English · Foundation

Active learning ideas

Understanding Online Safety Basics

Active learning helps Foundation students grasp online safety because it transforms abstract warnings into tangible, repeatable actions. Moving from passive listening to role-playing and rule-making lets children practice safety habits in low-stakes settings, building confidence and muscle memory for real situations.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9EFLA11

• 20–40 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Role Play
• 30 min · Pairs

Role-Play: Safe Online Chats

Pairs act out short online chats: one student asks for personal info, the other practices safe responses like 'No, that's private.' Switch roles after two minutes. Gather as a class to share effective phrases and why they work.

Explain why it's important not to share your address online.

Facilitation Tip

During Role-Play: Safe Online Chats, circulate with a visible checklist of safe responses so students can self-correct mid-scene.

What to look for

Show students pictures of different types of information (e.g., a house, a toy, a school building, a person's face). Ask them to point to the pictures that show personal information they should not share online. Discuss their choices.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 02

• Role Play
• 40 min · Small Groups

Poster Creation: My Safety Rules

In small groups, students draw three online safety rules with simple labels, such as no sharing addresses. Groups add pictures showing safe and unsafe choices. Present posters to the class for a shared rule wall.

Predict the consequences of sharing personal information with strangers online.

Facilitation Tip

While students design Poster Creation: My Safety Rules, ask guiding questions like ‘What picture shows a secret that should stay safe?’ to prompt deeper thinking.

What to look for

Pose a scenario: 'Imagine you are playing a game online and someone asks for your home address so they can send you a prize. What should you do?' Listen for students to explain the importance of not sharing and suggest asking a trusted adult.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 03

• Role Play
• 25 min · Whole Class

Consequence Game: What Happens Next?

Whole class sits in a circle. Teacher starts a story with 'I shared my address online,' and students add predicted consequences one by one, like 'A stranger knocks on my door.' Discuss stopping points with safe choices.

Construct a rule for safe online behaviour.

Facilitation Tip

In the Consequence Game: What Happens Next?, pause after each card to ask, ‘Who can tell us another outcome?’ to reinforce cause and effect.

What to look for

Give each student a piece of paper. Ask them to draw one thing they learned about staying safe online or write one simple safety rule in their own words, like 'Don't tell strangers my name.'

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 04

• Role Play
• 20 min · Individual

Rule Match: Safe or Not?

Individuals sort printed cards with scenarios into 'safe' or 'not safe' piles, such as sharing a photo versus saying 'I like dogs.' Pairs compare sorts and explain choices before whole-class vote.

Explain why it's important not to share your address online.

Facilitation Tip

For Rule Match: Safe or Not?, give pairs two colored cards so they can physically sort rules into ‘safe’ and ‘not’ piles as a tactile check.

What to look for

Show students pictures of different types of information (e.g., a house, a toy, a school building, a person's face). Ask them to point to the pictures that show personal information they should not share online. Discuss their choices.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teach online safety through repeated, scaffolded practice rather than lectures. Research shows young children learn best when rules are simple, practiced in context, and linked to familiar settings like school or home. Avoid abstract explanations; instead, connect online actions to real-life consequences students understand. Use visuals and storytelling to make privacy concrete, and always close with clear, child-friendly rules they can repeat and teach back.

Successful learning shows when students can explain why privacy matters, predict consequences of sharing information, and apply simple safety rules in role-play and poster activities. Look for clear language choices and consistent rule reminders during discussions and pair work.

---

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Role-Play: Safe Online Chats, watch for students who treat online strangers as real friends. Pause the scene to ask, ‘Would you do this with someone you just met at the park?’ to redirect their understanding.

  Use the role-play cards to introduce a ‘friend test’: after each scene, ask students to hold up a red card if the stranger acted trustworthy and a green card if they seemed risky, reinforcing the idea that not all online kindness is real.

• During Poster Creation: My Safety Rules, watch for students who believe sharing a photo or address once is harmless. Listen for phrases like ‘it will go away.’

  Have students draw a simple image of their shared photo, then physically pass it around the room while you narrate how it can travel to many people. Ask, ‘Does this photo stay just with one person?’ to correct the misconception visually.

• During Consequence Game: What Happens Next?, watch for students who agree to share details if someone asks nicely. Listen for ‘but they were polite.’

  After the card is read, ask students to vote with their feet: move to one side of the room if sharing is okay when asked nicely, the other side if not. Use the tally to spark a quick group discussion about rules versus manners.

---

Methods used in this brief

• Role Play