Active Citizenship and Democratic Action · 3rd Year

Active learning ideas

Keeping Our Information Safe Online

Young students learn best by doing, especially when topics involve abstract risks like online privacy. Active role-plays and sorting games make invisible dangers visible, while pledges and discussions give children tools to articulate their understanding. These methods turn cautionary advice into memorable, child-led learning.

• NCCA Curriculum Specifications
• NCCA: Primary - Myself and the Wider World - Digital Citizenship
• NCCA: Primary - Myself and the Wider World - Personal Safety

• 20–35 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• RAFT Writing
• 30 min · Pairs

Role-Play: Online Scenarios

Prepare cards with scenarios like 'A chat friend asks for your address' or 'A game requests your photo.' In pairs, students act out the situation, decide safe responses, and share with the class. Debrief on why choices matter.

What kind of information should we keep private online?

Facilitation Tip

During the Role-Play: Online Scenarios, assign clear roles like 'trusted adult', 'stranger', or 'child unsure what to share' to keep scenarios focused and relatable.

What to look for

Provide students with a scenario: 'You receive a message from someone you don't know asking for your favorite color and your town.' Ask them to write: 1. What is the most important thing to do with this message? 2. Why is that the best action?

• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 02

• RAFT Writing
• 25 min · Small Groups

Sorting Game: Share or Not?

Print images and statements of info types (e.g., favorite color vs. home address). Students sort into 'safe to share' and 'keep private' piles in small groups, then justify choices. Display sorts for class vote.

Why is it important to ask an adult before sharing things online?

Facilitation Tip

For the Sorting Game: Share or Not?, use real examples from your class’s daily online lives to make the activity immediately relevant.

What to look for

Display a list of online activities (e.g., posting a photo of your pet, sharing your birthday, commenting on a friend's post, accepting a friend request from a stranger). Ask students to hold up a green card if it's generally safe, a yellow card if caution is needed, and a red card if it's unsafe, and briefly explain their reasoning for one choice.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 03

• RAFT Writing
• 35 min · Small Groups

Safety Pledge Posters

Students draw or write personal online safety rules, like 'Ask an adult first.' In small groups, combine into a class poster and present pledges. Hang posters as ongoing reminders.

What should we do if something online makes us feel uncomfortable?

Facilitation Tip

When creating Safety Pledge Posters, let students work in small groups to draft one rule that feels most important to them, then combine ideas into a class pledge.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'Imagine your friend is posting pictures of your class trip online without asking you first. What advice would you give them, and what steps could you take?' Facilitate a brief class discussion focusing on consent and respecting privacy.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 04

• RAFT Writing
• 20 min · Whole Class

Discussion Circles: Uncomfortable Moments

Pose key questions in a whole-class circle. Students share what makes them uncomfortable online and brainstorm actions like 'tell a trusted adult.' Record ideas on chart paper.

What kind of information should we keep private online?

Facilitation Tip

In Discussion Circles: Uncomfortable Moments, normalize mistakes by modeling how to respond if someone says something unsafe, such as 'I’m not sure, let’s ask the teacher together.'

What to look for

Provide students with a scenario: 'You receive a message from someone you don't know asking for your favorite color and your town.' Ask them to write: 1. What is the most important thing to do with this message? 2. Why is that the best action?

• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should avoid lecturing about risks and instead guide students to discover protections through guided discovery. Children need repeated practice responding to scenarios, so short, frequent activities work better than one long lesson. Research shows that peer feedback strengthens understanding, so build in time for students to explain their choices to each other.

Students will confidently identify sensitive information, explain why sharing certain details is unsafe, and demonstrate how to respond to uncomfortable online situations. Success looks like clear reasoning during discussions and thoughtful choices in sorting games and role-plays.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Role-Play: Online Scenarios, watch for students who assume someone is safe because they seem friendly.

  Use the role-play to pause and ask, 'What if this person is pretending? What clues tell us this might be risky?' Guide students to look for inconsistencies in the scenario details.

• During Sorting Game: Share or Not?, watch for students who think popular apps or games must be safe.

  After the game, ask students to share examples of data that trusted sites still collect. Have them add these examples to their 'unsafe to share' list.

• During Discussion Circles: Uncomfortable Moments, watch for students who say 'just ignore it.'

  Use the circle to practice specific phrases like 'I need to tell an adult' or 'I don’t feel comfortable.' Model these responses first, then ask students to try them in pairs.

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Methods used in this brief

• RAFT Writing