Lessons by Grade Level

Grades 9-12

Free to educators, the CyberSmart! Student Curriculum empowers students to use the Internet safely, responsibly, and effectively.

S

Safety and Security

Lesson Title Lesson Overview Codes*
Online Identity Theft: Information Is Power Students learn about the methods criminals use to steal identities online. They develop an identity theft prevention tip list and propose ways to communicate their tips to their families.
Making Good Decisions Students take a true/false quiz about the risks to teens regarding online sexual victimization by adults. They use an analysis of the results as the basis for a classroom discussion of how they can harness the power of the Internet while avoiding risky behavior that can lead to involvement in criminal sexual activity.
Your Online Image Students explore the consequences of unintended audiences viewing their social network profiles. They consider four key characteristics of social network sites and how they might affect teens as they try out new identities. Then, students collaborate to write a letter to parents demonstrating their understanding of issues related to unintended online audiences.
Managing Passwords Students take a quiz to determine the strength of their passwords. They learn the reasons for building passwords that are hard to crack and practice creating passwords that follow recommended security rules. They devise a way to communicate what they have learned to their families.
Safeguarding Your Stuff, My Stuff, Our Stuff Students explore real stories of cyber security threats and damage and learn to think responsibly about securing their families' data at home and when using public computers. They think creatively about how to talk with their families about cyber security.
M

Manners, Cyberbullying, & Ethics

Lesson Title Lesson Overview Codes*
Acceptable Social Networking? Students explore a scenario in which an angry student creates a false online identity in order to seek revenge. They explore ways to resolve the situation and develop a list of tips to help other teens avoid cyberbullying situations.
Connected, 24/7 Students explore how bullying behaviors on social networking sites and cell phones can affect teens around the clock. They identify positive actions that bystanders can take to alleviate a particular scenario. Then they write a letter to the editor discussing the positives and negatives of social networking sites, messaging, and cell phone technologies used by teens.
A

Authentic Learning and Creativity

Lesson Title Lesson Overview Codes*
Managing Project Teams Students use a checklist to learn to manage collaborative teams and select digital tools to support collaborative authentic learning projects. Use as a stand-alone lesson or in preparation for team project assignments.
R

Research and Information Fluency

Lesson Title Lesson Overview Codes*
Evaluating Online Resources Students learn to think critically about their choices of Web sites for research by using an evaluation checklist that discusses the key characteristics of trustworthy sites. A sampling of sites on a topic of high interest to students provides the lesson context. Optional strategies for the use of Web 2.0 tools are included. Extend the lesson to examine the use of Wikipedia.
T

Twenty-First Century Challenges

Lesson Title Lesson Overview Codes*
What's Your Future?
Find lessons for high school students related to Twenty-First Century Challenges at Common Sense Media.
No computer required =
Optional Web 2.0 tool activity =
Internet connection required =
CyberSmart! is still a provider of professional development in 21st century skills for educators: www.cybersmart.org