Kindergarten

DISCOVERY & AWARENESS

Kindergarteners are just beginning to explore digital experiences with close adult supervision. They are concrete thinkers who learn best through tangible examples, stories, and simple routines that mirror familiar classroom expectations.

These lessons introduce foundational concepts through our Digital Citizen characters and visual metaphors that make abstract ideas concrete and accessible.

           Lesson Sequence:

1. What Is Media?
2. Caring for Our Devices (Updated)
3. Safety in My Online Neighborhood (Updated)
4. Why We Pause for People (Updated)
5. Icky Feelings
6. Saying Goodbye to Tech 
7. How Media Makes Me Feel
8. Choosing Kindness
9. Media Balance Is Important (Updated)
10. What Is a Digital Footprint? 
11. Beyond the Avatar 
12. Fact or Fiction? 
13. Standing Up for Others 

1st Grade

RECOGNITION & CONNECTION

First graders are starting to have more exposure to various apps, games, and content online, along with more basic literacy skills. They're also beginning to recognize how technology connects them to a wider community beyond their immediate classroom or family.

These lessons introduce frameworks like the Internet Traffic Light to guide simple decision-making about online content. Students begin developing skills for distinguishing between different types of information and media, while learning to navigate their expanding digital world with growing confidence and awareness.

            Lesson Sequence:

1. Pause & Think Online (Updated)
2. Managing Device Distractions (Updated)
3. Curiosity Tellers
4. Internet Traffic Light (Updated)
5. Words Can Help or Hurt
6. My Digital Footprint
7. How Tech Connects Us
8. Media: What's the Purpose?
9. Understanding Ads
10. Step In, Step Out
11. Is It OK to Share?
12. Fact vs. Opinion
13. Autoplay: Helpful or Not?

2nd Grade

GROWING RESPONSIBILITY
& SIMPLE DECISION-MAKING

Second graders demonstrate increasing independence and abstract thinking. They are ready to take more responsibility for their actions and understand the consequences of their choices. 

These lessons respond to this growth by introducing decision-making frameworks that require weighing multiple factors, emphasizing the development of personal responsibility and agency in digital environments. Second grade showcases a storybook that guides students through a sequence of media literacy lessons, helping them think critically about what they consume online. 

            Lesson Sequence:

1. We, the Digital Citizens (Updated)
2. Keeping Online Accounts Safe 
3. Including Others When Using Tech 
4. Be a Super Digital Citizen (Updated)
5. Using Tech to Learn New Things 
6. How to Search Online 
7. Exploring Search Results 
8. Device-Free Moments (Updated)
9. Dealing with Online Meanness 
10. Sincere Apologies 
11. Digital Trails (Updated)
12. That's Private! (Updated)
13. Who Is in Your Online Community? (Updated)

3rd Grade

DIGITAL LIFE FOUNDATIONS

Third graders are beginning to use digital tools more independently for schoolwork while learning to navigate basic online interactions. At this age, children are developing concrete operational thinking and beginning to understand others' perspectives, but still need tangible examples and clear guidelines.

These lessons teach essential digital literacy skills while making direct connections to their growing independence as readers and communicators, providing them with tools and mindsets that help them navigate their expanding digital responsibilities.

            Lesson Sequence:

1. Our Digital Citizenship Charter
2. Making Healthy Media Choices 
3. Protecting Our Online Accounts 
4. Privacy Doors 
5. Level Up: Gaming Safely Online 
6. Our Digital Footprints 
7. When Words Hurt Online 
8. Resolving Conflicts Online
9. Need Space or Repair? Handling Online Hurt 
10. Finding the Source 
11. Perfectly Altered 
12. Trending Now! 
13. Digital Identity Iceberg
14. Emoji Power: Expressing Ourselves Online 
15. Is It Just a Joke? 
16. Our Rings of Responsibility 
17. Pen Pals in a Connected World 
18. Outsmarting Attention Thieves

4th Grade

EMERGING CRITICAL AWARENESS

Fourth graders are developing stronger critical thinking skills and a more nuanced understanding of social dynamics. This is when many students start using more complex digital tools and conducting online research for school projects.

These lessons help students build awareness of how their tech use can impact how they feel, develop a better understanding of privacy, and learn to evaluate whether online information is trustworthy. Students learn strategies for handling peer pressure in digital spaces and develop a stronger sense of responsibility for how they treat others online.

            Lesson Sequence:

1. Personally Identifiable Information 
2. Media & Our Emotions 
3. Communicating Clearly Online 
4. PII: What's the Risk Factor? 
5. S.T.A.N.D. Up to Cyberbullying
6. S.I.F.T. for Sources 
7. Understanding Influencers 
8. Gone Phishing 
9. Group Chat Dynamics 
10. Spotting Thinking Traps
11. Brain Battle Game
12. Online Tracks: What Do We Control?
13. Slicing Up Media with P.I.E.
14. Peer Pressure Online 
15. How Online Meanness Escalates 
16. M.E.N.D.ing Friendships 
17. Online Reputations & Our Responsibilities 
18. Healthy Tech Habits & Our Feelings

5th Grade

PRETEEN DIGITAL LIFE

Fifth graders are preparing for middle school, developing more abstract thinking and increased social awareness as they prepare for significant transitions. While device ownership varies significantly, many students now have their own device or frequent access to a device, using messaging platforms and engaging in online social interactions. 

These lessons focus on media analysis, privacy management, and a deeper understanding of online relationships. Students learn about boundary setting and develop frameworks for making thoughtful and responsible decisions online—skills that will serve them well in middle school.

 Lesson Sequence:

1. Creating Device-Free Moments 
2. Challenging Stereotypes 
3. Dealing with Cyberbullying 
4. Tracking You: Taking Control of Your Privacy 
5. Friends vs. Followers 
6. Sharenting Slip-Ups 
7. Online Risk Radar 
8. Understanding Design Tricks
9. Tricky Tech Game
10. Spotting Media Influence 
11. Remix Responsibly 
12. Media Frames: Looking Beyond Headlines 
13. Don't Take the Bait!
14. Communicating Personal Boundaries 
15. S.T.A.N.D. Up to Support Others 
16. Invisible Audiences
17. Navigating Online Friendships
18. M.E.N.D. to Rebuild Trust

6th Grade

INCREASED INDEPENDENCE, ON- & OFFLINE

Sixth graders are beginning middle school, navigating new social hierarchies and friendship dynamics while adjusting to increased academic independence.

As students' use of devices continues to deepen, the emphasis shifts to building healthy tech habits and responsible use of technology, including AI. Students learn about digital reputation and responsible sharing, developing the skills they need to thrive in middle school's more complex digital and social environment.

            Lesson Sequence:

1. Understanding My Digital Footprint
2. PII: Should I Share?
3. Be Aware of What You Share
4. S.E.E.K.ing Information
5. Red Flags & Chatting Online
6. What Are Online Harms?
7. Your Curated Self
8. Under Peer Pressure
9. Sharing & Online Disinhibition
10. De-escalating Online Harm
11. Making Things Right: Repairing Harms
12. Web of Responsibility
13. Giving Credit
14. Is It Fair Use? AI Edition 
15. Stolen Identity
16. What is the Attention Economy?
17. Building Healthy Tech Habits: Part 1
18. Building Healthy Tech Habits: Part 2

7th Grade

SOCIAL MEDIA LITERACY

Seventh graders often explore their expanded independence, including with their tech use, whether through their first personal device or increased access to social media and online platforms. This is also a time characterized by heightened friendship volatility and complex social hierarchies that play out both online and offline.

These lessons focus on conflict resolution skills, including how to be an upstander and what to do when harmed online. Students reflect on parasocial relationships and continue to build healthy tech habits, focusing on intentional tech use and building emotional resilience during socially turbulent times.

            Lesson Sequence:

1. Tech & Values
2. Choosing Sources
3. Care to Share?
4. Data for Sale
5. Your Data, Your Choices
6. Parasocial Relationships
7. What Are Thinking Traps?
8. Friendships & Boundaries
9. The Ripple Effects of Conflict
10. What Are Design Tricks?
11. Permission to Post
12. Boundaries & Consent
13. Evaluating Information Online
14. Bursting the Filter Bubble
15. Being an Upstander
16. The Assumptions We Make
17. How to Re-A.C.T. to Cyberbullying
18. Location Sharing & Your Privacy

8th Grade

LEADERSHIP & ETHICS

Eighth graders are in their final year of middle school, taking on more responsibility as school leaders and preparing for high school. Many students experience significant pressure around their digital footprints while navigating relational dynamics that extend into online spaces.

These lessons focus on more sophisticated media literacy skills, including critical ignoring and understanding how recommendation algorithms shape what we see and believe. Students examine AI's influence on the information ecosystem and social connections, focusing on healthy tech habits and the value of face-to-face relationships.

            Lesson Sequence:

1. Tech Habit Challenge: Part 1
2. Tech Habit Challenge: Part 2 
3. App Traps & Addictive Design
4. Social Engineering & Online Deception
5. Data Breach Basics
6. Facing Off with Facial Recognition
7. Social Norms & Tech
8. Life in Public
9. AI Chatbots & Friendship
10. Viral Posts & Online Reputations
11. What We See, What We Assume
12. The Pressure to Sext
13. What Is Critical Ignoring?
14. AI Algorithms: How Well Do They Know You?
15. Telephone Trouble: Mis- & Disinformation
16. When Hate Escalates 
17. S.T.A.N.D. Up to Support Friends
18. Deepfakes & Consent

Cybersecurity Lessons for Grades K–8

Help students learn foundational skills for protecting themselves online.

Cybersecurity is one of the most important sets of skills that students need to safeguard themselves, their peers, and their school in our digital world. The lessons in this collection teach students about essential cybersecurity concepts, including protecting themselves from phishing and unsafe websites.

Each lesson in this collection features an extension activity from CYBER.ORG to deepen students' knowledge and behaviors related to cybersecurity.

Our collaboration with CYBER.ORG was made possible with the generous support of Craig Newmark Philanthropies. 

Safety in my Online Neighborhood

Internet Traffic Light

Password Power-Up

Don’t Feed the Phish

Be Aware of What You Share

Impersonation and Identity Theft