Sharing Information SafelyActivities & Teaching Strategies
Active learning works for this topic because young children grasp abstract ideas like privacy best through concrete sorting, role-play, and rule-making. Interactive tasks help them anchor the distinction between safe and private information in memorable, hands-on experiences rather than abstract rules alone.
Learning Objectives
- 1Classify given pieces of information as either safe to share online or private.
- 2Justify why sharing specific personal details, such as a full name or home address, is unsafe.
- 3Construct a personal rule for deciding what information is appropriate to share with online acquaintances.
- 4Compare and contrast safe online sharing practices with unsafe ones, providing reasons for the differences.
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Sorting Activity: Safe or Private Cards
Prepare cards with examples like 'my full name,' 'favourite game,' 'home address,' and 'pet's name.' In small groups, pupils sort cards into 'safe to share' and 'keep private' piles, then discuss and justify choices with the group. Conclude with a class share-out of one rule per group.
Prepare & details
Differentiate between information that is safe to share and information that is private.
Facilitation Tip: During the Sorting Activity, circulate and listen for pupils who use the word ‘private’ to explain why a phone number card belongs in the private pile.
Setup: Groups at tables with case materials
Materials: Case study packet (3-5 pages), Analysis framework worksheet, Presentation template
Role-Play: Online Chat Scenarios
Provide scripted scenarios on cards, such as a new online friend asking for your address. Pairs act out responses, practising saying 'That's private' or changing the subject. Debrief as a class on effective strategies.
Prepare & details
Justify why we should not share our full name or address online.
Facilitation Tip: In the Role-Play, pause after each scenario to ask observers what advice they would give the character.
Setup: Groups at tables with case materials
Materials: Case study packet (3-5 pages), Analysis framework worksheet, Presentation template
Rule-Making Circle: My Online Rules
In a whole class circle, pupils suggest one rule each for sharing information online, such as 'Never tell my address.' Teacher charts them, and pupils vote on top three to display as a class poster.
Prepare & details
Construct a rule for deciding what information to share with online friends.
Facilitation Tip: In the Rule-Making Circle, record every suggestion on a large sheet and reread them aloud before voting on the top three rules.
Setup: Groups at tables with case materials
Materials: Case study packet (3-5 pages), Analysis framework worksheet, Presentation template
Digital Detective: Spot the Risk
Show printed screenshots of safe and risky chats. Individually, pupils circle private information requests and write a safe reply. Pairs then compare and refine responses.
Prepare & details
Differentiate between information that is safe to share and information that is private.
Setup: Groups at tables with case materials
Materials: Case study packet (3-5 pages), Analysis framework worksheet, Presentation template
Teaching This Topic
Teach this topic with a balance of clear limits and open discussion. Avoid vague warnings like ‘be careful online’; instead, anchor every lesson in the concrete task of sorting or role-playing. Research shows that when children practice refusal scripts in safe contexts, they transfer those skills more reliably to real online spaces. Keep language simple, use repetition, and reinforce the idea that privacy is a form of protection, not a punishment.
What to Expect
By the end of these activities, pupils will confidently label information as safe or private, justify their choices with simple reasons, and create personal rules for online interactions. Their explanations will use key terms like ‘private’ and ‘safe to share’ during discussions and role-plays.
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 Sorting Activity: Watch for pupils who place a full name in the safe pile because it is true.
What to Teach Instead
Hand the pupil a card with their own full name and ask, ‘If this card floated across the playground, would any stranger know who you are?’ Let them move it to the private pile after the conversation.
Common MisconceptionDuring Role-Play: Watch for pupils who give their character’s school name to a pretend stranger.
What to Teach Instead
Pause the role-play and ask the class, ‘What could the stranger do with the school’s name?’ Guide the class to revise the script to say, ‘I don’t tell that online.’
Common MisconceptionDuring Rule-Making Circle: Watch for pupils who think online friends deserve the same information as real friends.
What to Teach Instead
Have the pupil help draw a line between ‘online friend’ and ‘real friend’ on the chart, then ask, ‘What rule protects both kinds of friends?’ Guide the group to add a rule like, ‘I never share my address, even with online friends.’
Assessment Ideas
After Sorting Activity, hand out a worksheet with mixed safe and private examples. Ask pupils to circle safe information and put an X on private information, then write one sentence explaining their choice for one card.
During Role-Play, after each scenario, ask, ‘Who can explain why we keep that information private?’ Note which pupils use the terms ‘private’ and ‘safe to share’ in their answers.
After Rule-Making Circle, hold up information cards one at a time and ask for thumbs up or down. Invite three pupils to say their rule aloud when they explain their choice, showing transfer of the class rules to new examples.
Extensions & Scaffolding
- Challenge: Early finishers write a short comic strip showing a character keeping private information safe in an online game.
- Scaffolding: Provide picture cards with labels for pupils who need word support during the Sorting Activity.
- Deeper exploration: Invite a local police community support officer to discuss how sharing private information can affect safety, using pupil-created rules as a starting point.
Key Vocabulary
| Personal Information | Details about you or your family that identify you, like your full name, address, or phone number. This information should be kept private. |
| Private Information | Information that should not be shared with people you do not know well, especially online, because it could put you at risk. |
| Safe to Share | Information that is generally okay to tell others, even people you meet online, because it does not identify you specifically or put you in danger. Examples include favorite colors or hobbies. |
| Online Acquaintance | Someone you interact with online, perhaps through games or educational platforms, but do not know personally in real life. |
Suggested Methodologies
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