Additional Resources

Digital Citizenship

Learn about the principles of digital citizenship and understand the importance of being a responsible netizen.

Digital Citizenship Lesson Plan Common Sense Education offers a full digital citizenship curriculum, including all materials and lesson plans.

General Lesson Plan

Section	What to Do	Materials
Do Now (5 min)	Follow the Common Sense Education lesson plan for the day!	Paper do now
Opening (3 min)	Follow the Common Sense Education lesson plan for the day!	Common Sense Education lesson plan and any listed resources
Direct Teach (7 min)	Follow the Common Sense Education lesson plan for the day!	Common Sense Education lesson plan and any listed resources
Guided Practice (10 min)	Follow the Common Sense Education lesson plan for the day!	Common Sense Education lesson plan and any listed resources
Independent Practice (15 min)	Follow the Common Sense Education lesson plan for the day!Common Sense Education lesson plan and any listed resources
Closing / Exit ticket (5 min)	Follow the Common Sense Education lesson plan for the day!	Common Sense Education lesson plan and any listed resources

Resource & Description	Theme	Minutes
My Digital Life is Like...: We often use our phones or other devices without even thinking about it. But paying closer attention to how -- and how much -- we use digital media can help us find better balance in our lives. Challenge students to truly consider how digital media adds to -- or takes away from -- their overall quality of life.	Media Balance and Wellbeing	45
Social Media and How You Feel: Social media plays a big role in most teens' lives, and research shows that it causes intense feelings -- both positive and negative. But not all media use is the same. There are many benefits that come with both active and passive media use. For better social and emotional well-being, encourage students to become creators of digital media, not just consumers.	Media Balance and Wellbeing	50
Can Media Be Addictive?: The word "addiction" packs a heavy punch, and the research is inconclusive on whether it's truly accurate when it comes to digital device use. What's certain, however, is that as people use devices and apps more, profits increase for the companies who make them. Help your students recognize how most of the technology they use is designed to keep them hooked, and help them use this as an opportunity to find more balance in their digital lives.	Media Balance and Wellbeing	60
The Health of Screentime: The research is still out when it comes to exactly how screen time affects our health. But one area where we know it does is our sleep. Just having a device near us seems to change the way our brains work. Help students learn that being responsible with digital media means adjusting how we use it so it isn't unhealthy for our bodies or our brains.	Media Balance and Wellbeing	45
Protecting Online Reputations: Tagging friends on social media is a great way to connect with others and capture memorable experiences. But what if they don't want to be tagged? Encourage your students to take responsibility for how they may affect the digital footprints of others.	Digital Footprint and Identity	50
Curated Lives: Social media gives us a chance to choose how we present ourselves to the world. We can snap and share a pic in the moment or carefully stage photos and select only the ones we think are best. When students reflect on these choices, they can better understand the self they are presenting and the self they aim to be.	Digital Footprint and Identity	50
Whos is Looking at Your digital Footprint:Our digital footprints can have a powerful impact on our future. This can be a scary thought, given that what's in our digital footprint isn't always in our control. Teach students that digital footprints are an opportunity to showcase their best selves and craft a footprint that leads to future success.	Digital Footprint and Identity	50
The Change You Want to See: Research shows that happiness in life is less about what you do and more about why you do it. When your actions have purpose, they lead to positive results -- both for you and the world. Help students use the power of the internet to turn their personal passions into positive impact.	Digital Footprint and Identity	50
Chatting and Red Flags: Having conversations online, without nonverbal cues or being able to see people, can be awkward and sometimes even risky -- with drawbacks from simple misunderstandings to manipulation or inappropriate messages. Help students navigate and avoid these situations before they go too far.	Relationships and Communication	45
Rewarding Relationships: "It's complicated" can describe many of our relationships with others, both romantic and otherwise. Add digital devices and social media to the mix, and things get complicated even further. Help students take the first step toward building healthy and rewarding friendships and romantic relationships, both online and off.	Relationships and Communication	45
Connecting with Digital Audiences: What you say, and how you say it, often depends on whom you're talking to, both in-person and online. The person or people you're chatting with -- and the apps or websites you're using -- affect how we communicate. Remind your students to consider their audience before they post or comment online, and help them build community and communicate effectively in the digital world.	Relationships and Communication	50
We are Civil Communicators: When we talk about our personal beliefs and politics, passions can run high -- especially when we're online. These intense moments can often lead to tit-for-tat insults, or worse. But, if addressed calmly and coolly, they can be an opportunity to find common ground and deeper understanding. Teach students to keep disagreements civil so their ideas will be heard and so they can advocate for positive change.	Relationships and Communication	55
What You Send in “That Moment When…: We've all faced thorny situations where what we say or do could potentially harm or hurt someone. Being honest is important, but is there such a thing as being too honest? Sometimes, innocent -- but insensitive -- comments can easily escalate to digital drama or even cyberbullying. Help students recognize and navigate these types of situations that happen online.	Cyberbullying, Digital Drama, & Hate Speech	50
Countering Hate Speech Online: As humans, we thrive on social connections and group associations. But this tendency can also lead us to be suspicious of people outside our group. This fear -- xenophobia -- can be overcome by more exposure to people who are different from us. However, the internet can often make this more difficult. Help students recognize this challenge and find strategies for navigating content online.	Cyberbullying, Digital Drama, & Hate Speech	50
Online Disinhibition and Cyberbullying: Texting and chatting online can sometimes feel just like talking to someone in person, but it's actually pretty different. It's all because of something called the "online disinhibition effect," which makes us more likely to share or communicate differently from how we would in person. Help your students learn to consider this concept before they post, and stop digital drama and cyberbullying before they start.	Cyberbullying, Digital Drama, & Hate Speech	45
Should Online Hate Speech Be Censored?: Hate speech can be both distasteful and offensive, but in many countries, it isn't illegal -- it's protected as free speech. But should it be? Many people worry that tolerance of hate speech, especially online, has led to acts of actual violence and hate crimes. But if hate speech is banned, who gets to decide what qualifies or doesn't qualify? Pose these questions for students, and help them think through the importance of both respect for others and free speech.	Cyberbullying, Digital Drama, & Hate Speech	55
Hoaxes and Fakes: We know not to believe everything we hear, but what about what we see? Advancements in computer-generated graphics, facial recognition, and video production have led to a world of viral videos that are often difficult to identify as fake. Help your students learn to read what they see on the web "laterally" by showing them how to get off the page, check credibility, and find corroboration.	News and Media Literacy	50
Challenging Confirmation Bias: Our brains are great at using past experiences to make quick decisions on the fly, but these shortcuts can also lead to bias. "Confirmation bias" is our brain's tendency to seek out information that confirms things we already think we know. Help your students learn to recognize this when they encounter news online, as a way to examine competing opinions and ideas and to avoid drawing questionable conclusions.	News and Media Literacy	45
Clicks for Cash: Well-crafted headlines benefit everyone. They help readers digest information and publishers sell news stories. But what if the headline is misleading? What if it's crafted just to get clicks and not to inform? "Clickbait" headlines may benefit advertisers and publishers, but they don't benefit readers. And when they go viral, they can badly misinform the public. Help students recognize and analyze clickbait when they see it.	News and Media Literacy	55
Filter Bubble Trouble: When we get news from our social media feeds, it often only tells us part of the story. Our friends -- and the website's algorithms -- tend to feed us perspectives we already agree with. Show students ways to escape the filter bubble and make sure their ideas about the world are being challenged.	News and Media Literacy	50
Big Data Dilemna: Many of us are aware that we're being tracked when we go online. It's one of the ways our favorite websites and apps know how to recommend content just for us. But how much information are companies actually collecting? And what are they doing with it? Digging into the details can help us make smart decisions about our online privacy and how to protect it.	Privacy and Security	50
Risk Check for New Tech: New tech, like location services and smart devices, helps make our lives easier and opens opportunities that didn't exist before. But these innovations also come with a cost -- especially to our privacy. Help students consider the benefits and drawbacks of these new technologies -- and decide whether they're ultimately worth it.	Privacy and Security	50
How Young is Too Young for Social Media: Kids have to be at least 13 to sign up for most social media platforms. But we know that many tweens work around the restriction. In doing so they can connect with peers and have fun, but they're also vulnerable to a number of risks -- mainly overuse and challenges to their social-emotional health. Reflecting on age-appropriate content and behaviors can help students think through social media's effects on all of us, regardless of our age.	Privacy and Security	50
Debating the Privacy Line: Often, the more information we have, the better decisions we're able to make. The power of data can benefit both individuals and governments. But who can be trusted with the responsibility of having all this data? Can governments collect and use it fairly and without violating our privacy? Help students think through this question and become thoughtful influencers of data policy and practice.	Privacy and Security	55

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Non-Internet Activities

Resource and Description
Tech & Society Writing Prompts: Tech & Society writing prompts, specifically for students who cannot do much coding practice at home and/or have limited access.
Nine Themes of Digital Citizenship: Overview of 9 themes of Digital Citizenship.
Icebreakers and Teambuilder Bank: A list of icebreakers for any setting.

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Games

Resource and Description
Typing: In this lesson, the students are given type based games that will improve typing skills and speed.
Code Combat: CodeCombat is a platform for students to learn computer science while playing through a real game.
Lightbot: Program Lightbot to light up all of the blue squares!
Flexbox Defense: Write CSS code to move defense towers into place to attack against enemies!
Grasshopper: Grasshopper is the coding app for beginners. With fun, quick lessons on your phone, the app teaches adult learners to write real JavaScript.
Erase All Kittens:E.A.K. is an online game that provides kids aged 8-14 with knowledge of both computational thinking and professional coding languages, to prepare them for 21st Century degrees and careers.

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Tech in the News

Tech in the News Lesson Plan It's important for students to be aware of what's happening in the tech industry and how it affects them. We suggest several topics, but you are welcome to add additional subjects or choose articles that are more recent. You can print articles and do this activity without computers, or have students read the articles online (check for news sites without paywalls) and answer questions on Google Classroom.

Privacy (or not) Lesson

Section	What to Do	Materials
Do Now (5 min)	Give students headlines related to topic. Paper based reflection: What do you already know about this topic? How do you feel about this? How does this affect you? Ex. "Do you think your phone is listening to you? Do you think other people could guess your passwords? Have you ever gotten spam emails or phone calls?"	Paper do now
Opening (3 min)	Set expectations for Tech in the News work time: 1 Choose one article and read the whole thing 2 Computers open, working the whole time 3 Eyes on your own screen (unless you are asking for/giving help)If you finish early, research articles with the same topic Ex. "Today we'll be focused on internet privacy. Choose one of the articles that you just read the headline of and answer the questions. Be ready to discuss!"	Poster paper with Tech in the News work time expectations
Independent Practice(20 min)	Answer the following questions: (alter questions based on topic) 1 What is the article about? 2 What did you choose this article? Why does it interest you? 3 Describe the technology discussed in this article. 4Could this technology be helpful in other ways? 5 What does this make you want to learn more about?	Computers OR Paper
Group Discussion (12 min)	Options: 1 Have students pair up with students who read the same article and discuss.2 Have students pair up with students who read a different article and discuss 3 If all students read the same article, discuss as a whole class	Computers OR Paper
Closing / Exit ticket (5 min)	Turn and talk: What did you learned today? How will this change how you feel about/interact with tech?	NA

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