Sharing Information SafelyActivities & Teaching Strategies
Active learning works well for this topic because young students learn best by doing, especially when the topic involves social rules and consequences. Role-plays and games let students practice sharing decisions in real time, making abstract ideas like privacy and consent concrete and memorable.
Learning Objectives
- 1Compare the implications of sharing a digital photo privately with a friend versus sharing it publicly online.
- 2Design a clear, simple rule for sharing a digital game with a classmate that respects ownership and access.
- 3Justify why obtaining permission is necessary before sharing digital content created by another person.
- 4Identify potential risks associated with sharing personal information online with an audience larger than intended.
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Role-Play: Sharing Scenarios
Prepare cards with scenarios like sharing a pet photo or game score. In pairs, students read a card, decide if it is private or public sharing, and act it out. Follow with a class discussion on outcomes and better choices.
Prepare & details
Compare sharing a photo with a friend versus sharing it with everyone online.
Facilitation Tip: During Role-Play: Sharing Scenarios, assign roles so each student experiences both private and public sharing perspectives, building empathy and understanding.
Setup: Open space or rearranged desks for scenario staging
Materials: Character cards with backstory and goals, Scenario briefing sheet
Sorting: Private vs Public
Provide picture cards of sharing examples, such as texting a friend or posting online. Students in small groups sort cards into 'safe with friend' or 'risky for everyone' piles, then justify each sort to the group.
Prepare & details
Design a rule for sharing your favorite game with a classmate.
Facilitation Tip: During Sorting: Private vs Public, provide mixed examples of sharing situations so students must justify their choices, reinforcing the difference between the two types.
Setup: Open space or rearranged desks for scenario staging
Materials: Character cards with backstory and goals, Scenario briefing sheet
Rule Posters: Design Our Rules
In small groups, brainstorm three sharing rules like 'ask first.' Students draw and label posters, present to class, and vote on shared class rules to display.
Prepare & details
Justify why it's important to ask permission before sharing someone else's work.
Facilitation Tip: During Rule Posters: Design Our Rules, circulate while students work in small groups to listen for accurate use of terms like consent and privacy, gently guiding misconceptions as they arise.
Setup: Open space or rearranged desks for scenario staging
Materials: Character cards with backstory and goals, Scenario briefing sheet
Permission Practice Game
Use toy devices or drawings passed around the circle. Each student asks permission to 'share' the item, receiver responds and explains why. Whole class reflects on patterns in responses.
Prepare & details
Compare sharing a photo with a friend versus sharing it with everyone online.
Facilitation Tip: During Permission Practice Game, use a timer to add urgency and make the repetitive practice of asking and responding feel authentic and engaging.
Setup: Open space or rearranged desks for scenario staging
Materials: Character cards with backstory and goals, Scenario briefing sheet
Teaching This Topic
Teach this topic through repeated, low-stakes practice rather than lectures. Research shows young children grasp digital safety through guided role-plays and visual sorting activities that connect emotions to actions. Avoid abstract explanations of online dangers; instead, focus on immediate social consequences like hurt feelings or broken trust. Keep language simple and actions clear to match their developmental stage.
What to Expect
Successful learning looks like students applying safe-sharing rules in discussions and activities, explaining why permission matters, and distinguishing between private and public sharing in their choices. By the end, they should confidently state and follow clear rules for digital sharing.
These activities are a starting point. A full mission is the experience.
- Complete facilitation script with teacher dialogue
- Printable student materials, ready for class
- Differentiation strategies for every learner
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
Common MisconceptionDuring Role-Play: Sharing Scenarios, watch for students who act out online sharing as if it were private, such as whispering a secret message to an audience.
What to Teach Instead
Pause the role-play and ask the audience to raise their hands if they heard the message. Use this moment to highlight that online posts can reach many more people than a class play, and adjust future scenarios to include a larger, silent audience.
Common MisconceptionDuring Sorting: Private vs Public, watch for students who categorize sharing based on how happy the sharer feels rather than who can see the content.
What to Teach Instead
Have students swap their sorted cards with a partner and explain their choices aloud. If a partner disagrees, prompt the student to restate the rule using terms like 'only one person can see' or 'anyone can see' until the distinction becomes clear.
Common MisconceptionDuring Permission Practice Game, watch for students who ask for permission but do not specify what will be shared or with whom.
What to Teach Instead
Model the correct phrasing during a round of the game, such as 'May I share your drawing with the class blog?' Then, have the sharer repeat the question exactly before answering. Repeat this structure for each round to reinforce clarity.
Assessment Ideas
After Role-Play: Sharing Scenarios, give students two scenarios on separate slips of paper: 1) 'You want to show your friend a funny picture you drew.' 2) 'You want to show your funny picture to everyone in your class online.' Ask students to write one sentence for each scenario explaining how they would share it and why.
After Rule Posters: Design Our Rules are displayed, present a scenario: 'Your friend made a cool drawing in art class and wants you to share it on the class blog. What should you do first, and why is that important?' Facilitate a class discussion, guiding students to reference the posters and articulate the need for permission and respecting others' work.
During Sorting: Private vs Public, show students three images: a private message icon, a public social media icon, and a 'no sharing' icon. Ask students to point to the correct icon when you describe a sharing situation, such as 'Sharing a secret joke with your best friend' or 'Posting your holiday photos for anyone to see'.
Extensions & Scaffolding
- Challenge: Ask students to create a fourth rule poster category called 'When to Say No,' with examples of situations where sharing should be refused.
- Scaffolding: Provide sentence starters for the Permission Practice Game, such as 'May I share your drawing?' and 'Yes, you can share it, but only with...'.
- Deeper exploration: Invite the school librarian or tech coordinator to share how libraries and schools protect privacy, connecting classroom rules to real-world systems.
Key Vocabulary
| Digital Content | Information, images, videos, or sounds that are stored and shared using computers or other electronic devices. |
| Private Sharing | Sharing digital content with only one or a few specific people, like sending a photo directly to a friend's message. |
| Public Sharing | Sharing digital content with a large, unknown audience, such as posting a photo on a public social media page. |
| Permission | Giving someone approval or consent to do something, like sharing their drawing or game. |
| Digital Footprint | The trail of data you leave behind when you use the internet, including websites visited, emails sent, and information shared. |
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