, I.a.2, I.b.1, I.b.2, I.b.3, I.c.1, I.c.2, I.c.3, I.d.3, I.d.4, II.a.1,
II.a.2, II.b.1, II.b.2, II.b.3, II.c.1, II.c.2, II.d.1, II.d.2, II.d.3, III.a.1, III.a.2, III.a.3, III.b.1, III.b.2,
III.c.1, III.c.2, III.d.1, III.d.2, IV.b.2, IV.b.3, IV.d.2, V.a.2, V.a.3, V.c.1, V.c.3, V.d.1, V.d.2, V.d.3,
VI.a.1, VI.a.2, VI.d.1, VI.d.3
It’s Cool to Be Kind 83

It’s Cool to Be Kind
Vocabulary
Lesson 1 Lesson 6
Empathy: Trying to feel or understand what someone Caption: Text that goes with a picture and provides
else is feeling. “Trying” is an important word in the information about what’s in the photo
definition, because actually understanding other
Context: Additional information around the photo or
people’s feelings is really hard. We just get better
other information that helps us understand better
and better—more skilled—at it by trying.
what we’re seeing. Context can include information
Lesson 4 like the place where the photo was taken, the time
Conflict: An argument or disagreement that isn’t a text was sent, the situation the sender was in, etc.
necessarily repeated
Lesson 7
Lesson 5 Block: A way to end all interaction with another
Bullying: Purposefully mean behavior that is usually person online, preventing them from accessing your
repeated. The person being targeted often has a profile, sending you messages, seeing your posts, etc.
hard time defending him or herself. without notifying them (not always ideal in bullying
situations where the target wants to know what the
Cyberbullying: Bullying that happens online or aggressor is saying or when the bullying has stopped)
through using digital devices
Mute: Less final than blocking, muting is a way to
Harassment: A more general term than bullying stop seeing another person’s posts, comments, etc.
that can take many forms—pestering, annoying, in your social media feed when that communication
intimidating, humiliating, etc.—and can happen gets annoying—without notifying that person or being
online too muted from their feed (not usually very helpful in
bullying situations); unlike with blocking, you can still
go to their profile to see their posts, and in some apps
they can interact with you in private messages.
84
Itʼs Cool to Be Kind: Lesson 1.1
Noticing feelings
Students practice empathizing with people they see on TV, in videos and in games—groundwork for more kinds of
digital social experiences in the future.
A note to the teacher: After completing this lesson, look for opportunities to revisit it during academic lessons. Take a
moment to have students practice empathizing with characters each time your class reads a story or watches a video.
In “Let’s talk,” you’ll see parenthetical statements. They’re suggestions for students’ responses. If they can’t think of a
response, you can use these examples to prompt some answers.
Goals for students ✓ Understand what empathy is.

✓ Practice empathizing with people depicted in media.
Letʼs talk Today you will all be investigators trying to find out what other people are feeling. You’ll
need to look for hints, like what is happening or how someone is acting.
Teacher reads the list of feeling words in the handout.
OK, remember a time you felt one of these feelings. Think about what happened and
how your body felt.
Give them time to think time, then choose a student to act out the situation they
remembered—they can use sounds but not words.
• What feeling do you think you just saw? What hints did you see? (Various answers.)
Notice how we saw different hints and came up with different answers.
Have the student tell the story behind the feeling they were showing.
• Does knowing what was happening make guessing the feeling easier? (“Yes.”)
• Why? (“You can think about how you’d feel in that situation.”)
Trying to figure out what someone else is feeling is called having empathy. You don’t
have to know; it just really helps to try. Empathy helps us make friends and avoid
upsetting people. Having empathy isn’t always easy. It takes practice. It’s even harder
to have empathy for someone you read about in a book or see in a video.
• Why do you think that’s harder? (“You can’t see them.” “You don’t know everything
that’s happening.”)
• Why do you think it’s important for us to practice empathizing with people in books
or videos? (“It helps you enjoy the books and videos more.” “You like the people
better.” “You can understand what’s going on in the story better.” “It’s good practice
for empathizing with people online or here at school.”)
We’re now going to do an activity that’ll help you figure out how people in books and
other media feel.

Activity 1. Project the Common feeling words for the class to see.
2. Place students into groups of 3−4.
3. Have students work in small groups to complete the worksheet.

Materials needed:
• Worksheet: “Noticing 4. Call on groups to tell the class what they came up with.
feelings” (one per group
of 3−4 students)
• Handout: “Common
feeling words”
Takeaway Empathizing with people in books and videos is important. It helps you enjoy the books
and videos more, and it’s good practice for when you’re with real people online and
offline. As you get older, you’ll start having more and more conversations digitally, on
phones and computers. The more you practice empathy in text messages, games and
videos, the more fun you’ll have socializing online.
86
Worksheet: Lesson 1.1
Noticing feelings
Tucker and Athena
What happened yesterday in gym class? Nothing?
What? Nothing. That’s what I said.
Huh. Okay. From your tone, it seems like something did happen.
That’s what I said. Nothing happened.
Scenario 1 What are two ways Athena might be feeling?
What hints support your ideas?
What are two ways Tucker might be feeling?

Noticing feelings
Corey and Kevin
Are you okay after what happened at rehearsal? Why did you do it?
Forget it. For fun.
Was it fun? Seriously?
Sure, I guess. I said, forget it.
Scenario 2 What are two ways Kevin might be feeling?
What are two ways Corey might be feeling?
88
Handout: Lesson 1.1
Common feeling words
Happy Frustrated
Sad Worried
Surprised Disappointed
Scared Excited
Angry Calm

It’s Cool to Be Kind: Lesson 1.2
Practicing empathy
Students practice identifying how they feel in digital social interactions.
SEL background for teachers: Empathy is a crucial foundation for healthy interpersonal relationships. It has been
shown to increase academic success and decrease problem behaviors. The definition of empathy is “trying to feel
or understand what someone else is feeling”—not the ability to do so. That distinction is important because it’s really
hard to identify others’ emotions correctly (most adults struggle too). It’s also not the point. Simply making the effort
helps us and our students feel compassion for others and motivates kind action. This is what our children deserve to
know. If students focus on getting it “right,” remind them that the best way to find out how someone is really feeling is
to ask them.
Goals for students ✓ Understand what empathy is.

✓ Practice empathizing with people they encounter online.
✓ Recognize why it’s important to practice empathy.
Letʼs talk Think about a time you were talking with someone else online in an app, a game, or by
texting. Could you tell how they were feeling? (“Yes.” “No.”) What emotions might they
have been feeling? (“Happy.” “Angry.” “Excited.” “Frustrated.”)
Trying to feel or understand what someone else is feeling is called having empathy.
• Why is it good to show empathy? (“To know when others need help.” “Help be a good
friend.” “Avoid making someone angry.”)
• How could empathizing with others help when you’re interacting with someone
online? (“Help understand what they’re thinking.” “Keep from hurting them.” ”Avoid
accidentally starting drama. Easier to work with them in a game.”)
• How can you tell how someone else might be feeling? (“Recognizing what’s going on
around them.” “What they say or do.” “Posture.” “Facial expressions.” “Tone of voice.”)
Teacher uses his/her face, body, and/or words to show an emotion like excitement or joy.
• What was I just feeling? (Various answers.)
Recognizing other people’s emotions takes practice—it’s hard for adults too—and it’s
especially hard when you’re interacting online.
• What makes empathizing digitally difficult? (“Sometimes I can’t see people’s faces
or bodies.” “When you can’t hear their voice.” “When you can’t see what’s going on
around them.”)
• What are some clues we can use to help understand others’ feelings online? (“Emojis.”
“Photos.” “Use of CAPITAL LETTERS.” “Our history of interacting with someone.”)
Today we’re going to do an activity to help you recognize how people you interact with
online are feeling.
90
Activity 1. Hand out one copy of the activity worksheet to each student, or project it for the
class to see.
2. Have students work independently to guess how the people in each scenario are
feeling.
Materials needed:
• Worksheet: “Practicing
empathy” (one per student)
3. Have students compare their answers with a partner and discuss how each person
came up with their answers.
4. Call on pairs to tell the class about scenarios where they disagreed on the answers
and what about those scenarios made them harder to predict.
Takeaway It’s really hard to guess other people’s feelings correctly—sometimes especially
online—but empathy isn’t about getting the answer right. It’s about trying to. Just by
trying to understand how someone’s feeling, you’re more likely to get along with them
and less likely to hurt them. Pretty cool, huh? And when you keep trying, you’re helping
to create kinder, more awesome online times for you and everyone else.

Practicing empathy
How do you think Kriss might be feeling?

Kriss
Hey. Sup?
Waiting to go to my brother’s game
Cool
yea . . . fun fun Why?

U still there ?
HELLO !!!!!!!
What?
U too busy ?
K TTYL
HaddieHere
How do you think Haddie might be feeling?
Why?
HaddieHere Not what I expected after school today!
15 0:22
How do you think Cyrus might be feeling?
Why?
CyrusMaxx12:
Follow me !
Don’t charge in and don’t mess up this time.
We got this !
JennaGamer2291:
Ready, set, GO ! 10
92
Your kindness gram

Students explore what it means to show kindness.
A note to the teacher: In preparation for “Let’s Talk,” think of an example of when someone was kind to you and how
it made you feel, then an example of when you showed kindness to someone and how it made you feel. This lesson
asks that you use these experiences to write your own “Kindness Gram” (see the worksheet) to share with students
as an example.
Goals for students ✓ Define kindness.

✓ Recognize how kindness can affect people’s feelings.
✓ Identify ways to show kindness.
Letʼs talk Have students pair up.
What does it mean to be kind? Turn and tell your partner. (Various answers.)
Give students time to talk with a partner, then ask for volunteers to share their thinking.
Kindness is doing something nice or saying something nice to others, right? I’m going
to ask you all to think of an example of when someone was kind to you. To help you
get started, I’ll give you an example in my own life.
Provide an example of a time when someone was kind to you and describe how it made
you feel.
OK, so now think about a time when someone was kind to you. How did it make you
feel? Tell your partner. (Various answers.)
Give students time to talk with a partner, then ask for volunteers to share their thinking.
When someone is kind to us, it can make us feel better when we’re sad or upset. Being
kind can also make us feel good. So in my life, here’s an example of something kind
I did for someone.
Provide an example of a time you were kind to someone and describe for your students
how it made you feel.
Now it’s your turn.

• Think about a time when you were kind to someone.
Give them think time.
• Tell your partner about what you did and how it made you feel. (Various answers.)
Give students time to discuss, then ask for volunteers to share their thinking.

Let’s practice being kind by looking at some examples. [Refer to Side 1 of the handout.]
• Jules is feeling left out at recess and sitting all alone. How do you think she feels?
(“Sad.” “Lonely.”) How could you show her kindness? (“Sit with her.” “Invite her to
play.”) How do you think Jules will feel after someone is kind to her? (“Happy.”
“Included.”)
• Koji dropped his lunch tray. How do you think he feels? (“Embarrassed.” “Upset.”)
How could you show him kindness? (“Help him pick up his lunch.” “Say something
nice.”) How do you think Koji will feel after someone is kind to him? (“Better.”)
The amazing thing about showing kindness is that it helps us practice empathy.
Empathy means trying to feel or understand what someone else feels. Kindness is
empathy in action! When we practice empathy by being kind, we can make the world
a better place.
Activity Turn over your worksheet to the second side, where it says Your kindness gram at
the top. Now think about someone in your life—maybe a friend, a teacher or a family
member—who you want to show kindness to. Then fill out a kindness gram to help
you plan it out.
Materials needed:
Students will choose a person (or multiple people) they can show kindness to and
• Worksheet: “Empathy
at school” with “Your make at least one kindness gram.
kindness gram” on 1. Have students work independently.
side 2 (one per student)
2. Then have each student share their kindness gram with a partner.
Now that you’ve finished your kindness gram, think about when you’re going to put it
into action. Give students time to think and call on a few to tell the class about their
kindness gram and when they’re going to act on it.
Takeaway Kindness is doing something nice or saying something nice to others. By showing
kindness we can help others feel better when they’re sad or upset. There are many
ways and places we can show kindness, online and offline—and the more the better,
right?!
94
Empathy at school

Your kindness gram
I will show
kindness to
the person you want to show kindness to
I will show
kindness by
the kind thing you will do or say
I will do this
kind thing in
where—for example, at home, in the lunchroom, at soccer practice,

in a text, in a digital game with someone I’m playing with, etc.)
96
Ways to show kindness

Students explore what it means to be kind online.
A note to the teacher: Before beginning the lesson, think of a time someone was kind to you online and how it made
you feel. This lesson asks that you share this with the class at the end of the “Let’s talk” section.
Goals for students ✓ Understand the meaning of kindness.

✓ Identify ways kindness can look like online.
Letʼs talk Teacher writes the word “Kindness” on the board.
Think to yourself:
• What’s the definition of kindness?
Give students think time.
• Turn and tell your neighbor what you think.
Give students time to talk with a partner, then call on a few to tell the class what they
thought. Give them a chance to come up with several different answers.
Having empathy for others helps you show kindness. So building on what we learned
in Activity 1, what is empathy? (“Trying to feel or understand what someone else is
feeling.”)
• How can it help you show kindness? (“Notice when someone’s upset or sad.” “Know
what’ll make someone feel better.”)
• Why is it important to be kind to others? (“Builds friendships.” “Helps people feel safe
and welcome.” “So people will be kind to me.”)
• What are some ways you can show kindness to others? (“Do something nice.” “Help
them feel better.” “Say something positive.” “Let them know you care.”)
It’s important to show kindness everywhere, but today we’re going to talk about
showing kindness online.
• What can make it difficult to show kindness online? (“Harder to tell when someone
is upset.” “You might not know who the person is.” “Not sure how to show kindness
online.” “It’s very public and might be embarrassing.”) When you show kindness online
it can be really powerful. When other people see you being kind online it encourages
them to be kind too.
Share your story about a time someone was kind to you online and how it made you feel.
• How could you show kindness online to someone who might be sad? (Various answers.)
…who might be upset? (Various answers.)…who might be angry? (Various answers.)
Now we’re going to practice showing kindness online.

Activity 1. Place students in groups of 3−4.
2. Give each group a worksheet.
3. Have each group collaborate to complete the worksheet.

Materials needed:
• Worksheet: “Ways to show 4. For each scenario, call on one group to tell the class how they would show kindness.
kindness” (one per group
of 3−4 students) If the group is willing, have them act out the scenario for the class.
Takeaway There are lots of ways to show kindness online. Being kind online will help make your
online world a kinder, more welcoming place for everyone. It also feels good to show
kindness. The next time you’re kind to someone, take a moment to notice how you’re
feeling too.
98
Ways to show kindness

1. Read each scenario.
2. Discuss as a group ways to show kindness in each scenario, and write down your best ideas.
3. Be ready to tell the class what your group came up with.
Scenario 1 People are leaving disrespectful comments on a selfie your friend posted.
One way I can show kindness is to
Another way is to
Scenario 2 You’re playing an online game, and one player is insulting and trash talking another
player.
Another way is to
Scenario 3 Several of your friends are making mean jokes about another student in a private group
chat.
Another way is to

Itʼs Cool to Be Kind: Lesson 3
From negative to nice

In this activity, students work together to reframe negative comments in order to learn how to redirect negative
interactions into positive ones.
Goals for students ✓ Express feelings and opinions in positive, effective ways
✓ Respond to negativity in constructive and civil ways.
Letʼs talk Turning negative to positive

Kids your age are exposed to all kinds of online content, some of it with negative
messages that promote bad behavior. But you can turn that around.
• Have you (or anyone you know) seen someone be negative on the web? How did
that make you feel?
• Have you (or anyone you know) ever experienced a random act of kindness on
the web? How did it make you feel?
• What simple actions can we take to turn negative interactions into positive ones?
We can respond to negative emotions in constructive ways by changing

unfriendly comments to nicer ones and becoming more aware of tone in our
online communication.
Activity 1. Read the comments

Weʼre all looking at the negative comments.
2. Write revisions
Now letʼs separate into teams of three and work on two kinds of responses to these
Materials needed:
comments:
• A whiteboard or projection
screen • How could you have made the same or similar points in more positive and
• Handout: “…but say it nicely!” constructive ways?
(one per team of students) • If one of your classmates made comments like these, how could you respond in a
• Sticky notes or devices way that would make the conversation more positive?
for students
Note to teacher: It might help to get things moving to complete one example together
as a class together.
3. Present responses
Now each team will perform their responses for both situations.
Takeaway Reacting to something negative with something positive can lead to a more fun and
interesting conversation—which is a lot better than working to clean up a mess created
by an unkind comment.
100
Worksheet: Lesson 3
From negative to nice

Read the comments below. After each comment, discuss:
1. How could you have said the same or something similar in more positive and constructive ways?
2. I f one of your classmates made comments like these, how could you respond in a way that would make the
conversation more positive?
Use the spaces below each comment to write down ideas.
LOL Connor is the only one in class not Everybody wear purple tomorrow but
going on the camping trip this weekend. don’t tell Lilly.
Sorry I don’t think you can come to my party. No offense but your handwriting is a mess so you
It’ll cost too much money. should probably switch groups for this project.
This makes me cringe—who told her You can only join our group if you
she can sing?? give me the login to your account.
Am I the only one who thinks Shanna

looks kinda like a little green alien?

About your tone

Students interpret the emotions behind text messages to practice thinking critically and avoiding misinterpretation
and conflict in online exchanges.
Goals for students ✓ Make good decisions when choosing how and what to communicate—and
whether to communicate at all.
✓ Identify situations when it’s better to wait to communicate face‑to‑face with
a peer than to text them right away.
Letʼs talk Itʼs easy to misunderstand

People use different types of communication for different kinds of interaction, but
messages sent via chat and text can be interpreted differently than they would in
person or over the phone.
• Have you ever been misunderstood when texting? For example, have you ever texted
a joke and your friend thought you were being serious—or even mean?
• Have you ever misunderstood someone else in a text or chat? What did you do to help
clarify the communication? What could you do differently?
Activity 1. Review messages

Letʼs take a look at these sample text messages on the board. The class probably has
great examples too, so let’s write some on the board for us to discuss.
• “Thatʼs so cool”
• “Whatever”
Materials needed:
• “Iʼm so mad at you”
• Sample text messages
written on the board • “CALL ME NOW”
or projected
• “Kk fine”
2. Read messages out loud

Now, for each message, weʼre going to ask one person to read it aloud in a specific
tone of voice (e.g., angry, sarcastic, friendly).
What do you notice? How might these come across to other people? How might each
“message sender” better communicate what they really mean?
Takeaway It can be hard to understand how someone is really feeling when they’re reading a text.
Be sure you choose the right tool for your next communication—and try not to read
too much into things people say to you online. If you’re unsure what the other person
meant, find out by talking with them in person or on the phone.
102
How words can change the whole picture

Media literacy background for teachers: This lesson lays a foundation for elementary grade students by asking them
to grapple with simple captions about individual people. In developmentally appropriate ways, this lesson covers these
media literacy concepts and questions:
1. Knowing that all media are “constructed”—made by people who make choices about what to include and how to
present it.
2. Routinely asking “Who made this and why?”
3. Routinely reflecting on the media we create by asking: “How might this message affect others?”
Goals for students ✓ Learn that we make meaning from the combination of pictures and words.
✓ Understand how a caption can change what we think a picture is communicating.
✓ Begin to see the power of your words, especially when combined with pictures
you post.
✓ Understand how to be a responsible media maker.
✓ Develop the habit of asking, “Who posted this and why?”
Letʼs talk How can words change a picture?!

Pictures combined with words are a powerful way to communicate. Imagine a news
photo of a house on fire. One caption says “Family loses house but everyone gets out
safely, including the dog.” That would be sad, and maybe a little scary, right? But what
if the caption said, “Firefighters set empty house on fire so they could practice using
new firefighting tools.” You’re still looking at a house on fire, but you have a very
different idea about what’s happening. You might even feel safe instead of scared.
Activity Divide the class into small groups. Without revealing to students that you’re handing out
two different versions, give half the groups the handout with the positive caption and the
other half the one with the negative caption.
1. Pictures + words
Materials needed:
Take a look at the image. With your group, describe the person in the picture. What sort
• See following page
of person do you think they are? Do you think you’d like to spend time with them or be
their teammate? Why or why not?
The evidence will quickly reveal that groups were looking at pictures with different
captions. Have each group hold up their picture so the others can see the difference.
Finally, briefly discuss: What does this show about the power of words to shape our
ideas?
2. Still not sure?

Take a look at some more examples (see How words can change a picture)…

Materials needed: Think about what it would feel like to get or see a message that included one of the
• Pictures of teachers and pictures with the negative caption. Seeing or hearing negative messages doesn’t
staff from your school going
through their daily routines. only hurt the person in the picture. It can make other people who see the picture
For 2−3 weeks prior to the uncomfortable too.
activity, you’ll want to gather
a few digital photos, or assign
the students to gather them When you get the message or photo, what do you do? You always have a choice.
without revealing the pictures’
You can…
role in this activity (always
with the subjects’ permission, • Choose not to share the picture with anyone else, or…
of course).
• Tell the sender that you would rather not get messages that are meant to hurt
If that isn’t possible, you
someone, or…
could gather age‑appropriate
pictures from magazines or • Support the person in the picture by letting them know that you know it isn’t true, or…
news sources.
• All the above.
• Optional: At least one picture
of every student in the class
You could also send a positive message. Not an answer—just your own positive
• Handout: “Sports images”
message. Seeing or hearing positive messages supports the person in the picture
• H
andout: “How words can
change a picture” and can make others feel good and want to post their own positive messages.
3. Someone at our school

Teacher selects random photo from shuffled set of school staff photos.
Practice creating different kinds of captions. First make up some captions that would
make the person in the photo feel happy or proud. How many different captions can
you think up?
Now let’s talk about funny captions. Is there a difference between writing what’s
funny to you and what might be funny to the person in the photo? Is there a difference
between a joke that’s kind and funny to everyone, and a joke that makes fun of
someone and is only “funny” to a few people?
Write some captions that are examples of what we discussed, then let’s all pick a caption
for each photo that’s both funny and kind—not hurtful to the person in the photo.
Keep practicing using pictures of other people at our school. Did you get any new ideas
about kind things to say by looking at the captions that your classmates wrote?
4. Class collage
Create a collage of pictures of every person in your class, each with a kind caption
written on it.
Takeaway Captions can change what we think—and feel—about a picture and the messages
we think we’re getting. It’s good to think or pause before posting pictures with captions,
to consider how the whole thing might make others feel. And before accepting pictures
and captions that others post, ask, “Who posted this and why?”
104
Extension Try this experiment. Distribute a short comic strip in which all the words have been
deleted. Then have every student, working individually, fill in the thought/conversation
bubbles to tell the story they see. Compare the results. Did everyone see the same story
or write the same words? Why not? What does the experiment show about how we use
words to provide context or understand what a picture’s “saying”?

Handout: Lesson 5
Sports images
Awesome! Show Off!
Awesome! Show Off!
106
Handout: Lesson 5
How words can change a picture
Original artwork wins Hot Mess. I discovered a new species Mmm Dinner!
first place. in the world!
Nailed it! Awkward - not even close! Youngest scientist in Nerding out. #lame
the world!
Finally, my own phone! Got my mom’s lame Grew my hair out and WORST. HAIRCUT. EVER!
old phone. :/ donated it to a cancer
patient. <3

Interland: Kind Kingdom

Vibes of all kinds are contagious, for better or for worse. In the sunniest corner of town, aggressors are running
amok, spreading negativity everywhere. Block and report the aggressors to stop their takeover and be kind to other
Internauts to restore the peaceful nature of this land.
Open a web browser on your desktop or mobile device (e.g., tablet), visit g.co/KindKingdom.
Discussion topics Have your students play Kind Kingdom and use the questions below to prompt further
discussion about the lessons learned in the game. Most students get the most out of
the experience by playing solo, but you can also have students pair up. This may be
especially valuable for younger students.
• What scenario in Kind Kingdom do you relate to most and why?
• Describe a time when youʼve taken action to spread kindness to others online.
• In what situation would it be appropriate to block someone online?
• In what situation would it be appropriate to report someoneʼs behavior?
• Why do you think the character in Kind Kingdom is called an aggressor? Describe this
characterʼs qualities and how his actions affect the game.
• Does this game change the way you plan to behave toward others? If so, how?
108
Notes

Unit 05: Be Internet Brave
When in Doubt,
Talk It Out
Defining and encouraging Internet Brave behavior.
Lesson overview Lesson 1 What does it mean to be brave? ML Grades 2−6

Lesson 2 From bystanders to helpers SEL Grades 2−6
Lesson 3 Helpers have options! Grades 2−6
Lesson 4.1 Seeing upsetting stuff: What do I do? SEL Grades 2−3
Lesson 4.2 Upsetting stuff online: What do I do? SEL Grades 4−6
Lesson 5.1 What to do about mean stuff on screens SEL Grades 2−3
Lesson 5.2 Handling mean behavior online SEL Grades 4−6
Lesson 6 When to get help Grades 2−6
Lesson 7 Report it online, too Grades 2−6
Themes It’s important that kids understand they’re not on their own when they see content
online that makes them feel uncomfortable—especially if it looks like they or somebody
else could get hurt. First, they should never hesitate to get help from someone they
trust. Second, it’s good for them to know they have options: There are different ways
to be brave and take action.
Goals for students ✓ U nderstand what types of situations call for getting help or talking things out with
a trusted adult.
✓ Consider what options there are for being brave and why bringing adults into the
conversation is important.
Standards ISTE Standards for Educators: 1c, 2c, 3a, 3b, 3c, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 6d, 7a
addressed ISTE Standards for Students 2016: 1c, 2b, 3d, 4d, 6a, 7a, 7b, 7c
AASL Learning Standards: I.a.1, I.b.1, I.b.2, I.c.1, I.c.2, I.c.3, I.d.3, I.d.4, II.a.1, II.a.2, II.b.1,
II.b.2, II.b.3, II.c.1, II.c.2, II.d.1, II.d.2, II.d.3, III.a.1, III.a.2, III.a.3, III.b.1, III.c.1, III.c.2, III.d.1,
III.d.2, IV.a.2, IV.b.3, V.a.2, V.a.3, V.c.1, V.c.3, V.d.1, V.d.2, V.d.3, VI.a.1, VI.a.2, VI.a.3, VI.d.1,
VI.d.3
When in Doubt, Talk It Out 111

When in Doubt, Talk It Out
Vocabulary
Lesson 1 Lesson 4
Media: A tool for or means of communicating Refusal skills: Skills children are taught to help
something (an idea, concept, message, information, them avoid unsafe online content or behavior and
etc.). Examples of media: TV, books, newspapers, understand that choosing to refuse what makes
the Internet, the side of a truck, a t‑shirt—whatever them uncomfortable is one form of self‑respect.
has information on it, even just a logo
Lessons 2 and 4
Lesson 2 Trust: Strong belief that something or someone is
Aggressor: The person doing the harassing or reliable, truthful or able
bullying; though sometimes called the “bully,”
Lessons 2, 4, 6 and 7
bullying prevention experts advise never to label
Report Abuse: Using a social media service’s online
people as such
tools or system to report harassment, bullying, threats
Bullying: Mean or cruel behavior that’s repeated and and other harmful content that typically violates the
meant to hurt someone (physically, emotionally and service’s Terms of Service or Community Standards
or socially) who’s more vulnerable than the aggressor.
Lesson 6
Cyberbullying is the digital form of this behavior.
Courageous: Brave; not necessarily fearless, though,
Bystander: A witness to harassment or bullying who because people are especially brave when they’re
recognizes the situation but chooses not to intervene scared or nervous but take positive action anyway
Harassment: A word for many kinds of aggressive Student agency: A step beyond student voice,
or mean behavior, it’s a more general term than agency is the capacity to act or make change;
“bullying”—isn’t necessarily repeated or aimed at including protecting or standing up for oneself and
someone more vulnerable others; often seen as a necessary part of citizenship
Target: The person being bullied or victimized
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When in Doubt, Talk It Out: Lesson 1
What does it mean to be brave?

Thinking about how media influences us: Students name someone who’s done something they consider to be brave.
In thinking more deeply about their choice, they’re asked to examine where their ideas about bravery come from and
to talk it out amongst themselves.
Media literacy background for teachers: We all know that people’s thinking can be influenced by media. So to help
students develop their awareness of that, it can really help to “talk it out”—think out loud together about how that
happens. Here are a few important things to keep in mind as you teach this lesson:
• Our ideas are shaped by everything we see, hear and read.
• We interpret what we see through the lens of our own experiences, so we can take away very different messages
from the very same media.
• We learn as much (sometimes more) from pictures as from words.
• Media literacy helps counter stereotypes by helping us become aware of (and challenge) patterns—especially repetition.
For example, if all the heroes we see are male, we might get the idea that men are more likely to be heroes—even if no
one ever actually tells us that women can’t be heroes (absence of information is something to watch out for too).
Goals for students ✓ Think about what it means to be brave, including what it means to be brave when
we’re online.
✓ Identify the source(s) of our ideas about what it means to be brave.
✓ Learn the habit of asking: “What are they leaving out?”
Letʼs talk What do you think of being brave, do you think of movie superheroes or firefighters?
Those are great examples, but it’s important to remember that we are able to be
brave too.
Activity Before beginning, post one label in each of 3 corners or areas of the classroom.
1. Today we’re going to talk about being brave

On a sheet of paper, take a few seconds to write down the name (or job if you don’t
know the name) of someone—real or fictional, living now or from history—who has
Materials needed:
done something you think is brave. Don’t show anyone what you’ve written yet.
• A sheet of paper and
something for each
student to write with 2. Was it easy or difficult to think of someone?
• A whiteboard or other way Stand if you thought it was easy. If it was hard, why do you think so? Do we talk about
to write a list that everyone
can see being brave a lot, or not very often? Where do you usually see or hear about people
• 3 large labels with bold doing brave things?
lettering that students can
see from 8−10’ away, one for
each category: “A character 3. The big reveal
in media” (not a real person); Now you can reveal what person or character you picked by going to the label that
“Someone I know personally”;
“Someone I know about” fits the kind of individual you chose.
(in history or in the news)

So let’s talk. Notice how many of you named a media character or even a real person
that you knew about only through media (like a book or movie). What does that tell you
about where your ideas about what it means to be brave come from?
Media need to make money, and that means they need lots of us to pay attention to
them. They present to us the most dramatic, action‑filled kinds of bravery. So we see
lots of superheroes and first responders and soldiers. Those can be great examples,
but they definitely don’t tell the whole story, right? It’s always smart to ask, “What are
they leaving out?”
So what other examples of bravery are there? Where else have you learned about what
it means to be brave?
4. Revealing more
In the groups you’re in now, talk about the reasons for your choices: What made your
person brave? Were there differences in the types of brave things that real people did
and the brave things that media characters do—if yes, what differences?
After a few minutes for group discussion, bring the class back together and—on the
whiteboard or easel—take notes…
Let’s think about this:

• Did anyone name a person who saved others from physical danger? (Raise your hand
if your answer is “yes” to each question.)
• Did anyone name a person who stood up for someone who was being bullied? Most
people would agree that saving someone from being physically hurt—especially if you
might get hurt yourself—is brave.
• What about saving someone from having their feelings hurt—or being kind or
supportive to them if their feelings already were hurt? Is that also brave?
• Or what about reporting something you see that makes you feel super
uncomfortable—when you’re not sure how the adult you report it to would react?
Would you consider that brave too?
Raise your hand if you can tell me about someone who was brave in these other
ways—or if you have another kind of brave behavior you’ve thought of. I’d love to hear
about that.
Optional: Divide the room into three again, but this time divided up into these areas:
a) The person on my paper is female.
b) The person on my paper is male.
c) The person on my paper doesn’t identify as male or female.
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When you think of the word “brave,” do you picture a man or boy? A woman or girl?
What does bravery by women/girls look like? Is it different than bravery by men/boys?
Why do you think so?
5. Discuss what it takes to be brave

Look carefully at the list you created about what it takes to be brave. Discuss:
• Can you imagine yourself doing any of the things on the list?
• Can you think of a situation where being kind is brave?
• What about online (or on a phone)—can you think of ways you could be brave online?
Takeaway Bravery is about taking risks to help people—in all kinds of ways, big and small. Media
can shape the way we think about things like what it means to be brave, but the media
doesn’t always present all the possibilities. So it can help to ask, “What or who are they
leaving out?” When we’re online, we also need to think about taking risks to save people
from having their feelings hurt. We all can choose to be brave in lots of ways.

From bystanders to helpers

Students practice identifying the four roles of a bullying incident (the person who bullies, the target of the bullying,
the bystander, and the helper) and things to do if they witness bullying.
Goals for students ✓ Identify situations of harassment or bullying online.

✓ Evaluate what it means to be a bystander or helper.
✓ Learn specific ways to respond to bullying when you see it.
✓ Know how to behave if you experience harassment.
Letʼs talk Why does kindness matter?

Itʼs important to remember that behind every screen name and online character or
avatar thereʼs a real person with real feelings, and it’s good for us, them and everybody
if we treat them as we would want to be treated. When bullying happens, there are
usually four labels that describe how the people involved handle the situation.
• Thereʼs the aggressor, or person(s) doing the bullying
• Thereʼs also someone being bullied—the target.
• There are witnesses to what’s going on, usually called bystanders.
• There are witnesses to what’s going on who try to help the target or turn things
around. And you know what they’re called: helpers, right?
If you find yourself the target of bullying or other bad behavior online, here are some
things you can do:
If Iʼm the target, I can…

• Not respond
• Block the person
• Stand up for myself (but not retaliate, which can keep the negativity going)
• Report them—tell my parent, teacher, sibling or someone else I trust, and use the
reporting tools in the app or service to report the post, comment or photo
If you find yourself a bystander when harassment or bullying happens, you have the
power to intervene and report cruel behavior—online as well as offline. Sometimes
bystanders don’t try to stop the bullying or help the target. You can choose to support
the target and take a stand for kindness and positivity, privately or publicly.
If Iʼm the bystander, I can help by…

• Finding a way to be kind to or support the person being targeted privately, in a phone
call, text or direct message
• Publicly supporting the target by saying something nice about them in response to
a mean comment or post
• In another kind of public support, getting a bunch of friends to create some kind
comments about the person being targeted (but nothing mean about the aggressor,
because you’re setting an example, not retaliating)
116
• Calling out the mean behavior in a comment or reply like “That’s not cool” (remember
to call out the behavior, not the person—if you feel comfortable and safe to do that)
• Deciding not to spread the drama by sharing, reposting or telling people about the
mean post or comment
• Reporting the harassment. Tell someone who can help, like a parent, teacher, or
school counselor.
Activity Possible modification for grades 2−3: The worksheet scenarios may be a lot of reading
for your students to do on their own in groups. So you might read the scenarios to
the class and make it an all‑class discussion. See if the class comes up with the right
answers (below) before reading them out. (Oh, and remember that if students in Grades
2 and 3 haven’t had experiences described here, they may have older siblings who have
Materials needed:
and might want to talk about that.)
• Worksheet: “From bystanders
to helpers” (one per student)
1. Bystander or Helper?
nswers for each scenario on
A After discussing the roles above, pass out the worksheet and give students 15 min.
the worksheet:
to read the three scenarios and categorize each response (if there’s time, have them
cenario 1: B, H, B (because
S
not helping the situation), H, H create that 4th scenario together as a class).
Scenario 2: H, B, H, H
Scenario 3: H, H, B, B, H 2. Helpers at school and online
cenario 4: The answers are
S Discuss the answers above. Before or at the end of the discussion, ask them if they
all yours! can tell you why it can be nice to have helpers around, at school and online.
3. Discuss
If there’s time, ask your students if any of the responses were hard to categorize and
why. Have a discussion about that.
Takeaway Whether standing up for others, reporting something hurtful, or ignoring something
to keep it from spreading even more, you have a variety of strategies to choose from,
depending on the situation. With a little kindness, anyone can make a huge difference
in turning bad situations around.

Worksheet: Lesson 2
From bystanders to helpers

So you know now that a bystander can use their kindness superpowers and help someone out who’s being bullied.
Below are 3 examples of online bullying or harassment. Each has a list of responses. Of course there isn’t just one
right way to go (sometimes choosing to go with more than one can really help), but each choice below is about
something either a bystander would do or a helper would do. Read each one and decide which it is, then put a “B”
for “bystander” or an “H” for “helper” in the blank next to the response.
If there’s time, have a class discussion about the ones that seemed to make it harder to decide and why. Another option:
The students may think of a 4th scenario—maybe something that happened at your school. As a class you could come
up with responses that involve helping or just witnessing.
Scenario 1 A friend of yours dropped her phone by the drinking fountain near the school soccer
field. Someone found it and sent a really mean message about another student to
a bunch of people on her soccer team, making it look like your friend sent the mean
message! So you know what “impersonation” means, right? The person who found
your friend’s phone and sent the message was impersonating her, and the person
they targeted told your friend she was a terrible person, even though she wasn’t the
one who sent the mean message. No one knows who actually sent the mean message.
You…
□ feel sad for your friend but do nothing because no one knows who did that mean
thing to her.
□ go find the person the mean message was about, tell them it didn’t come from your
friend and ask them how they feel and whether you can help.
□ spread the drama by sharing the mean message with other friends.
Note to teacher: Students may find this one challenging, which means they’re smart,
because it is. This is neither pure bystanding nor helping because it’s likely making
things worse. It may well be worth discussing.
□ and your friend get everybody on the soccer team to post compliments about the
person who was targeted.
□ and your friend anonymously report the incident to your principal, letting her know
that everybody needs to be talking about good phone security and locking their
phones—maybe even include it in morning announcements!
118
Scenario 2 Your teacher created a class blog for Language Arts, giving the class the ability to write,
edit and post comments. The next day she’s out sick and the substitute doesn’t notice
that things are going south in the class blog–someone is posting seriously mean
comments about one of the students in the class. You…
□ comment on the comments by saying things like, “This is so not cool” and “I am
’s friend, and this is not true.”
□ ignore it until your teacher gets back.
□ get other students to call out the mean comments or post compliments about
the student being targeted.
□ tell the substitute that mean behavior is happening in the class blog, and they
might want to let the teacher know.
Scenario 3 There’s an online game that a bunch of your friends play a lot. Usually game chat is
mostly about what’s happening in the game. Sometimes it gets a little nasty, though
that’s usually more like friendly rivalry than anything really bad. But this one time, one
player starts saying really nasty stuff about one of your friends who’s playing, and they
just won’t stop. They even keep it up the next day. You…
□ call up your friend and tell them you don’t like this anymore than they do and ask
them what they think you two should do.
□ call everybody you know who plays with you guys (making sure your friend knows
you’re doing this) to see if you can get everybody’s agreement that it’s time to call
out the nastiness.
□ decide to wait and see if the kid stops, then maybe do something.
□ walk away from the game for a while.
□ look for the game’s community rules and if bullying isn’t allowed, report the mean
behavior in the game’s reporting system.
Scenario 4 Create a real-life scenario as a class, based on a situation one of you has heard about,
then come up with both bystander and upstander responses to show you definitely
know what we’re talking about now!

Helpers have options!

Often students want to help out a target of bullying but don’t know what to do. This activity shows them that they have
choices, offers examples, and gives them an opportunity to create positive responses of their own.
Goals for students ✓ See that being a helper is a choice.

✓ Learn there are different ways to step in and be a helper in a specific situation.
✓ Choose how to respond using different options that feel safe and appropriate to you.
✓ Create your own response to the situation.
Letʼs talk When you see someone being mean to another person online—making them feel
embarrassed or left out, making fun of them, disrespecting them, hurting their feelings,
etc.—you always have choices. First, you can choose to be a helper instead of a
bystander by helping the target. Second, if you choose to be a helper, you have options
for what kind of action you take.
The most important thing to know is that it can really help someone being targeted
just to be heard if they feel bad—and to know that someone cares.
Now, not everybody feels comfortable standing up for others publicly, whether online
or in the school lunchroom. If you do, go for it! You can…
• Call out the mean behavior (not the person) right when it happens, saying it’s not cool
• Say something nice about the target later, in a post or comment
• Get friends to compliment the target online too.
• Offline, you can invite the person to hang out with you on the playground or sit with
you at lunch
If you don’t feel comfortable helping out publicly, that’s fine. You can also support the
target privately. You can…
• Ask how they’re doing in a text or DM (direct message)
• Say something kind or complimentary in an anonymous post, comment, or direct
message (if you’re using media that lets you stay anonymous)
• Talk to them quietly in the hall and tell them you’re there for them if they want to talk
after school or on the phone
• Tell them you thought the mean behavior was wrong and ask if they feel like talking
about what happened
No matter how you choose to be a helper, you also have both public and private options
for reporting what you saw. This could mean reporting bullying behavior via a website
or app, or it could mean reporting what’s going on to an adult who you know will make
the situation better, especially for the target.
120
Activity Possible modification for grades 2−3: The worksheet scenarios may be a bit too much
reading for your students to do on their own in groups. So you might read the scenarios
to the class, then let the groups create their responses.
In this activity, we’re going to try out what it’s like to be a helper, so let’s assume our
Materials needed: whole class has made the choice to help out the target.
• A whiteboard or easel with
large white pad on which
students can stick sticky 1. Divide into groups of five students per group
notes Each group should pick one member to be a reader and one to be a writer.
• Handout: “Helpers have
options!”(one per student
or at least one per group) 2. Groups read and discuss the hurtful situations together
• Sticky notes for each group The three situations are provided in the worksheet on the next page.
of students
While groups are discussing, the teacher divides the whiteboard or easel into two large
spaces with the headlines “Public Support” and “Private Support.”
3. Groups choose or create their two kinds of responses for each

Students can work with the sample responses in “Let’s talk” or create their own.
4. Students post their choices to the board and read out loud to the whole class
The teacher can then facilitate a class discussion based on the choices the students
made.
Takeaway Lots of times when you see somebody being hurt or harassed, you want to help but you
don’t always know what to do. You now know many ways to help the target—and that
you definitely have options for supporting them in ways that you’re comfortable with.
You have the power to help people in a way that works for you!

Worksheet: Lesson 3
Helpers have options!

Now that you’re in your groups, each group gets to decide how you want to be a helper. Ask for one volunteer in your
group to be a writer (on the sticky notes) and one to be a reader. The reader reads the first situation out loud and then
the groups take five minutes for each situation to discuss and decide how you’d support the target publicly and how
you’d support them privately. The writer writes your decisions on two sticky notes and sticks one note in the Public
column and one note in the Private column on the whiteboard. To make your decision, use the ideas the class just
discussed together OR make up your own way to help the target. Repeat that process for Situation 2 and Situation 3.
Note: There’s not just one right way to support a target because each person (whether target or bystander) is different
and each situation is different. We’re just trying out different helper options.
Situation 1 A student posts a video of themselves singing a cover to a famous pop artist’s song.
Other students start posting mean comments under the video. What do you do to
support the student who posted the video? Work with some of the ideas on the
previous page or agree on your group’s own response.
Situation 2 A student sends another student a screenshot of a comment your friend posted and
makes a nasty joke about it. The screenshot gets reposted and goes viral at school.
What will you do to support the student whose comment was screenshotted and
shared? Choose one of the ideas we just discussed as a class—or decide on your
own response.
Situation 3 You find out that a student at your school created a fake social media account using
another student’s name and posts photos and memes that say mean things about
other students, teachers, and the school. What do you decide to do to support the
student who’s being impersonated in this mean way? Consider the ideas on the
previous page or come up with your own response.
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When in Doubt, Talk It Out: Lesson 4.1
Seeing upsetting stuff: What do I do?

Students learn that if they see pictures or videos that they find upsetting they should trust their feelings, refuse to
watch more and talk about what they saw with an adult they trust.
A special note for educators: Because children in lower elementary grades tend to be online less than their older
peers, this activity is about helping younger kids deal with upsetting images or messages they might encounter
anywhere. If a child does run into upsetting content or communication online and reports that to you privately later,
follow these steps:
1. Thank them for telling you and reassure them that they did the right thing in coming to you.
2. Listen to their report and believe what they say. If you feel comfortable, you can gently ask for more details, but
don’t push. In this situation, your job is to listen, not be an investigator.
3. If the child indicates the content has been shared by an adult or that any inappropriate contact is involved, report
what you’ve heard to your school administrator, understanding the sensitivity of this information and the primary
importance of caring for the child.
4. Make sure the administrator follows through.
Goals for students ✓ Recognize upsetting content.

✓ Understand what to do when they encounter it.
✓ Create a plan for talking about what upset them with a trusted adult.
Letʼs talk Looking at pictures or watching videos on a phone, tablet or computer can be a lot of
fun. Tap your head if you ever look at pictures or videos on a phone, tablet or computer.
[Note number of tapped heads.]
• Who do you look at these things with? (“Family.” “Friends.” “Classmates.”)
• What are some of your favorite things to watch? (Various answers.)
• How do you feel when you watch these? (“Excited.” “Happy.” “Relaxed.”)
Pictures and videos aren’t always fun to watch. Snap your fingers if you’ve ever had
to look at something that was boring. Or confusing. Or scary. [Note snaps.]
Think about a time you felt really upset—I’m not talking about on a tablet or TV screen,
just any time you felt upset. You don’t need to say what happened. I’ll give you some
examples of how bodies can feel when people are upset. Raise your hand when
you hear how your body felt when you were upset. [Pause after naming each body
sensation…] Hot face. Racing heart. Sweaty palms. Sick stomach. Fast Breathing.
You feel those feelings in your body, right?
Now snap your fingers if you’ve ever seen a picture or video that’s made you feel upset.
[Note snaps.] This activity will help you know what to do if you see pictures or videos
that make you feel upset.

If someone shows you a picture or video that makes you feel upset, you can refuse to
watch. That’s called growing your refusal skills, and that’s important.
So what are some words you can use to refuse an uncomfortable picture or video?
(“Please stop.” “I don’t like that.” “I don’t want to watch this.”) [Write down students’
ideas on the board.]
• Turn to your neighbor and practice saying one of these phrases. Use a strong,
respectful voice.
Give students a chance to practice two or three different phrases.
• What can make it hard to refuse? (“If the other person won’t listen.” “If they keep
showing you similar things.” “If you’re afraid or embarrassed to refuse.” “If the
other person is older.”)
This is a really important way you can be brave (referring to Lesson 1).
Sometimes, you might accidentally see something upsetting when you’re using a
phone, tablet or computer by yourself. Tap your head if this has ever happened to you.
[Note the heads tapped.]
• What should you do if you accidentally see something like this? (“Close it.” “Turn it
off.”)
• What if somebody showed it to you? (“I don’t want to watch that.” “That makes me
feel bad.”)
If you can’t or don’t want to refuse, you can report what happened to an adult you trust.
Adults will help take care of you and keep you safe. Who are some adults you trust?
(Various answers.) When you report to an adult, remember to be assertive. Tell them
what happened and use a strong respectful voice.
Now we’re going to practice reporting to an adult.
Activity Musical Reporting

1. E
xplain the rules to the class:
A. “I’ll read a scenario.”
B. “I’ll play music for 30 seconds.”
C. “While the music is playing, walk around and think about what you’d say while
Materials needed:
reporting the scenario to an adult.”
• Calm music
D. “When the music stops, find a partner and practice reporting with them.”
• Scenarios (next page)
2. Choose a scenario and start the music.
3. Stop the music.
124
4. L
isten to students as they practice. Choose one pair of students to demonstrate
what they said for the class.
5. C
all on a few other students at random to tell the class what they’d do in this
situation.
6. Repeat steps 2−5 for other scenarios, as time allows.
Scenarios Scenario 1: Someone shows you clips from a comedy show she thinks is funny, but it
makes you uncomfortable.
Scenario 2: Your sibling shows you videos of car crashes. They think it’s funny when
you say “stop.”
Scenario 3: One of your family members is always playing games with lots of shooting
in them. You liked it at first, but it’s starting to bother you.
Scenario 4: You’re playing a game with a couple other people, and you see one of them
being really mean to the other player.
Scenario 5: Your cousin’s hanging out at your house and you’re watching videos
together. They start watching a video that has naked people in it.
Takeaway You might see things in your life offline and online that make you uncomfortable. If you
do not feel good about something you see, try and use your words to refuse them. Also,
always report what you saw to an adult so they can help everyone stay safe.

Upsetting stuff online: What do I do?

Students learn to identify inappropriate online content and strategies for refusing it. Students also learn about
reporting any content that suggests someone has or is about to hurt themselves or others.
A special note for educators: If during or after this activity a student tells you about an instance of bullying, harassment,
abuse, threats of violence or even suicidal ideation, that is usually a sign of trust, and it’s very important that you honor
that trust. Research suggests that students will often report sensitive information to an adult only one time. If that first
report doesn’t result in their feeling helped, students will not try again.
If a child does report something serious to you, follow these steps:

1. Thank the student for being so brave and let them know you will talk with them more privately as soon as possible.
2. Once you meet with them privately, thank them again and reassure them you will help keep them safe—or, if they’re
reporting about someone else—make sure that person gets the help they need.
3. Listen to their report and believe what they say. If you feel comfortable, you can gently ask for more details, but
don’t push. It’s your job to listen, not be an investigator. If it’s serious, report what you’ve heard to your school
administrator and make sure they follow through.
Goals for students ✓ Recognize upsetting content

✓ Understand they can refuse to watch or engage with it
✓ Learn some strategies for refusing it
✓ Practice the strategies, including reporting to an adult
Letʼs talk This activity will help you handle situations where people do, say or show you things
online that make you upset or scared.
Raise your hand if you’ve ever seen content, comments or behavior online that made
you upset—it could be text, photos or video. [Note number of hands.]
Write this sentence on the board and have your students copy it and fill in the blank:
“Something that upset me online was .” On a piece of paper, write
some examples that fill in the blank in this sentence on the board.
As students are writing, walk around and look at their answers. Ask a few students if
they’re willing to share their answers with the class.
You have the same right to feel as safe and comfortable online as you do here at
school. You get to decide what you watch and who you talk with online. You can refuse
to see anything that makes you upset. What this activity is all about is growing your
refusal skills—skills everybody needs to have.
So what are some ways you can refuse upsetting things?

See if they come up with some of these examples: “Turn off your device.” “Delete things
people send you.” “Block or remove senders.” “Tell them you don’t like whatever it is.”
126
Make sure they hear all of these options. Encourage students to share specifics of how
they can refuse content on different platforms. This will also be a chance for you to learn
more, for future discussions, about your students’ experiences online. To maximize trust
and communication, try to remain judgment‑free.
Sometimes a person will keep doing things that upset you, or you’ll still feel upset
about something even after it’s gone. Sometimes you might not know how to handle
a situation—which is just fine. A lot of adults don’t know how to handle some situations
too. What could you do in this situation?
See if they come up with this on their own: “Get help from an adult I trust.”
Remember, just because you refuse doesn’t mean you can’t also report the content or
the behavior. You can definitely do both.
If you need help and report what happened to an adult but they can’t help you, what
should you do? (“Find another adult to report to.”) I know reporting isn’t always easy.
Experts say students often report things only once. So I want to tell you: Keep reporting
until you find an adult who really helps you.
Who are some adults here at school you trust to help you? (Various answers.) There are
lots of adults here who you can talk to if you need help.
Now we’re going to practice refusing and reporting unwanted, upsetting or scary things.
Activity 1. Place the two signs on opposite sides of the room.
. Choose a scenario from the list and read it to the class, or create a relevant scenario
2
of your own.
Materials needed: 3. Ask students to think about whether they’d refuse the scenario themselves or report
• Scenarios (next page)
what happened to an adult and ask for help.
• One piece of paper with the
word “Refuse” on it
4. Have students move to the side of the room corresponding to what they’d do.
• Another piece of paper with
the word “Report” on it.
5. Have each group discuss what they’d say or do when refusing or reporting and why.
6. Call on one student from each group to demonstrate reporting and refusing.
7. Repeat with another scenario, as time allows.

Scenarios Scenario 1: A friend of yours keeps using bad language in chats.
Scenario 2: You keep seeing sexist statements in a comment thread.
Scenario 3: Someone makes fun of a photo you’re in.
Scenario 4: Someone says something really racist about you.
Scenario 5: Someone asks you to send them a picture of you naked.
Scenario 6: You see a post saying someone is going to bring a gun to school.
Takeaway You might see things online that are just plain scary—like someone saying they’re going
to do something that might hurt themselves or someone else. In these situations, tell
an adult right away so they can help everyone stay safe.
128
What to do about mean stuff on screens

Students practice what to do the next time they see or hear something upsetting in a video, online game or TV show.
Goals for students ✓ Understand it’s okay to feel scared or sad when you see something upsetting on
(or off) a screen.
✓ Know they can refuse to watch upsetting things in a show, game or video.
✓ Understand how to refuse disturbing content.
✓ Identify who they can talk to if they see something upsetting.
Letʼs talk What are some of your favorite TV shows or online videos? [Call on volunteers to share.]
Why do you like these shows? (“They’re funny.” “They have lots of action, adventure,
etc.”) What emotions do you feel when you watch them? (“Happy.” “Excited.”)
We usually like to watch TV shows or videos because they’re entertaining, right?

Who knows what the word “entertaining” means? [Call on volunteers to share.]
When a show is entertaining, it makes you feel good and you enjoy watching it. Maybe
it makes you laugh or just chill out, or you’re interested because you’re learning
something new, or it’s super exciting and you can’t wait to see what happens next.
But sometimes a show might not be entertaining because people or animals are really
getting hurt, someone’s really mean or scary or something’s making you feel nervous
or sad. Can anyone tell me about a video or show that they didn’t think was entertaining
and why? [Call on volunteers to share.]
Today we’re going to practice what you can do the next time you see or hear something
upsetting on TV or the Internet.
• If you’re watching a TV show or video by yourself and you see or hear something
upsetting, you can turn it off. [Write “Turn it off” on the board.]
• If you’re still upset after you turn it off, find an adult you trust to talk to about what
you saw and how it made you feel. [Write “Talk to a trusted adult” on the board.]
• Who is a trusted adult you could talk to? [Write students’ ideas under “Trusted Adult”
on the board.] (Possible Answers: Mom, Dad, caregiver, teacher, etc.)
• If you’re watching a TV show or online video with friends or family and you see or
hear something upsetting, you can speak up and say how you feel. [Write “Speak Up”
on the board.]
• For example, you could say, “This show is scary. Let’s watch something else.”
What are some other things you could say? [Write students’ ideas on the board under
“Speak Up.] (Possible Answers: “I don’t want to watch this because it makes me
upset”; “Let’s watch something we both like.”)
If you speak up and someone keeps showing you things you don’t like, you can always
leave the room and tell a trusted adult.

Activity Let’s practice speaking up when you see or hear something upsetting on TV or in a
game or video and talking to an adult you trust. [Help students pair up.]
I’m going to read a scenario, and you’re going to take turns with your partner practicing
what you would do in that situation. Let’s do the first one together.
Choose a scenario from the list below and have students work with their partners to
decide how they would respond. After a few moments, call on volunteers to share.
Continue working through the scenarios as time allows.
Scenarios Scenario 1: You’re watching an online video with a family member. The person in the
video is using swear words and saying mean things that upset you. You decide to
speak up. What do you say? [Turn and tell your partner what you would say.]
Scenario 2: You’re watching a new TV show alone. You’re halfway through the first
episode when something super scary happens. Argh! You can’t get it out of your mind,
and now you’re convinced it could happen to you. You decide to turn off the show
and tell a trusted adult. [Turn and tell your partner who you would tell and what you
would say.]
Scenario 3: You’re watching online videos with your friends. One friend shows a video
with naked people in it. You feel upset. You don’t know how your friends feel, but you
don’t want to watch the video anymore. You decide to speak up. [Turn and tell a partner
what you would say.]
Scenario 4: You’re playing a multiplayer game online when you see one player
intentionally messing up what other players are doing. Someone asks him to stop and
he just laughs. [Turn and tell a partner what you would say.]
Scenario 5: Your cousins are playing video games with lots of shooting in them. There’s
lots of people getting hurt. You ask them to play something else, but they ignore you.
[Turn and tell a partner what you would do.]
Scenario 6: You’re at a friend’s house and you overhear a news story on TV that makes
you feel really sad. When you get home, you decide to talk to a grownup you trust.
[Turn and tell your partner who you would tell and what you would say.]
Takeaway If a game, video or TV show makes you feel upset, it’s okay not to watch it. Now you
know how:
• If you’re alone, turn it off.
• If you’re still upset, talk to an adult you trust.
• If someone is showing it to you, speak up and say how you feel.
• If you speak up and they keep showing it to, just leave and/or tell that person you trust.
130
Handling mean behavior online

Students learn that behavior, kind or mean, is just behavior—whether online or offline. They explore ways to handle the
mean kind so they can avoid contributing to the drama and escalating conflict.
Goals for students ✓ Recognize how mean behavior online can lead to conflicts at school.
✓ Identify ways to avoid escalating conflicts online.
Letʼs talk What are some reasons people act mean to each other online? (“Gossip.” “Disrespect.”
“Misunderstandings.” “Being mean.”)
People can get into conflicts online for a lot of different reasons. We can avoid a lot
of nastiness just by trying to show kindness to others—or just not getting involved.
Sometimes it’s a spillover from something that happened at school. Other times,
though, people just say or do mean things out of the blue. Snap your fingers if you’ve
ever seen or heard of someone doing any of these mean things: [Note snaps.]
• Posting disrespectful comments on photos or videos
• Spreading gossip or lies about someone else
• Pretending to be someone else in order to get them in trouble
• Name calling
• Using racist or homophobic language
Raise your hand if anyone’s ever been mean to you online. [Note the number of hands.]
• How might you feel if someone said or did something mean to you online? (“Angry.”
“Furious.” “Sad.” “Upset.”)
• Do you think you’d ever be tempted to get back at them? (“Yes.” “No.”)
It’s natural to feel angry when you think someone’s done something mean. The urge to
get back at them can be very strong. Think about what the consequences might be for
trying to get back at someone. [Give students time to think.] Turn and tell your neighbor
your ideas. [After a minute, call on a few students at random to report.] (“Start a big
fight.” “Drama.” “Get lots of people involved.” “Get in trouble.”)
Responding to mean behavior with more mean behavior is a common way conflicts
start or spread online. What are some other ways you could respond to mean behavior
that wouldn’t cause a conflict? (“Ignore it.” “Tell the person to stop.” “Block or remove
the person.”)
When you’re angry or upset, it can be easy to say or do something mean to the other
person. It’s important to calm down before you do anything else. One strategy for
calming down is taking a few slow, deep breaths.
Have the class practice taking a few slow, deep breaths together.

What are some other strategies you’ve used to calm down when you’re angry or upset?
(“Count backwards.” “Tell myself not to worry.” “Think about something happy.”)
How would you feel if you saw someone being mean to someone else online? (“Mad.”
“Worried it could happen to me.” “Upset.” “Amused.”)
• When people who see mean behavior don’t say anything, or they laugh or join in, what
happens? (“They’re encouraging more mean behavior.” “They’re making people feel
unwelcome.” “They’re being mean themselves.”)
• When people stand up to mean behavior, what can happen? (“People will realize it’s
not okay.” “People will be kinder and more respectful.”)
Snap your fingers if you’ve ever helped someone who was being treated meanly?
[Note the number of snaps. Call on a few students to tell their stories of helping others.]
How does it feel to help someone? (“It feels good.”)
What should you do if you don’t feel comfortable or safe standing up to mean behavior
you see? (“Get help from an adult.”)
Now we’re going to practice ways to respond to mean behavior we see online.
Activity 1. Have students get in groups of 3−4 and give each group a worksheet.
2. Have each group complete Section A of the worksheet.
3. Have groups trade worksheets.

Materials needed:
• Worksheet: “Handling mean 4. Have each group complete Section B of their new worksheet.
behavior online” (one per
group of 3−4 students)
5. Call on each group to tell the class what they came up with.
Takeaway When you encounter mean behavior online, it’s important to respond appropriately.
If you try to get back by responding with mean behavior of your own, you can start a
conflict or make something that started at school even worse—online or at school.
If you take a moment to calm down and then respond in another way, you can avoid
conflict.
If someone ever keeps being mean to you and you don’t know how to make them stop,
you should get help from an adult.
132
Handling mean behavior online

Section A Write down one situation you might encounter where someone is being mean online.
Section B How would you respond if this happened to you?
Why would you respond this way?
How would you respond if you saw this happening to someone else?
Why would you respond this way?

When to get help

One piece of advice that appears consistently throughout these lessons is: If students come across something that
makes them feel uncomfortable or worse, encourage them to report it—be brave and talk to someone they trust who
can help, including you, the principal, or a parent. Students should pick this up from any one of the lessons but, just to
be sure, here’s a class discussion focused specifically on the “when in doubt, talk it out” principle. Below you’ll find a
list of situations in which talking it out can really help.
Important notes for educators:

1. Children have been taught or conditioned not to “tattle” for so many generations that it has become a social norm,
and bullying prevention experts have been working hard to help children understand the difference between “telling”
(tattling) and getting help. Help your students see that seeking support when hurtful things happen online is not
“tattling;” it’s about getting help for themselves or peers when people are getting hurt.
2. Fostering open communication in your classroom and reminding students you’re always there for backup, supports
students’ agency and appropriate reporting.
3. In the discussion below, any time students share about times they sought adult help, be sure the tone of the
conversation is one that makes them feel proud and brave to have taken action, especially since they’re speaking
up in front of peers.
Goals for students ✓ Recognize that seeking help for oneself or others is a sign of strength.
✓ Think out loud together about situations where talking it out can really help.
Letʼs talk Here’s a whole list of situations you might run into online. We may not get through them
all, because I hope you’ll raise your hands when something on the list reminds you of a
situation you’ve been in and what you did about it, so we can talk those situations out
together.
Activity Please take a look at the scenarios below to complete the activity.
Note to school leaders: Having a student panel or group of student leaders in your
school (or a middle/high school in your district) mentor younger students about
online situations like these can be a very effective way to teach, engage and empower
Materials needed:
younger students. If you already have a peer mentoring group at your school, have the
• Handout (select based on
grade, one per student): mentors walk through the above scenarios with younger students and share their own
- Scenarios for Grades 2−3 experiences in navigating them.
- Scenarios for Grades 4−6
Takeaway It may not always seem like it, but being able to ask for help when you’re not sure what
to do is a brave thing to do. If it’s to help you or someone heal something hurtful or stop
harm from happening, it’s both smart and courageous.
134
Handout: Lesson 6
Scenarios for Grades 2-3

1. S
ilently read the list to yourselves. While you do, think about whether any of those situations happened to you,
whether you wanted to ask an adult for help in any of them and if you did or not.
2. R
aise your hand if you want to tell us what you did (or didn’t do) and why. If someone already picked one, see
if you have a different one we can talk about.
3. Let’s discuss those situations.
Scenarios Scenario 1: You need help remembering a password. [Ask a parent or older relative
to help you go through the steps to create a new one.]
Scenario 2: Another gamer really likes your skin and offers to pay you game money
for it—how do you decide?
Scenario 3: You see some really mean behavior in a video and aren’t sure what to do
about it.
Scenario 4: Another gamer asks you how old you are and where you live—do you tell
them?
Scenario 5: A friend shows you a video that’s really violent—someone gets hurt in it.
What do you do?
Scenario 6: You want to do something about a comment you see online that’s super
mean. What do you do?
Scenario 7: Someone on the playground starts making fun of another kid because
they don’t have a phone, and the kid is really sad. What do you do about that?
Scenario 8: You’re watching a video of cartoon characters and all of a sudden

something really scary pops up in the middle of it.

Handout: Lesson 6
Scenarios for Grades 4-6

1. S
ilently read the list to yourselves. While you do, think about whether any of those situations happened to you,
whether you wanted to ask an adult for help in any of them and if you did or not.
2. R
aise your hand if you want to tell us what you did (or didn’t do) and why. If someone already picked one, see
if you have a different one we can talk about.
3. Let’s discuss those situations.
Scenarios Scenario 1: You have this feeling someone hacked into your account. What can you
do to take back control? [Go to the app’s or site’s Help section, and go through the
steps they have for showing them you’re the owner, then log in and change your
password—and not share it with anyone but a parent.]
Scenario 2: You’re unsure if something was a scam and think you might have fallen
for one.
Scenario 3: Another gamer starts asking you stuff that has nothing to do with the
game and it’s kind of cringey—do you answer them?
Scenario 4: You hear someone being really racist in game chat.
Scenario 5: You’re concerned you may have shared something online you shouldn’t
have (only tell us what it was if you feel comfortable sharing that, but even if you
don’t, tell us what you did about it).
Scenario 6: You saw someone threatening to start a fight or harm someone.
Scenario 7: Someone is posting really bad stuff about themselves online, and it
makes you worry about them.
136
Report it online, too

Using a school device to demonstrate where to go to report inappropriate content and behavior in apps, the class
considers various types of content, decides whether to report it, and talks about why or why not.
Goals for students ✓ Know about apps’ and services’ community standards, or terms of service.
✓ Be aware of online tools for reporting abuse.
✓ Consider when to use them.
✓ Talk about why and when to report the abuse.
Letʼs talk When meanness and other inappropriate content turn up online, people have options
for taking action. In the last activity we talked about the most important one: talking
it out with someone you trust. That can help you figure out the best ways to help.
Another option is to report it to the app or service where you find it, which can help
get the content deleted. It’s important to get used to checking apps’ terms of service
or community rules and using their reporting tools.
Students should get in the habit of taking a screenshot of conversation or activity

that’s harmful or suspicious before using blocking and reporting tools (which could
make a record of the activity go away). This ensures that trusted adults can see what
happened and help resolve this situation.
Activity 1. Look for community rules. Grab as many devices as your class has access to.
If there are several, divide the class into groups. Together, find the terms of service in
at least 3 school‑related accounts and look for a rule about harassment or bullying.
2. Figure out how to report a problem. Find the apps’ or sites’ tools for reporting
Materials needed:
inappropriate content or behavior. (If there’s only one device or computer in the
• Worksheet: “Report it online,
too” (one per student) room, have groups of students take turns at that screen.)
3.Go through the scenarios. Everyone sits down and, as a class, goes through the
situations on the worksheet on the next page.
4. Would you report it? Ask students to raise their hands if they would report the
content; then ask them to raise their hands if they wouldn’t report it.
5. If so, why? Ask someone who would report it to tell the class why, and ask someone
who wouldn’t report it to do the same.
Note: Seldom is there just one right answer or approach. Make sure everybody knows
this before class discussion begins.
Takeaway Most apps and services have tools for reporting and/or blocking inappropriate content,
and it can help the people involved, their community, and the platforms themselves if
we use those tools. Before blocking or reporting inappropriate content, it’s always wise
to take a screenshot so that you have a record of the situation.
Worksheet: Lesson 7
Report it online, too

Read each scenario below and raise your hand if you’d report it in the app or service where you found it. Ask for
someone who would and someone who wouldn’t raise their hand and explain why they chose that option, then
discuss those choices as a class. (Everybody should know that there is seldom one right choice to make, which is
why discussion is helpful. No one should feel bad about what they chose to do. Even adults don’t always know when
or how to report.)
Situation 1 Another student posts a group photo in a public account, and you hate the way you look
in it. Would you report that photo or not? If you know who posted it, would you talk with
the person and ask them to take it down? How can you respond?
Situation 2 Someone creates an account of a student you know using their name and photo. They
turned the photo into a meme and drew a moustache and other weird facial features on
it, turning the photo into a joke. Would you report the account?
Situation 3 Someone posts lots of mean comments about a student in your school without
using their name, but you have a feeling you know who it is. Would you report those
comments or not and, if you would, how?
Situation 4 A student creates an account with your school’s name in the screen name and posts
students’ photos with comments that everybody hears about. Some of the comments
are mean to students, some are compliments. Do you report the mean comments, the
whole account, or both?
Situation 5 One night, you notice that a student has made a comment online saying they’re
going to fight with another student in the lunchroom the next day. Do you report that
comment online or not? Do you report it to a teacher or principal the next morning or
not? Both?
Situation 6 You’re watching a cartoon video and all of a sudden there’s some weird content in it
that’s definitely not appropriate for kids and makes you feel uncomfortable. Do you
report it or not?
Situation 7 You’re playing an online game with friends and someone none of the players know
starts chatting with you. They’re not being mean or anything, but you don’t know them.
Do you ignore them or report them?
138
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Smart

Notably, the Be Internet Awesome program has undergone a thorough evaluation

The International Society of Technology in Education (ISTE) completed an independent

Share with Care Lesson 1 When not to share 12

Secure Your Secrets Lesson 1 But that wasn’t me! 70

It’s Cool to Be Kind Lesson 1.1 Noticing feelings 82

When in Doubt, Lesson 1 What does it mean to be brave? 110

How to teach the curriculum

A few things about the curriculum:

Grades Grades Grades Media Social-Emotional

Tell Me More Directions

Word Web Directions

Be Internet Awesome bingo card (5 x 5)

Be Internet Awesome bingo card (3 x 3)

Parent introduction email/letter template

Frequently asked questions

Do students need Google Accounts for Be Internet Awesome?

What devices are compatible with Interland?

What are all the URLs?

Do I need special training or to be a special kind of teacher to teach this curriculum?

What grade level is Be Internet Awesome best suited for?

How do kids learn from the game?

Can each lesson be used in Google Classroom?

Do I need to be a digital citizenship expert to use this program?

Can my students save their work on Interland?

Where can I find the other educator resources?

Lesson overview Lesson 1 When not to share Grades 2−6

These activities use concrete examples and thought‑provoking discussions to teach

Share with Care 13

When not to share

Letʼs talk Why does privacy matter?

Continued on the next page →

Share with Care 15

Activity 1. Make up a secret

2. Tell your partner

3. Tell the class

Letʼs talk Privacy scenarios: What should you do?

Continued on the next page →

Share with Care 17

Scenario 1 • Was it good that Kid A changed their password?

Continued on the next page →

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That’s not what I meant!

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Activity 1. Describe yourself with emojis

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Goals for students ✓ Visualize themselves as media creators.

Activity Run through each activity as a class, then discuss:

2. Keep it in or leave it out?

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3. Too Much Information (TMI)?

What’s in the frame?

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Who is this person anyway?

Letʼs talk How we know what we (think we) know?

3. Read the description

4. Reveal the truth

Scenario 1 • Was it good that Kid A changed their password?

Goals for students ✓ Visualize themselves as media creators.

• Is it a chain message or social post?

• Does it have fine print?

• If there’s a photo of the message sender, is it a little suspicious?

• Does their page have info about them?

• Ignore. Probably a good choice.

• What you know about a person

• What a person knows about you

• Tone of voice and facial expression