Good morning, everyone! Today, we’re going to learn how to be a super digital citizen. This means being kind and responsible when we’re online. Let’s find out how we can stop cyberbullying and help others!
A super digital citizen is someone who uses the internet safely and helps others do the same. They are like superheroes, but instead of flying or having super strength, they use their kindness and smarts to make the internet a better place.
Do you have a favorite superhero? Maybe it’s someone like Black Panther who helps others and stands up for what’s right. Just like superheroes, we can help others online!
We watched a video showing superheroes helping others. You don’t need special powers to be a hero. You can be a hero by being a good friend and helping others online.
Did you see how the superhero helped? Maybe they stopped someone from sharing a photo without asking. It’s important to talk to our friends before sharing things online.
Let’s learn some new words. A cyberbully is someone who is mean online. Cyberbullying is when someone uses the internet to be unkind. We can stop this by being super digital citizens!
Now, let’s do an activity. I’ll give you a paper with different situations. Work with a friend to decide what a super digital citizen would do.
Here’s a scenario: “Oh no! Someone spreads rumors online. What would Super Digital Citizen do?”
Sharon says, “We can share the truth.”
Another scenario: “While playing a game, one player is being mean. What would a super digital citizen do?”
Carly says, “Say that’s not right, and you shouldn’t do that.”
Now, it’s time to create a comic strip! Draw a superhero who stops cyberbullying. Maybe your superhero helps someone feel better after someone was mean online.
At the end of the lesson, we share our comics. It’s fun to see everyone’s ideas and how they would help others online.
One student shared, “My superhero tells someone it doesn’t matter if they have short hair.”
Another student said, “My favorite part was making the comics and choosing a superhero to help others not be bullied.”
I’m so proud of all of you for learning how to be super digital citizens. Keep being kind and helpful online!
Superhero Role-Play: Pair up with a friend and act out a scene where one of you is a super digital citizen. Choose a situation like someone being mean online or sharing something without permission. Discuss and act out how a super digital citizen would handle the situation. Afterward, talk about how it felt to be the superhero and how you can use these actions in real life.
Digital Kindness Jar: Create a “Digital Kindness Jar” at home or in the classroom. Every time you do something kind online, like leaving a nice comment or helping a friend, write it on a piece of paper and put it in the jar. At the end of the week, read all the kind actions together and celebrate being super digital citizens!
Observation Challenge: For one week, pay attention to how people act online. With the help of a parent or teacher, look at comments on a kid-friendly video or game. Discuss what you see: Are people being kind? If you notice any unkind behavior, talk about what a super digital citizen could do to help. Share your observations with the class.
**Sanitized Transcript:**
[Music] Good morning, class! Today we’re going to talk about being a super digital citizen. We’re doing the Common Sense Education lesson. Walnut Hill Elementary School is a unique school with more than 15 different languages spoken at home. We are a Title I school in urban Nebraska, and we’re going to discuss how we can be upstanders when we see cyberbullying.
Today, I taught the lesson called “Be a Super Digital Citizen.” It helps students learn ways to prevent cyberbullying and how to be respectful and responsible online. Our learning goals are:
1. Reflect on the characteristics that make someone an upstanding digital citizen.
2. Recognize activities of cyberbullying.
3. Show ways to be an upstander by creating a digital citizenship superhero comic strip.
One of the questions I like to ask the students is about their favorite superheroes, which helps them think about what we’re going to do in the lesson.
Do you have a favorite superhero?
Leslie: Black Panther.
Teacher: Why is he your favorite?
Leslie: Because I like how he fights and wants to save his people.
We then watch a video with more examples. The video shows how people who are superheroes can help, and you don’t have to have special powers to be a superhero. We can practice being superheroes by helping others.
After watching the video, I prompt the students about what they noticed in the characters and whether they were being good digital citizens.
Did you see what the superhero was doing to help?
Darian: The superhero warned someone not to do something they weren’t supposed to.
Teacher: What were some of the things the superhero was warning about?
Darian: When he was about to share a photo.
Teacher: That’s a good point! It’s important to talk to our friends before sharing things online.
It’s engaging for them to talk about superheroes because it’s a popular topic, and they have strong opinions about it.
Was there anything special about the superheroes’ powers, like flying?
No? Well, you can still be a super digital citizen by helping a friend who might not be safe or responsible online.
Next, we review some vocabulary, like what a cyberbully is and how to be a good digital citizen. I’m going to give you a piece of paper with some scenarios on it.
A cyberbully is someone who participates in cyberbullying. We know bullying is when someone is mean, and cyberbullying is when someone is mean online.
We are going to do an activity. I’ll pass out this paper and a couple of pencils for you to complete. It says to work with your partner to review the scenarios and write what a super digital citizen would do to be an upstander.
The first scenario says: “Oh no! Someone spreads rumors about somebody else online. What would Super Digital Citizen do?”
Thank you! Before you do something, how do we stand up for our friends?
Sharon: We can share the truth.
Let’s move to the second scenario quickly. While playing a game, one player is writing mean things to another player. What would a super digital citizen do?
Carly: Say that’s not right, and you shouldn’t do that.
The students create a comic strip with a superhero of their creation that exemplifies these characteristics. This superhero will fight cyberbullying by being an upstander and a super digital citizen.
Just like in the scenarios we discussed, you can pick one of those to base your comic on if you want. I’ll show you what I’m looking for.
Maybe someone is not very happy because someone was rude, and then in the next box, the super digital citizen with their fancy cape flies in and gives advice.
When the students create their comic strips, I ask them to think about scenarios where a super digital citizen might be helpful. They then create the superhero to tackle this problem.
I ask the students: What would your superhero do to help? You could draw about a game like Fortnite and show what happens if a superhero helps with that.
At the end of the lesson, I like to save time for students to share what they created. It creates pride and ownership of their work, and they make better things to share.
Let’s talk about your examples. Who would like to share what happened in their story?
Student: This person’s hair is long, and this person’s hair is short. The person with long hair is making fun of the other.
Teacher: So they were being mean? What will the super digital citizen do?
Student: Say it doesn’t matter if you have short hair.
We can help our friends feel better by telling them nice things.
Student: My favorite part was making the comics and choosing a superhero to help others not be bullied.
Student: My favorite part was the worksheet where we had to choose how to help when we see bullying.
I think that the job of being an elementary school teacher can be stressful, but in the library media curriculum, we have the freedom to explore topics in depth, and students’ curiosity can be fully explored.
I’m really proud of you. Good job!
[Music]
