Computing · Year 3

Active learning ideas

Staying Safe Online: Personal Information

Active learning works well for Year 3 students because abstract online safety concepts become concrete through sorting, discussion, and role-play. Handling cards, designing posters, and acting out scenarios let pupils practice privacy skills in a safe, structured way they enjoy.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• KS2: Computing - Online Safety and Responsibility
• KS2: Computing - Digital Literacy

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

Activity 01

• Role Play
• 30 min · Small Groups

Sorting Game: Safe or Unsafe Cards

Prepare cards listing information types such as 'my full name' or 'favourite game'. In small groups, pupils sort cards into safe and unsafe piles, then justify choices to the group. Follow with a whole-class share-out to agree on lists.

Justify why it is important to keep personal information private online.

Facilitation Tip

During the Sorting Game, circulate and listen for precise language about why some cards are unsafe, not just ‘because it’s private.’

What to look for

Present students with a list of online scenarios. Ask them to hold up a green card if the scenario involves sharing safe information and a red card if it involves sharing unsafe personal information. Follow up by asking a few students to explain their choices.

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

Activity 02

• Role Play
• 25 min · Pairs

Role-Play: Chat Scenarios

Provide scripted online chat prompts where one pupil plays a 'friend' asking questions. Pairs decide responses, sharing only safe info, then switch roles. Debrief on risks spotted.

Predict the potential risks of sharing too much personal information.

Facilitation Tip

In Role-Play, step in only to pause the action and ask the group to rephrase what happened, focusing on how information spread.

What to look for

Provide each student with two slips of paper. On one, they should write one piece of personal information that is unsafe to share online. On the other, they should write one piece of information that is safe to share. Ask them to explain why the unsafe information is risky.

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

Activity 03

• Role Play
• 40 min · Small Groups

Poster Design: My Safety Rules

Small groups brainstorm and illustrate five rules for sharing online, using drawings and key phrases. Display posters around the room for reference. Vote on the class top rule.

Construct a list of information that is safe and unsafe to share with strangers online.

Facilitation Tip

For the Poster Design, provide sentence starters on the board such as ‘Share only…’ and ‘Never share…’ to support less confident writers.

What to look for

Ask students: 'Imagine you meet someone new online who seems friendly and asks for your school name. Why might sharing this information be a problem, and what could you say instead?' Encourage them to think about potential risks and safe responses.

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

Activity 04

• Role Play
• 20 min · Whole Class

Risk Brainstorm: What If?

As a whole class, project a scenario like sharing a home photo. Pupils predict three risks in pairs first, then share. Record on a shared chart.

Justify why it is important to keep personal information private online.

What to look for

Present students with a list of online scenarios. Ask them to hold up a green card if the scenario involves sharing safe information and a red card if it involves sharing unsafe personal information. Follow up by asking a few students to explain their choices.

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

A few notes on teaching this unit

Experienced teachers use scenarios pupils recognize—game chats, school websites, photo sharing—to make abstract risks feel real. Avoid long lectures; instead, let students discover risks through structured tasks and peer feedback. Research shows that when children explain privacy to others, their own understanding deepens.

Successful learning looks like students justifying why certain information is unsafe and suggesting safer alternatives. They should explain risks in their own words and design clear safety messages for others.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Sorting Game: Watch for students labeling small details like first names as always safe.

  Use the Sorting Game cards to ask, ‘Could someone find your school if they knew your first name and where you live? How?’ Have pupils physically move unsafe cards into a ‘risk pile’ and explain why.

• During Role-Play: Watch for students assuming online friends are always children.

  During the debrief of the Role-Play, ask pupils to change one line in their scenario to show an adult pretending to be a child, then discuss how this changes the risk level.

• During Poster Design: Watch for students believing private chats are truly private.

  Use the Poster Design activity to prompt, ‘Where could someone else see this message besides the person you sent it to?’ Have pupils add a ‘Who else can see?’ section to their posters.

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Methods used in this brief

• Role Play