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Students sing along with the Digital Citizens about the amazing possibilities that come with using technology and take a pledge to be safe, responsible, and respectful when traveling through the online world.

(To view subtitles, click on the white box at the bottom right of the video.)

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We the Digital Citizens | Common Sense Education

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We the Digital Citizens is a video from Common Sense Education. Use this video to help your students learn and thrive in our connected world.

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Media Balance Is Important | Common Sense Education

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Media Balance Is Important is a video from Common Sense Education. Use this video to help your students learn and thrive in our connected world.

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Pause & Think Online | Common Sense Education

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Pause & Think Online is a video from Common Sense Education. Use this video to help your students learn and thrive in our connected world.

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Interactive lessons and activities for all students!

Use digital citizenship lesson plans to address timely topics and prepare students to take ownership of their digital lives. Browse lessons by grade and topic below, or see an overview of the curriculum.
We've got more new lessons! Explore all lesson plans or check our lesson collections!

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DigCit Curriculum | Common Sense Education

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Research-backed digital citizenship lesson plans help schools navigate timely topics, such as cyberbullying, online safety, privacy, and media literacy.

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Whether it's your first school-issued device, or you're a device expert, we can all use a few simple reminders for how to be responsible. Join the Digital Citizens as they teach us ways we can care for our devices.

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Device Advice: How to Care for Your Device | Common Sense Education

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Device Advice: How to Care for Your Device is a video from Common Sense Education. Use this video to help your students learn and thrive in our connected world.

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Digital Citizenship Activity Books - Click to view this library, made with Book Creator

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From our head down to our toes, and our feet up to our nose, the Digital Citizens teach students how to be safe, responsible, and respectful online.

Understand the importance of being safe, responsible, and respectful online.

Learn the "Pause & Think Online" song to remember basic digital citizenship concepts.

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Pause & Think Online | Common Sense Education

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How can we be safe, responsible, and respectful online? Check out Pause & Think Online, a free digital citizenship lesson plan from Common Sense Education, to get your grade 1 students thinking critically and using technology responsibly to learn, create, and participate.

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How do we find a happy balance between our online and offline activities?

Vocabulary Show definitions

balance - having equal weight or importance of something

device - an electronic piece of equipment like a phone, tablet, or laptop

This lesson meets standards for Common Core ELA , ISTE , CASEL , and AASL . See standards

Sign in or join to unlock this free lesson.

Print or save as PDF Expand all

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Media Balance Is Important | Common Sense Education

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How do we find a happy balance between our online and offline activities? Check out Media Balance Is Important, a free digital citizenship lesson plan from Common Sense Education, to get your kindergarten students thinking critically and using technology responsibly to learn, create, and participate.

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Common Sense Education has partnered with CYBER.ORG to support cybersecurity education. If you want to build on the themes from this lesson, we recommend the following resources from CYBER.ORG's content library:

Layered Security (Grades K-2): Students learn about the physical security around their school and how to verify someone's identity.

Stronger Together (Grades K-2): Students learn to use more than one security tool to keep people, places, and devices safe.

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

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Safety in My Online Neighborhood | Common Sense Education

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How do you go places safely online? Check out Safety in My Online Neighborhood, a free digital citizenship lesson plan from Common Sense Education, to get your kindergarten students thinking critically and using technology responsibly to learn, create, and participate.

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Digital citizenship is more important than ever, but with the pressures of teaching, we know that it can be difficult to find time for full digital citizenship lessons.

To address this, we've pulled together a collection of short digital citizenship activities that students can complete independently, or with parents or caregivers. All of the videos and games below emphasize the importance of digital citizenship as a foundation for digital learning.

Watch-and-reflect videos: 15-minute activities

Students absolutely love our videos, which include songs, poems, whimsical animations, and our fun characters, the Digital Citizens! Use the quick activity guides below, which include links to our videos, along with reflection questions you can send to students.

For grades K-2, you can send the videos and discussion guides to students, then discuss the questions briefly during class time. Alternatively, you can have students use our Meet the Digital Citizens coloring book (also available in Spanish) to simply watch the videos and engage with the characters. For grades 3-5, we've included handouts students can use to answer the discussion questions independently and/or discuss briefly during class. Note: All videos are available in Spanish.

Kindergarten

First Grade

Second Grade

Third Grade

Fourth Grade

Fifth Grade

Get more ideas for quick integration of digital citizenship and SEL!

Digital Passport™: 10-minute games

Digital Passport is our award-winning suite of games for students in grades 3-5 that address key issues they face in today's digital world. Students can complete each game online and independently -- they don't need to download an app or register. If you have time to discuss these topics with your students, use the reflection questions in the Module Guides for each game, found in the Educator Guide. Although Digital Passport is appropriate for anyone in grades 3-5, we've provided some recommended activities below. See the FAQ for more information.

Third Grade

Fourth Grade

Fifth Grade

Make sure all students can access what digital citizenship lessons have to offer.

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Quick Digital Citizenship Activities for K-5 | Common Sense Education

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Use these short, self-guided digital citizenship activities and create a positive culture around digital learning.

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If there's one thing we can be sure of, it's that kids use screens -- a lot. And while there's a lot of debate about how much is too much, research seems to suggest two things: The quality of the content and activities that kids access on screens makes a difference, and finding balance with offscreen activities is important.

Striking that balance can be tricky, especially when schoolwork requires a screen and games and social media are so compelling. But we've collected some cool resources -- some with links and some without -- that can help you tap into kids' curiosity, problem-solving, self-reflection, and more.

We've grouped the activities into the categories below and then labeled them with the most applicable grade band(s). Of course, you could easily adapt some of these activities to work with other grades -- we've marked these with an asterisk (*). Use these links to jump to any section below:

Bring the world to your students with these free online experiences for your classroom.

Offline and Off-Screen Activities to Get Kids Creating

Getting students to flex their maker muscles is great, whether you're on or offline, but creating in a more tangible way can be satisfying and instructive for different reasons. Some of these activities are very prescriptive, and others are deliberately open-ended, so shape them around your kids or subject matter to make them work for your home or classroom.

Grades Pre-K-2

Make some thank-you cards! Though it's great for kids of all ages to express their gratitude, this activity from PBSKids is geared toward little ones. Talk about gratitude and why it's important to express it.

Gather some empty cardboard rolls, dip the ends in paint, and stamp some circles. Now press or fold the rolls. Talk about how the shapes change.

Color and cut out snowflakes, flowers, leaves, and more to decorate your windows to show the season or a holiday. Not only will the results brighten your home or classroom, but it's also a way to explore seasons.

Use things from around the house or classroom as musical instruments and compose a song, or just jam! Kids can experiment with the sounds the objects make and talk about why different shapes and materials might make varied noises. Then practice listening to make music all together.

Though this set of activities from PBS is framed as a "Summer Activity Book," kids can do them anytime. And there are plenty of opportunities to use their imaginations and creativity.

Carve a pumpkin and use this messy Halloween tradition to do some basic math. While you're scooping pumpkin guts, count seeds individually or by groups of five or 10.

*Wrap black paper over one end of a paper towel roll and secure it with a rubber band. Poke holes in a pattern to create a constellation! Little kids can poke at random, but older kids could try to recreate real constellations or make ones of their own after learning about existing ones.

*Use this activity featuring Matisse cutouts to teach kids about the artist and have fun emulating his style. For little kids, it's a great opportunity to practice with scissors and talk about shapes and colors. For older kids, they can experiment with geometry and try to create something out of shapes.

Grades 3-5

Draw a picture on a piece of paper and glue it to a piece of cardboard. Cut it into puzzle pieces and challenge a family member or classmate to put it together. If you're creating in the classroom, specify the number of pieces to even the playing field, and if cutting cardboard is too difficult, try card stock. Make the picture relate to something you're learning!

Grab some cardboard and any art supplies you have to build a playable arcade-style game for your family or classmates. Think Skee-Ball made out of boxes! If in the classroom, kids can work in groups to brainstorm, plan, design, and create the game. Make sure to have them reflect so they can think about how they worked together and solved problems.

Try folding paper into airplanes without a model. Then look up different techniques. Which ones fly the farthest? Why? Talk about the physics involved.

Use this activity from 826 National to get creative with traditional recipes and transform them into poetic creations.

Create a set of picture cards that show every step of a task, similar to how a computer works. For example, what steps do you take to brush your teeth? Then have someone else follow those steps. Aside from reading and following directions, it's a great way to practice executive functioning skills.

*Design a dream home! Kids can use measurement, geometry, perspective, and more to draft a floor plan of their dream home. Older kids can design a more complicated layout and or design a home for a book character.

*Have kids make a Who I Am collage that illustrates their interests, values, and backgrounds. There's a 45-minute video available that walks you through the whole activity, but you don't need to watch the whole thing: The actual instructions start at minute 22, and you can explain the steps to kids if that's easier. Older kids could definitely do a more sophisticated version of this activity.

Grades 6-8

*Design a mini-exhibit using objects from home or the classroom, inspired by this video from the Smithsonian. The idea is to decide on a theme and curate mindfully and with purpose. For the classroom, you can have kids create an exhibit around a concept you're exploring, too.

*Make a zine -- a mini-magazine -- using just one piece of paper! Follow the instructions in the video, and choose an idea to capture in this format. Teachers can even use this activity as a formative assessment.

*Have kids create (or write) something that represents their background and culture. Kids can interview family members for extra help with details and perspectives. This is a great way to help kids share and appreciate diversity in the classroom.

*Have kids illustrate a map of their block or neighborhood. Mark things they'd want to show a visitor and spots that are important to your family. Not only is this a great activity for mapmaking skills and cardinal directions, but it also reinforces community touchstones and landmarks that students might share.

Grades 9-12

Conduct a carefully planned interview with guidance -- and tools -- from Storycorps. Teens can take the opportunity to talk to an elder in their family or community while using some writing, communication, and technical skills along the way.

Create a playlist to reflect a book, character, or historical event. Write the list of songs and explain how each one is significant.

Make a plan to tackle a community cause. Get together with a group to identify a problem or need in the school or community, create a plan, and put it into action. This would also be a great project-based learning challenge.

*Pick a friend or family member and write them a letter the old-fashioned way. Invest some time in connecting with someone by writing something more extensive than a text message. Teens can even start a pen pal program at school with a local retirement community.

Offline and Off-Screen Activities that Get Kids Listening

Since active listening is such an important skill, these resources can help kids practice. And though just listening in a classroom can make kids unsure of what to do or where to look, having them close their eyes or take guided notes can be really powerful, especially if you build in some metacognition around the process. Of course, some of these activities do require a device, but they are still screen-free! And while there are a ton of podcasts out there, we've tried to highlight some apps, shows, and episodes you may not have heard of. Of course, if you're in class, make sure kids who are deaf or hard of hearing can participate, too.

Grades Pre-K-2

Use stories for calm transitions by listening to Sparkle Stories (free trial).

Try a podcast like Wow in the World to get kids thinking and talking about different science concepts. They're presented in a fun -- and often silly -- way that will keep kids engaged.

Practice mindfulness and positivity with Like You, a podcast for kids about emotions, self-esteem, deep breathing, and more.

Base some listening around daily routines with the Kinderling Kids Radio app! There's also plenty of fun audio content for the classroom that involves science, global exploration, and mindfulness (free trial).

Give kids an instruction and have them follow it. Then give them two in a row. Then give them three, and so on. See how many they can remember just by listening.

Take kids on a silent walk -- outside or around the school -- and have them just listen. Then talk about all of the things they heard.

*Try the Kids Listen app to see if it's a good fit for your family or classroom. There's a subscription to unlock all of the content, but it's free to try and full of great podcasts for kids so you don't have to hunt around!

*Pinna is another app to try for curated kid's audio content, and it has a free trial, too!

Grades 3-5

Get kids up and moving while they're listening with GoGoGames! Audio Adventures, which feature interactive stories that get kids active. Teachers should preview to make sure the instructions aren't too home-specific. Free to try.

Create playlists with Leela Kids, which has audio content for broad age appeal. Also subscription-based.

Dig in to specific episodes of The Past and the Curious, featured in Kids Listen. Kids will hear about Elizabeth Cotten and her song that was eventually played by the Beatles.

Check out SoundCloud for more content, like the story of Hazel Scott, a musical prodigy, which is a part of the Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls series.

Dive into free audio books on iTunes, like the classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. After listening to the book, watch the movie and compare!

Make math mysterious with Detective Mathema's Maths Puzzles for Kids. Listen to these short episodes to get kids solving these audio word problems.

*Select some pieces of music that are each very different from one another, and then have kids draw or write something in response. It's one way to have them practice figurative language as well.

Grades 6-8

Look to Flyest Fables for interesting stories that aren't afraid to deal with topics that work for tweens and young teens. They range from 10 to 25 minutes, so they could be great for a short drive or a Friday writing prompt.

Discuss current events after listening to the Listenwise News Bites podcast. With episodes about 10 minutes long, they're manageable for making dinner or as lesson starters.

*Take a deep dive into the dictionary with The Good Words Podcast, which could be a cool way to spur further word study at home or in the classroom.

*Listen to the short episodes of Math Dude to introduce different concepts or even introduce demonstrations you can do in class or at home.

*Practice active listening by asking kids to interview each other or a family member. You can provide questions or have them develop their own. They can make notes, ask follow-up questions, and then present what they learned.

Grades 9-12

Use the varied topics of Part-Time Genius to kick off a science or history lesson, or spark curiosity about a project. The podcast covers a lot of ground, so you're bound to find something that works for your kid or class.

Examine what the consequences of internet algorithms can be through this real-life example as presented by the Rabbit Hole podcast from the New York Times. It could be a great way to open a discussion or start a project.

Offer up some tidbits of weird information with the Atlas Obscura podcast, which goes all around the world, capturing deep-cut, fascinating facts.

Listen to authors read their own work in Spanish courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Enjoy Shakespeare with these readings from the Folger Shakespeare site. It's a great way to supplement reading so you can hear actors speak the lines.

Create a list of sentences that change their meaning when words are emphasized differently. You can read them, or kids can read them in pairs, using emphasis to alter the intention. You can use this activity to discuss tone and mood.

Offline and Off-Screen Activities to Get Kids Moving

Sometimes, students -- both big and small -- just need to move around. School can involve a lot of sitting, so it's important to give kids opportunities to wiggle, stretch, and play. In addition to being a brain break, revving up blood flow, and just plain being fun, activities that involve movement can also be instructional. Of course, not every kid will be able to do every activity, so make sure to choose and adapt to make sure all kids are included.

Grades Pre-K-2

Ball up socks, pieces of paper, yarn, or other soft things. Decide on teams and rules, and let the epic "snowball" fight begin! This one could easily go awry in a school setting, so it might be best for home!

When ice skaters do a cool new move, it's named after them. Make up some moves -- jumps, tricks, and poses -- and show them off!

Use chalk, tape, or other materials to jump into some old-school hopscotch for indoor or outdoor fun. This could be a way to get kids counting by 1s, 5s, or 10s.

Scatter pennies and pick them up as fast as possible. Then add challenging variations, like only picking them up with one hand, using a magnet on a string, etc. Kids can practice writing instructions to follow to pair with this activity.

Curate a playlist of pop songs from varied cultures or countries. Dance your way through the playlist. Then talk about the cultures or countries featured in the playlist. If in the classroom, make it representative of the kids in your class!

Set up a simple, safe obstacle course inside or outside, and do time trials to see how fast kids can go. You can use this activity to talk about minutes and seconds.

Move around the room without touching the floor. Step on chairs, pillows, blankets, but not the hot lava! You can design it so kids can only move to the next safe step by answering a question.

Grades 3-12

Upcycle items to create a mini-golf course. Find objects to use as a club and golf ball, and then put it to the test! In the classroom, design in groups to create a hole using some elementary physics. The older the kids, the more sophisticated the concepts and design can be.

Write five creative clues that will lead someone -- or another group -- to a treasure. Do it outside if you can! To add another layer, each clue could be based on a specific topic kids are learning about.

Have kids create TikTok-style dances that book characters would do and then have them teach the dance to someone else, or the whole class.

Make "yes" and "no" signs, and then tape them to opposite walls. Ask questions about personal preferences, specific subjects, or whatever works for your setting, and have kids indicate their answer by walking to the "yes" or "no" wall. Change up the signs with character names, countries, etc. Another variation is having kids stand up or sit down in response to yes/no questions.

Offline and Off-Screen Activities to Get Kids Reflecting

Encouraging kids to look inward and take stock is important. At home, modeling and doing it as a family can provide access points. In the objective-focused environment that is school, it's easy to cut out anything that feels extraneous. Sometimes that means activities that are more about focusing on our inner process rather than external output. But reflection has its own set of educational benefits -- including reinforcing SEL -- so taking some time to encourage kids to look inward is also time well spent.

Grades Pre-K-2

Practice financial literacy with this spend-save-share activity from FitMoney. Get kids thinking about setting goals, saving, and contributing money to causes.

*Describe the day to a family member, or start/end your class, with one thing that fits each category: Include something positive (rose), something hopeful (bud), and something challenging (thorn). Take turns sharing.

*Find some markers and paper and turn emotions into art. What color is joy? Sadness? Boredom? Love? This could also segue into writing poems.

*Have kids write about or draw pictures of things they appreciate about themselves. Though this will likely be easier for younger kids, it can also be a beneficial activity for older kids who might be struggling with self-image.

*Decorate a gratitude jar. When kids feel grateful, they can write or draw the reason on paper and put it in the jar. Read the results each week. This can be a family or classroom activity!

Grades 3-5

Use this activity so kids can practice differentiating between needs and wants. You can use this as a jumping-off point for a bigger discussion about sustainability.

*Talk about what toasts are, and then have kids prepare one for a person or pet they love and appreciate. Pour some juice and take turns toasting.

*During the week, have kids take pictures of things they're thankful for. Then have them combine them into a slideshow, collage, or other collection to revisit and add to.

*Ask kids to write down their favorite things to watch, read, or listen to. Why do they like each of them? Do they all share a common theme? Challenge them to really examine their preferences.

Grades 6-8

Though some kids might be able to jump into a gratitude journal, this printable can help others get started. Encourage them to write 5-10 things each day. You can also preface this ongoing activity by digging into the science around the positive effects of being thankful.

Explain or show what the pandemic experience and world events have been like using words, art, music, Minecraft -- whatever works. By creating and sharing, kids can process their experiences.

Ask kids to think about something that they know has tons of learning value but may not typically be considered educational. Then challenge them to persuade you!

Grades 9-12

Have kids take a peek into the future. What are they looking forward to? What goals do they have? Ask them to find a way to show or explain the things they want to make happen.

*Though these focus exercises from SERP are great for younger kids, too, teens often face lots of distractions. Do them with your teen or class so kids can figure out which ones work best for them.

*Have teens think about a success story from their life using this activity from Character Lab. Reflecting on the actual steps can help inform efforts toward future goals. Some kids might struggle with identifying a "success," especially if they're having a hard time, so make sure all kids find something to focus on.

Offline and Off-Screen Activities for Giving

Sometimes the best activities are the ones that offer something to others. Like reflecting, the act of giving definitely involves SEL, but there are ways to connect generous acts with subject-matter content, too. Whether through a short standalone lesson or a design-thinking, student-driven project, students can learn a lot from helping others.

Grades Pre-K-2

Use this printable from PBSKids to help kids express thanks to the essential workers who keep everything going in good times -- and not-so-good times.

Get crafty and create a bouquet of flowers for a family member out of paper, pipe cleaners, and upcycled materials. Write a note or draw a picture to go with it.

Spread some love! Color paper hearts and cut them out. Then write positive, encouraging messages on each one, and place them around the house or classroom for your family or classmates to find.

Grades 3-12

Let Love for Our Elders facilitate some letter writing! Follow the guidelines and write some snail mail to elders who might need some contact and encouragement!

Challenge kids to help an adult in 15-minute bursts, or longer! They can clean, carry, cook, etc., to be of service. In the classroom, kids can keep a service journal to reflect on their experiences.

Pass the appreciation: Gather the family or class in a circle. Grab a ball or pillow, toss it to someone, and say something you appreciate about them. Keep it going!

Have kids write a short thank-you note to someone who did something nice for them this week.

Lead image courtesy of Allison Shelley/The Verbatim Agency for American Education: Images of Teachers and Students in Action

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Offline and Off-Screen Activities for Minds-On Learning | Common Sense Education

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Take learning offline with activities that engage kids in a variety of ways.

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#DeviceFreeDinner sends a simple but powerful message home to students and families: Part of being a good digital citizen is knowing when to take a break from media and technology to spend time with the people we love.

Everything from better grades to a healthier lifestyle have been credited to eating together as a family. But phones at the table can block those benefits. Though the majority of parents agree that devices aren't welcome at the dinner table, a 2016 Common Sense poll found that phones and other media are often present anyway.

The connection between classroom lessons and home life is essential when it comes to supporting students in learning how to have a healthy relationship with media. Whether families are reinforcing the skills, or students are teaching the adults in their lives how to have media balance themselves, #DeviceFreeDinner can be a fun way to engage your students' families in digital citizenship.

Check out this collection of tools and activities to get started with #DeviceFreeDinner in your classroom or school community. And kick things off with this sweet message from our furry friends at Sesame Street (great for students of any age)!

1. Use these fun, age-appropriate #DeviceFreeDinner handouts as a hook or an extension for your media balance lessons:

2. Share these resources with students' families to encourage #DeviceFreeDinners:

3. Plan a #DeviceFreeDinner Day for your school community:

Help students, their families, and ourselves critically examine our relationship with technology.

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3 Fun Ways to Teach Media Balance with #DeviceFreeDinner | Common Sense Education

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Students can bring the learning home with these fun activities for classrooms and families.

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This collection of activities will help you address the unique social and emotional challenges your students may encounter as technology starts to play an increasing role in their lives, both in and out of school. From understanding how technology makes them feel, to learning how to act with kindness and make caring and responsible decisions online, these 15-minute activities are great ways to support the social and emotional well-being of your students as they navigate the digital world.

To see our full collection of K-12 activities visit the SEL in Digital Life Resource Center.

My Feelings When Using Technology (Grades K-2)
With a fun video poem and class discussion, students learn to reflect on the different ways technology makes them feel and what they can do about it.

Our Responsibilities Online ( Grades 3-5)
What does it mean to be your best self when using technology? By learning about the rings of responsibility, students understand the responsibilities they have to themselves and others so they can be their best selves when using technology.

Saying Goodbye to Technology (Grades K-2)
Whether it's watching television or playing on a tablet, using tech can be super fun! But kids often find it hard to transition from an online activity to an offline one. Teach your students a simple routine for regulating their emotions during those inevitable digital interruptions that are a part of life for everyone.

My Media Balance (Grades 3-5)
Helping kids learn what makes different media choices healthy or not is a good start. But how do we guide them to actually make responsible choices in the real world? Give your students the opportunity to reflect on their media habits and develop strategies for achieving media balance in their lives.

Traveling Safely Online (Grades K-2)
The power of the internet enables students to experience and "visit" places they might not be able to see in person. But just like traveling in the real world, it's important for students to know how to keep themselves safe when they go online. In this quick activity, students learn three rules to promote safe and responsible decisions when going online.

How Can You Be an Online Superhero? (Grades 3-5)
Online tools are empowering for kids, but they also come with big responsibilities. In this quick activity, students put themselves in the shoes of the Digital Citizen characters to learn how to solve digital dilemmas in responsible ways.

Use Your Heart When You're Online (Grades K-2)
From our head down to our toes, and our feet up to our nose, the Digital Citizens teach students to be safe, responsible, and respectful when they are online.

Gaming with Positivity (Grades 3-5)
Social interaction is part of what makes online gaming fun and engaging for kids. Of course, online communication comes with some risks. Use this activity to help your students reflect on how they can keep their gaming experiences fun, healthy, and positive.

Standing Up to Online Meanness (Grades K-2)
The internet is filled with all kinds of interesting people, but sometimes people can be mean to each other. With this activity, students learn how to respond to people who are being unkind, and support others who experience online meanness.

The Words We Choose (Grades 3-5)
As kids grow, they naturally start to communicate more online. But some of what they see could make them feel hurt, sad, angry, or even fearful. Help your students build empathy for others and learn strategies to use when confronted with cyberbullying.
Image courtesy of Allison Shelley/The Verbatim Agency for American Education: Images of Teachers and Students in Action.

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Elementary School Activities to Promote SEL in Digital Life | Common Sense Education

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Promote SEL and digital citizenship with these CASEL-aligned quick activities.

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Resources to help integrate integrity into every classroom, every day.

Building SEL (social and emotional learning) skills such as integrity requires face-to-face interaction, meaningful discussion, and reflection. Edtech is no complete substitute for that, but there are tools that can supplement the development of character, both in the classroom and at home.

Besides speaking the truth and acting in a sincere way, integrity is treating people equally and taking responsibility for your feelings and actions.

While some tools focus specifically on integrity, many websites and apps you use daily (in all subjects) can be used to promote responsibility and honesty. In other words, you don't have to stop using the tools you love or toss out your lesson or curricular plans to start developing SEL. Below are tips, tools, and actionable ideas for seamlessly integrating integrity and life skills-building into your content classroom.

Why integrity?

With digital technology amplifying social interaction and expression, it's more important than ever to promote, practice, and model integrity in our classrooms. As role models, teachers have an enormous obligation to do what's right. When we fail -- as in the widely publicized case of Atlanta teachers committing academic fraud to cope with high-stakes testing -- there can be harsh consequences for ourselves, our students, and our communities. Integrity, of course, extends beyond cheating on tests. It includes taking responsibility for your actions, respecting others, and having the courage to stand up for what's right. We practice these skills so that students' actions will be consistent with their beliefs and so they'll be able to listen to others' feelings and concerns without judgment. We inspire integrity in our classrooms because we want our future leaders to make honest, brave decisions that push us ever forward.

Take action

Applaud students for taking action with regard to their values and principles -- especially when no one is watching.

Model integrity through your own actions, and hold yourself accountable for mistakes.

Take a stand against cyberbullying. See our Teachers' Essential Guide to Cyberbullying Prevention for helpful tips and resources.

Make sure the technology you use doesn't take the place of -- but instead supplements -- face-to-face interaction.

Using our Digital Citizenship Curriculum? Both our student interactives and lessons already foster key SEL skills.

Check out other excellent SEL resources, including CASEL, Character Lab, Edutopia, and Ashoka.

Think about the digital tools you're already using in the classroom. Can you find a creative way to use them to model integrity? Check out our suggestions below!

Directly target integrity

See our Top Tools for Inspiring Integrity list for more integrity-focused tools.

Inspire integrity in all subjects

For ELA classrooms

Turnitin
Have students turn in their assignments on this site that detects plagiarism and improper citation. Discuss the importance of originality and giving credit to others, and have students give helpful feedback on one another's work with PeerMark.

For math classrooms

People's Pie
In this budgeting game, students choose which bills are right for the country, levy taxes, and spend reserves. After getting the math, students can research the current budget and create a responsible platform that supports spending bills.

For science classrooms

Project Noah
Students can take action toward actual scientific missions by sharing images and locations of organisms. By picking missions they believe in and uploading quality data, students can see how their work might help scientists solve real problems.

For social studies classrooms

Oddizzi
With the ClassPals feature, students can connect with other classes around the world through images and text. As you learn about another culture, have students self-assess whether they're showing global responsibility by portraying themselves honestly and authentically.

For all classrooms

Engage families

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We All Teach SEL: Integrity Activities and Tools for Students | Common Sense Education

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Building SEL (social and emotional learning) skills such as integrity requires face-to-face interaction, meaningful discussion, and reflection. Edtech is no complete substitute for that, but there are tools that can supplement the development of character, both in the classroom and at home.

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Whether you're a beginning teacher walking into your classroom for the first time or a veteran teacher unpacking years worth of supplies, a new school year offers an untouched realm of excitement and possibilities. Your classroom environment is the foundation for all the learning that will take place over the next 10 months. Amid hours spent organizing furniture, putting up bulletin boards, and writing lessons, don't forget to set aside time for an important part of your classroom: creating a culture of kindness, respect, and responsibility among your students. This year, go beyond getting-to-know-you activities and incorporate these five experiences that continue classroom camaraderie throughout the year.

Epic Books

Epic is a digital warehouse of more than 10,000 books and videos for students to enjoy. This platform is web- and app-based and offers many options for students and teachers including badges, reading stats, read-to-me books, and more. In addition to promoting literacy, this resource is free for any elementary school teacher in the U.S. or Canada.

Younger students may enjoy reading Freda Say Please by Stuart J. Murphy, a whimsical story illustrating the need to use manners when asking peers to do various tasks. In In Flanders Fields by Norman Jorgensen and Brian Harrison-Lever, the story showcases higher-level vocabulary and symbolism for older students as they read about an act of kindness during World War I. With an easy-to-use search feature, this resource will engage all students in grades pre-K-5.

The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation

The Random Acts of Kindness website is jam-packed with ideas for integrating kindness in and out of the classroom. With a complete line of K-12 lesson plans and downloadable resources, you will have plenty of project ideas and conversation starters with the click of a button. This free website also includes ways to create a Kindness Club in your school as well as book lists and tips for conflict resolution. You can even subscribe to their monthly blog that includes additional ideas for promoting kindness and caring among students.

Digital Posters

Looking for creative ways to decorate your classroom? How about inviting students to create their own posters emphasizing key traits such as gratitude, respect, and integrity? Websites such as Google Slides, Canva, and Glogster offer unlimited possibilities for student-created displays that can be printed or shared online. Students can work in collaborative groups to design a class logo or create posters showcasing examples of character traits.

Blogging

Students love to share stories about themselves. Turn digital writing into a global sharing experience as students write about positive things that happen in the classroom. Platforms such as Blogger, Edublogs, WordPress, or Kidblog are great options for students to showcase their writing skills and practice the art of positive feedback as they leave comments on stories for classmates. Promoting digital citizenship skills with positive rapport is a win-win for students and teachers.

The Great Kindness Challenge

Can you complete 50 acts of kindness in a week? Join the Great Kindness Challenge as you and your students work together to make this world a brighter place to live, work, and play. Students will enjoy downloading the app for their iPhone or iPad and checking off items on their list. This year's event will take place January 23-27, 2017, so mark your calendars now.

A new school year means new beginnings! Celebrate the positive all year long as you support your students with exemplary social skills as well as academic learning.

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5 Ways to Create a Kind Classroom | Common Sense Education

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Go beyond get-to-know-you activities and inspire kindness all year long.

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Lydia spends the afternoon working to pull her family away from their digital devices to enjoy some simple, quality time.

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On A Magical Do-nothing Day by Alemagna, Béatrice

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When a child is truly present in the world, magic can happen. On a rainy day, video games can be appealing, but getting out and noticing nature after accidentally dropping their game into a pond takes this child on a journey of the imagination.

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Tek, the Modern Cave Boy by McDonnell, Patrick

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The first half of this book looks just like an iPad, complete with passcode entry and battery life indicator, but when the village volcano erupts and Tek, the caveboy's devices crash, life shakes up as he discovers what has been around him all along in the big beautiful world.

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Doug the robot learns so much about the world when he is plugged in, but when heads out to make his discoveries and friendships, the real learning begins.

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With their colorful and funny illustrations, and simple language Aaron Reynolds and Matt Davies in their book Nerdy Birdy teach kids about kindness and self-esteem.

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The Fabulous Friend Machine by Nick Bland

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Popcorn, the friendliest chicken around is delighted to find a dazzling light coming from under the haystack. How will her social habits change with this newfangled "friend machine?" This book is a cautionary tale that very subtly demonstrates what can go wrong when making friends with strangers online.

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Find out what happens in this comedic book about performing your best with virtual, distance learning.

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Troll Stinks by Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross

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Billy Goat and his best friend Cyril are messing about with the farmer's mobile phone, taking selfies and playing games... until they discover the number for a troll. Grandpa Gruff says all trolls are bad, so Billy and Cyril decide to get their own back by sending mean messages. After all, trolls really do stink! Don't they?

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#Goldilocks: A cautionary tale by Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross

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Everyone loves Goldilocks’ hilarious online videos, but in her quest to get more likes, more laughs and more hits, she tries something a little more daring: stealing porridge #pipinghot, breaking chairs #fun, and using someone else’s bed #sleep. What will Daddy Bear do when he sees that online?

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Blip is a sweet robot who experiences great joy and many educational benefits from being plugged into her computer. One day, she trips on her wire, gets unplugged and tumbles into a world of colourful outdoor experiences. This whimsical picture book will get kids talking about balancing their time online and offline.

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Once Upon a Time Online by David Bedford and Rosie Reeve

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Once Upon a Time Online by David Bedford is a fun book to teach responsible use. Familiar fairy tale characters find a laptop that falls from the sky. Cinderella uses it to buy clothes for the ball and Rapunzel finds a prince online. But as the story continues, the characters get in over their heads and it takes the fairy godmother to fix all the problems they create. Students will giggle while learning important lessons about the important digital habit of getting parental permission before using certain apps and websites.

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We hear the term digital citizenship, but without having grown up in a fully digital world, many of us don't comprehend the value or importance of this skill set. Today's digital world can be overwhelming for the young and not-so-young. But as musician Frank Zappa said, "Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible."

Ray Kurzweil's theory, the Law of Accelerating Returns, illustrates how and why progress seems to be escalating exponentially. Kurzweil claims that the rate of change is such that in the next 100 years, we won't progress 100 years, but we will progress 20,000 years. The tension comes in that he believes humans to be linear by nature, while technology is exponential.

According to the 2021 Common Sense Census, media use in tweens and teens has grown faster since the start of the pandemic than it has over the four years prior to the pandemic. Additionally, teens 13- to 18-year-olds spend nearly an hour and a half a day using social media but have conflicted feelings about the medium.

No longer are students referred to as digital natives - those who were brought up with digital technology, never not knowing a world without the Internet. Post GenZ is Generation Alpha (born 2010-2025), born completely in the 21st century. This generation does not differentiate between what is online versus offline. Their world is digital. It is a world full of media consumption, rich with multimedia, and full of pings, dings, and buzzes. In this Age of Information, many use the analogy that we are bombarded with a firehose of content. So how can we model digital citizenship while encouraging our students to develop such foundational skills?

What is Digital Citizenship?

Common Sense Education, leaders in digital citizenship, define the field as empowering students to take control of their digital lives. What are the appropriate behaviors and accepted norms for using digital devices and participating in digital spaces? In short, how can we all be safe, responsible, and respectful online?

Many of these ideals are fundamental to being a good citizen in general, however, the digital landscape is riddled with more opportunities to misstep, and the fall is much greater since our digital footprint is public, pervasive, and often permanent. So while students may not be online at an early age, these conversations must start as early as kindergarten ( or even earlier) to form good habits of mind that they can lean on when they do encounter devices and the Internet, whether at home, at school, or at a friend's house.

Elements of digital citizenship

While the field of digital citizenship is evolving as rapidly as the tech landscape itself, we know that we want students (and adults) to be fluent in the opportunities and pitfalls around:

Privacy & Security

Cyberbullying, Digital Drama, & Hate Speech

Digital Footprint & Identity

Relationships & Communication

News & Media Literacy

Media Balance & Well-Being

These topics all can be bucketed in the overlapping notions of safety, respect, and responsibility.

Why is digital citizenship important?

Safety

Digital is all about data, so it can be difficult to know where to draw the line on how, where, and when to share information. When it comes to safety, posting a photo of one's first day of school in front of a school sign is one of those innocent missteps - now anyone can find where you go to school. We all need to be diligent about not oversharing the personal ins and outs of our daily lives as well as safeguarding our personally identifying information (PII) to avoid identity theft. Today's digital systems are designed to track and target, so we need to teach students how to be savvy consumers. Especially when it comes to app settings. Knowing what apps are capable of makes it easier to understand how to use settings on apps to limit their reach.

Respect

Respect is one of those ideals that deserves some extra TLC and effort when it comes to any actions online. While hopefully the students you know won't be the targets of cyberbullying and hate speech, we all need to be aware of the subtle signs. The worst is when a young child tries to shoulder the devastating effects on their own. Likewise, we need to encourage our students to stand up and help others who they think are being cyberbullied. And don't forget about all the nuanced shades of gray when it comes to digital drama. While bullying and drama are not new, the 24/7 access perpetrators have to subversively taunt others takes the devastating effects to a whole new level.

Responsibility

This sense of respect segues into responsibility as students learn how to form open and trusting relationships with one another. One of the upsides of the Internet is how students can explore and pursue diverse interests. They can meet others who share these passions and begin to form an independent sense of self. Yet they need to understand how anyone can curate an unrealistic or even fake identity online. Students need to understand the perils of oversharing and that there is no erase button online, so it is best to pause and think before hitting a send or share button.

Spiderman's uncle said it best when he said, "With great power, comes great responsibility." Students need to hone their critical eye when it comes to media literacy and cross-reference what they are reading or watching before believing it is true. And all of this use culminates in taking a balanced approach to media consumption. As with any diet, one wants to consume quality media in a balanced manner to stay on top of their overall well-being.

How can schools teach digital citizenship?

School communities need to commit to weaving digital citizenship throughout the curriculum to build strong school culture. School leaders can begin by outlining clear policies around acceptable policy use, which may address device handling, student accounts, cyberbullying, social media, and cheating. Many schools have parents and the students themselves sign contracts or agreements at the beginning of the school year to make sure that all parties understand the expectations (and repercussions).

Resources to build digital citizenship skills year-round

Then the educators can focus on being proactive with digital citizenship lessons. With many cross-curricular ties, the learning objectives can be hit upon in core disciplines like ELA or Social Studies. This proactive approach again emphasizes habits of mind versus a reactive, one-time plug. Remember, with many of the obstacles students face online, they are not developmentally ready to tackle them. Children's prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain that controls impulsivity, decision-making, and compulsivity, isn't fully developed until one turns 25. So it is completely natural that students will misstep, experiment, and explore as they form their own identities and relationships - but the repercussions of posting an inappropriate photo, making a crass comment, or sharing private information can haunt one for decades to come.

As with any muscle, students need to exercise these skill sets to develop such habits of mind. Adults and students alike need repeated and consistent instances of practice in learning about digital citizenship. Schools can be that needed safe environment to explore the concepts under the guidance of an adult who may have more foresight (developmentally at least!). Teachers can share the challenges and opportunities they have experienced to better personalize the twists and turns within our digital world.

Students can engage in rich discussions and role-playing to share their experiences, which will vary greatly depending on their access to devices and the Internet. Again, these skills ought to be woven school-wide throughout the curriculum, spiraling in a developmentally-appropriate way, in order to take a dedicated year-long approach to digital citizenship.

Nearpod's 21st Century Readiness Program

Most agree that digital citizenship is a vital set of skills we need to develop, however, it is becoming harder and harder to dedicate time during the school day for these skills. Nearpod's 21st Century Readiness Program makes it easy to find a year's worth of digital citizenship content that any educator can embed into their class as the content is aligned to cross-curricular standards. The 21st Century Readiness Program contains engaging learning experiences by leveraging Nearpod's features making lessons interactive and collaborative. The digital citizenship portion of the program is broken down into topics with assessments and activities such as:

Digital Citizenship curriculum from Common Sense Education

Evaluating Media

Social Media

Technology Applications

Keyboarding featuring content from Typesy

Coding featuring content from CodeMonkey

Digital Citizenship Week is the most popular time for schools and educators to focus on developing these skills. We've curated a list of our most popular digital citizenship lessons to help teachers celebrate the week and be inspired to keep the conversation going.

The upside of our digital world

And while we hear the scary and disturbing stories around cyberbullying, phishing, cheating, and screen time, the opportunities are so great for our 21st-Century learners. Students today have access to literally a worldwide web of information. How can they apply, analyze, evaluate, and create with this newfound information? Students can become published writers, musicians, designers, and makers in an hour's time while having the flexibility to iterate, redesign, and republish immediately afterward. This cyclical process illustrates the Hero's Journey, but nowadays students can be the heroes of their own learning journeys.

Schools can proactively work in tandem with families to establish clear expectations and provide instances of practice to help establish these habits of mind from a young age. From protecting their private information to exploring age-appropriate sites to curating a positive digital footprint for participating thoughtfully online, these digital citizenship skills set a foundation to continue to grow and thrive. Digital citizenship is no longer a nice to have, but an essential part of education to ensure their success today and in their future.
Interested in reading more about this topic? Check out this blog post: Free lessons for Digital Citizenship Week

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What is digital citizenship and why's it important for students?

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We hear the term digital citizenship, but without having grown up in a fully digital world, many of us don't comprehend the value or importance of this skill set. Today's digital world can be overwhelming for the young and not-so-young. But as musician Frank Zappa said, "Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible."

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Teaching students to develop an awareness of data security, online etiquette, and cyberbullying helps them make better decisions online.

Digital Citizenship Week is celebrated in October each year. The focus is on building digital citizenship skills with events planned for schools to join in and learn more. These are concepts that teachers and schools should focus on throughout the year as well. With the increased use of digital tools in our classrooms and the amount of technology used in everyday life and work, we must provide learning opportunities for students to develop "digcit" skills all year long.

Being a responsible digital citizen means that all individuals are able to use technology ethically, responsibly, and effectively. It is important to develop an understanding of the impact that one's digital actions can have on other individuals and on society as a whole. Students and teachers must be able to keep themselves safe, know how to protect their privacy, learn how to critically analyze information, and engage in respectful interactions online.

Vital digital citizenship skills

Privacy and security: With increased data collection and online tracking of websites we use and how our information is shared, understanding how to safeguard our privacy is key. With more students using digital tools and at a younger age, it is essential to build in activities that will help students to better understand how to protect themselves and to respect the privacy of others as well. For instance, teaching students how to create unique passwords is key for securing personal information. With the increase in cybersecurity attacks over the past few years, updating passwords and even using two-factor authentication (TFA) will help to keep everyone safer.

Communication: With the variety of social media platforms available and how quickly we can post and respond, providing opportunities for students to practice responsible posting is an area that we need to focus on regularly. Even with young students, simulating an X (formerly Twitter) chat or other online discussion can be done using sticky notes, for example. Depending on grade level, another option is to use a tool like Padlet to help students learn how to properly post and interact with one another.

Cyberbullying: Because of the instant access to posting online, cyberbullying is a serious topic that needs to be discussed in every classroom. All educators can place a greater emphasis on recognizing and preventing cyberbullying by teaching students to be empathetic online. It is always a good idea to remind students to think before posting and offer tips for how to respond to or speak up against cyberbullying. Schools should have guidelines in place for students to understand their rights and responsibilities when it comes to technology use.

Tools and resources

There are a variety of activities and tools available that educators can bring into their classroom to give students the chance to engage in independent learning to develop digital citizenship skills. Some of these offer lessons that teachers can work through with students and make time for in class discussion, which leads to a more authentic and meaningful learning experience about the importance of responsible use of technology.

21 Things 4 Students is a site that offers free activities for students in grades five through nine to learn more about online safety and to build technology skills.

Be Internet Awesome is available via Google and offers a curriculum for teaching online safety and digital citizenship in the classroom. The resources include activities, charts, guides, and Google Slides. They also provide a family guide and reference charts in both English and Spanish.

Book Creator has three books focused on digital citizenship to help educators get started in their classroom. Also, by using Book Creator, students can collaborate with classmates to create a book and learn how to post and interact responsibly, access and use information, and build their digital citizenship skills.

BrainPOP provides a series of lessons focused on Digital Citizenship. There are 20 topics available and free lessons on digital etiquette and conflict resolution. Lesson plans and a variety of activities are included with each focus area.

Common Sense Media provides a variety of resources that focus on digital citizenship, media literacy, balancing the use of technology, and more. Their Digital Citizen materials are a fun and interactive way to teach students about internet safety.

EverFi offers activities and lessons on a variety of topics for students in grades K through 12. There are lessons on digital literacy and wellness that cover staying safe online and identity protection, with some lessons available in languages in addition to English.

Nearpod has a variety of lessons available that are specific to grade levels and topics focused on digital citizenship. They created a series of lessons for Digital Citizenship Week that cover topics such as cyberbullying, digital literacy, and online safety for students in grades K through 12.

sharing the importance of digital citizenship

In my eighth-grade STEAM course, we talk a lot about digital citizenship throughout the year. We use all of the abovementioned resources and engage in discussions about the concerns that come up. A few years ago, I started to teach my students how to sketchnote and used it as an opportunity to have them create PSAs to share information about one of the elements of digital citizenship they selected. I displayed their sketchnotes in our hallway to serve as reminders of the importance of digital citizenship. As an extension activity, a tool like Buncee allows students to create a Digital Citizenship PSA poster based on what they have learned.

The rapid evolution of technology, especially with generative AI, means that we need to consistently help students learn how to evaluate online sources, identify fake news, and develop skills in analyzing multimedia content carefully and critically. In some cases, students may overly rely on technology, which is why it's important to provide opportunities for students to find balance in the use of tech and to learn how to use it responsibly and effectively.

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Developing Students' Digital Citizenship Skills

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Teaching students to develop digital citizenship skills such as how to protect their data helps them make better decisions online.

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Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

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VideoAmy explores the topic of digital citizenship with this playlist of videos on the importance of online safety, manners, privacy, and responsibility.

"Digital citizenship" is an umbrella term that covers a whole host of important issues. Broadly, it's the guidelines for responsible, appropriate behavior when one is using technology. But specifically, it can cover anything from "netiquette" to cyberbullying; technology access and the digital divide; online safety and privacy; copyright, plagiarism, and digital law, and more. In fact, some programs that teach digital citizenship have outlined no less than nine elements that intersect to inform a well-equipped digital citizen. It's an overwhelming array of skills to be taught and topics to explore.

But while there is much talk about the importance of teaching digital citizenship in this information society, not many are sure what that really looks like. What tools are out there for teaching it? And how in the world can teachers make time in an already overcrowded curriculum? This playlist is intended to offer tools to make the case that it's critical to teach this, and then launchpad videos to seed classroom discussions once you've carved out that precious time.

Video Playlist: Teaching Digital Citizenship

Watch the first video below, or watch the whole playlist on YouTube.

1. What is Digital Citizenship? (05:19)
This succinct video from BeCyberwise describes why digital citizenship is so important. Includes a clip of Howard Gardner speaking about his GoodPlay project and a peek at Common Sense Media's comprehensive Digital Citizenship curriculum.

2. Be a Digital Citizen (02:13)
Need a quick and simple clip to introduce the concept of digital citizenship to parents or students? This video gives some statistics about internet and social media usage and then describes the many ways in which we are all affected on a daily basis by our technology use.

3. Go Figure 2 -- Online Safety Version (04:15)
Produced by the international Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI), this animated video zips through a flurry of statistics about young people and online safety. It paints a powerful picture of how important it is to get these conversations started.

4. Out Of Your Hands (01:06)
Watch in dismay as an inappropriate photograph travels from one poor naive teen girl to an online stalker, ending with the admonition "Think before you post." This interactive series of videos was produced by public service announcement (PSA) veterans the Ad Council.

5. TEDxUIUC - Sherry Turkle - Alone Together (16:24)
Thought-provoking TED Talk by MIT professor Sherry Turkle, who has spent much of the last 30 years researching how people relate with technology. It's a long clip at sixteen minutes, but would make a fabulous discussion starter for a lesson on how we function in this culture of connectivity.

6. Digital Dossier (04:24)
This fascinating narrative follows the digital journey of the fictional "Andy" from pre-birth to adulthood by tracking his "digital footprint." It can be illuminating to stop and think about how much personal information we're putting out on the Web. Produced by the Digital Natives Project.

7. YouTube Digital Citizenship Curriculum (01:35)
Another option for free digital literacy curriculum is this one developed by Google and YouTube, who have strong motivations for training young people to be savvy tech users. If YouTube is blocked in your school, please do check out YouTube for Schools, a portal that allows your school to access white-listed educational YouTube content safely and securely.

8. Invasion of the Data Snatchers: How To Protect Your Online Privacy (04:02)
This animated video from Reputation.com manages to be at once cute and menacing. Though geared towards adults, it's a great wake-up call about online privacy issues, and although they're ultimately pushing a paid product, they have some good free resources and privacy protection tools.

9. Our Kids' Connected Culture - Overview for Parents and Teachers (05:56)
This is a great video from Common Sense Media. The MySpace references make it feel little dated, but the issues the teen girl is talking about are just as typical today. It's nice to hear directly from young people about their experiences, and there is a section of tips at the end that are really useful. Also worth watching: this video on their cyberbullying curriculum.

10. Digital Citizen (01:00)
Here's a great idea for a classroom project that teaches about copyright and usage issues while also exploring the themes of digital literacy: have kids create a slideshow video with Creative Commons images about the big questions of digital citizenship.

11. Netiquette - Playing Nice on the Internet (03:20)
Look past the slightly cheesy opening -- this video is a tidy roundup of the basics of good netiquette, something all of us could use a refresher on. Did you know the rules of netiquette pre-date the Web as we know it?

More Resources for Learning About Digital Citizenship

While we haven't solved the problem of finding time in the schedule to teach these essential topics, there is a wealth of great free resources to be found -- many of them aligned to standards, either the Common Core ELA standards, or ISTE's NETS, or both. Whatever the angle you'd like to focus on, you should be able to find some strong materials to supplement your work. Here's a list of resources, organizations, and reading materials to help you get started.

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5-Minute Film Festival: Teaching Digital Citizenship

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VideoAmy explores the topic of digital citizenship with this playlist of videos on the importance of online safety, manners, privacy, and responsibility. "Digital citizenship" is an umbrella term that covers a whole host of important issues. Broadly, it's the guidelines for responsible, appropriate behavior when one is using technology.

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The Internet Keep Safe Coalition is dedicated to protecting children, families, and schools by assessing, advising, and certifying organizations that collect, use, and share personal information and data that is protected by law.

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Be Internet Awesome is a multifaceted program that includes a fun and free web-based game called Interland and an educational curriculum to teach kids how to be safe and responsible explorers of the online world.

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We often hear from educators who feel like they don't have the time to address digital citizenship in their classrooms. With an already overloaded to-do list of annual teaching objectives, setting aside a week (or even a day) to focus on responsible technology use - let alone making time to plan those extra lessons - feels challenging.

Shouldn't these skills be taught in homeroom? Or by the media specialist during library time? Sure, many schools find integrating digital citizenship as a stand-alone program within those classes works well and allows for clear and measurable implementation school-wide. However, digital citizenship skills don't have to be presented as targeted lessons. They can also be integrated into our everyday teaching.

Here are three ways to make digital citizenship part of how we teach, rather than a thing set apart:

Highlight research and media-literacy skills

Research is an essential skill for learning across general and subject-based classrooms. As most student research today starts with a Google or Wikipedia search, how do we help students identify credible information online? Skills like fact-checking , reading around the page , or using reverse image search can help students build a toolkit of solid research skills.

In addition, try introducing students to the SEARCH strategy to support research across all content areas:

S: Select research questions and search tools. Have one or more questions that get to the core of what you want to find out in your search. Also, choose search engines and tools most relevant to what you're looking for.

E: Extract keywords and terms. You can find effective keywords by highlighting the key terms from your research questions.

A: Apply search strategies, such as adding quotation marks or a minus sign or specifying the type of information you need.

R: Run your search. Run a search on the terms you've chosen and review the results. Remember, you should check out multiple sources.

CH: Chart your search. Avoid repeating work you've already done by jotting down what you've searched for and where you've searched for it.

Establish norms for communication in collaborative environments

Many classrooms use collaborative tools to create classroom assignments, work on group projects, and provide feedback. Tools like Microsoft OneNote , Google Drive , and others create feedback spaces that can be more direct, untethered from the school day, and accessible in real time. As we set expectations for how our students communicate in the classroom, we should reinforce these ideas within their interactive, collaborative online learning spaces. Establishing norms for communication both online and in class supports expectations more consistently.

As an added layer of learning, consider encouraging any feedback students give online to be given in person during the next class period. If students feel uncomfortable giving feedback in person, they should reassess whether their online comments were appropriate.

Model digital citizenship on social media

One of the best ways to teach digital citizenship skills in your classroom is to be a role model through your approach to technology use. Both school-based and public social media tools offer a great platform for role-modeling. If you're using an online discussion tool like Backchannel Chat , keep an eye on the conversations so you can interject to address misuse. When you share an online article with your students, walk them through how you determined the credibility of that piece before you posted it.

For educators looking to explore how students might use open social media platforms for learning, consider setting up an approval process for tweets, snaps, and general posts through a collaborative online document. Or you might look into tools like Class Intercom to allow students to generate posts for school social accounts that are gated for review before they post live. Modeling these practices consistently can help set a new norm for how our school communities use social media tools.

Addressing digital citizenship in a stand-alone curriculum or set of lessons is great, but it may not be possible for many educators. By keeping these skills at the top of your mind and weaving them into your everyday instruction, you can make digital citizenship part of the classroom culture and help students establish better habits in school and at home.
See the K-12 Digital Citizenship Curriculum from Common Sense Education here ›

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3 Ways to Make Digital Citizenship Part of Your Everyday Teaching

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All students need digital citizenship skills to participate fully in their communities and make smart choices online and in life. Here are three ways to make digital citizenship part of how we teach, rather than a thing set apart.

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5 Ways to Increase Digital Citizenship in Your Classroom- AVID Open Access

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Discover five ways to help you increase digital citizenship in your classroom.

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It's Digital Citizenship Week, and I've got a few resources to share with you! Whew. digital citizenship. It's a biggie. Let me say that I have felt the weight of teaching digital citizenship. I've also had many discussions on this topic with teachers, administrators, and parents. A lot of us feel lost with where to start, what exactly to teach, and how to keep up with it all. It can feel daunting, but it doesn't have to be!

How do we stay ahead of the game?

Let's be honest, many students are light years ahead of adults when it comes to technology. As a result of their digital culture, they can seamlessly move between apps, programs, devices, operating systems, gaming systems, and more. They can do this easily and with relatively no learning curve. Many of them are fearless when it comes to exploring the world wide web and all the information, tools, and interaction it offers. In fact, some of them are creating the very tools we are using.

There is a Google answer for every question and a Google solution to every problem. For example, a former fourth-grade student wanted to play Fortnite, which was blocked by the school during class. He Googled: "How to get on Fortnite at school when it's blocked." Then he searched, "How to not get caught playing Fortnite by your teacher." He learned how to create a decoy screen and enjoyed playing Fortnite during class, for a time. Then, a bit clumsily, he got caught. Pretty ingenious and resourceful, but also, what?? A fourth-grader?!

A more serious story is that of a fifth-grade girl. She set up a Facebook account using a fake birthday. Not knowing how to manage the privacy settings, she posted her cell phone number and location information for the world to see. This clearly opened her up to all kinds of risks. Very scary situation! I have many other stories, entailing everything from plagiarism to cyberbullying to misusing digital resources. But for each of these stories, I have others highlighting creativity, collaboration, kindness, ingenuity, and learning. How do we compete with Google, social media, and other technology to stay ahead of the game? How do we ensure that students are using technology appropriately and staying safe at all times?

What can we do?

Just like with any tool, we can't ensure it's being used appropriately all the time. And just like any situation or environment, we can't ensure safety at all times. But what we can do is focus on teaching students the skills necessary for using digital tools appropriately and safely. This means focusing on digital citizenship as a preventative measure, starting with our youngest learners. We must talk openly about every aspect of digital citizenship, on a developmentally appropriate level, and we must talk about it often. But we can't just talk. We also have to practice it, giving students guided opportunities and then offering independence.

Here is an excellent, research-based article, Digital Citizenship Starts with the Person Not the Tool! from ISTE's blog. I can't agree more. The author discusses prevention science in relationship to digital citizenship. While the article admits that more research and program integration need to be done, it provides several thought-provoking guiding questions for digital citizenship programs.

What exactly is digital citizenship?

According to edvolve's Digital Citizenship Curricular Framework PK-12 by the Dig Cit Doctors Kristen Mattson and LeeAnn Lindsey, there are four important strands: Digital Safety, Media and Information Literacy, Digital Well-Being, and Social Responsibility. Take a look at how these are defined:

Depending on the program, curriculum, or framework you use, digital citizenship might be defined differently. However, it usually revolves around some mixture of safety, responsibility, digital literacy, and well-being. Let's take a look at a few available resources that you might find helpful when addressing concepts surrounding digital citizenship with your students.

This 32-page, downloadable PDF, reviewed by our own Executive Director Lori Gracey, offers a free and simple approach to teaching digital citizenship. It is also aligned with several standards, including Common Core State Standards, CASEL (social-emotional learning), and ISTE (technology). As pictured above, the framework breaks digital citizenship into four strands. Each strand is associated with enduring understandings, overall indicators of success, grade level indicators, and sample guiding questions per grade level. There are also technology skills related to each strand and a list of aligned content standards.

Samples pages from the edvolve Digital Citizenship Curricular Framework PK-12

This is one of my favorite websites outlining digital citizenship. Their five principles provide an excellent definition of what it means to be a "digital citizen." And in addition, their six tenets for digital citizenship are fantastic practices for students. I have personally used these principles and tenets with elementary and middle school students when teaching digital citizenship. They also offer several digital citizenship agreements and a code of honor that I find to be fantastic tools. The primary and middle school agreements focus on three areas of responsibility: Looking After Yourself, Looking After Others, and Looking After Property. The high school agreement adds a bit more. My upper elementary students loved the "fancy" wording in the Code of Honor. It gave us the opportunity to discuss the vocabulary and meaning together in relation to the digital citizenship agreement.

Sample from Global Digital Citizen Code of Hounour

Activity Idea: With upper elementary, I actually used the middle school agreement. I put together an activity where I separated and mixed up all the statements listed under each section (Looking After Myself, Looking After Others, Looking After Property) of the digital citizenship agreement. Then students were grouped and tasked with placing each statement under the correct heading. You can do this easily using a tool like Jamboard! Once students categorized them under the three headings, we went over each statement together. Some were incorrectly placed, and we were able to talk about why. The students loved this activity. They were excited to share examples from their own lives in relationship to the statements we studied. As a result, it was very enlightening for me. And it also let them know that these topics were okay for us to discuss.

Sample from the Global Digital Citizen Middle School Agreement

Common Sense Education has some great resources for Digital Citizenship Week. There are daily activities, resources for promoting digital citizenship in the community, and training and learning events.

From the commonsense.org Digital Citizenship Week website

They also have a free K-12 curriculum broken up by grade level. Each grade level contains lesson plans with objectives, vocabulary, a list of what you'll need, resources (videos, songs, etc.), and take-home resources. Lessons focus on the following topics:

From the commonsense.org Digital Citizenship Week website

In addition, you can download the lesson plans as PDFs. Don't have time for a full lesson? No problem. They provide you with a condensed version! Check out their digital citizenship week activities for elementary, , and high school students for an activity each day.

4. The Social Institute

I love this article from The Social Institute's blog about their seven social standards. These standards are fantastic, relevant, and excellent for students in grades 4-12. If you create a free login, they also have a downloadable School Playbook: Social Media's Role in Social-Emotional Health. This handout proposes five steps to support students in using social media and provides some informative statistics. It also promotes their #WinAtSocial social-emotional learning (SEL) curriculum, which incorporates social media, SEL, and digital citizenship. This is a relatively new web-based and gamified curriculum aligned with CASEL standards. To find out the cost, you have to contact them through the website. Here is a snapshot of their program at-a-glance:

https://thesocialinstitute.com/solutions/students/

I would also recommend checking out their blog for many articles about social media, their Student Influencer Program, social-emotional learning, and more.

Nearpod has recently published a blog post with some great daily activities for Digital Citizenship Week 2021 in partnership with Flocabulary. The activities are linked directly into the post for you to add individually, or you can download the weekly plans. These include activities for grades K-12 on everything from the history of the internet to trustworthy sources to cyberbullying. If you use these lessons in your classroom, Nearpod asks for Tweets of pictures using the hashtag #DigCitwithNearpod.

They've also included some really great free, downloadable posters. In addition, Nearpod does have a full Digital Citizenship and Literacy curriculum, and you can contact a representative for a quote.

Additional Resources

A Digital Citizenship Framework and Lessons is a TechNotes blog post by Lori Gracey providing several resources for digital citizenship lessons.

Digizen is a website that has tons of resources on digital citizenship, social networking, digital values, and more.

Google provides a Digital Citizenship and Safety Course for teachers and students. The course has five units, each with an introduction, lesson, and review, lasting a total of 23 minutes each. Topics covered include privacy, phishing and scams, online safety, searching, and online reputation.

DigCitCommit has a list of great resources. Not only that, but if you have created your own resources, you can submit them to share with others.

Google has some resources on their Be Internet Awesome site. They also list a few partners that are worth checking out. For example, PearDeck has created Be Internet Awesome interactive presentations to coordinate with Google's lessons.

SeeSaw has more than 1,500 activities under the Digital Citizenship category in its Activity Library.

In addition to the suggested activities in Common Sense Education's daily activities, Book Creator offers lessons and student activity books.

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Five Free, Ready-to-Use Digital Citizenship Resources for PK-12 Lessons

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It's Digital Citizenship Week, and I've got a few resources to share with you! Whew. digital citizenship. It's a biggie. Let me say that I have felt the weight of teaching digital citizenship. I've also had many discussions on this topic with teachers, administrators, and parents.

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In an increasingly complex world, financial literacy and other life skills are more important than ever. Give your students the knowledge they need to thrive with our free, standards-aligned courses and programs. You're the boss. We're your magic toolbox full of standards-aligned lessons on critical life-skills topics.

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8 Picture Books About Using Technology to Connect With Others

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These books with characters who use tech to communicate with those they can’t be with in person should engage early learners.

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Picture Books to Promote Digital Citizenship - Edmonton Public Library

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Picture Books to Promote Digital Citizenship by EPLPicks_Kids - a staff-created list : We are all digital citizens! Reading these picture books can spark discussion with kids about how we use computers, technology and the internet to engage with society in a balanced and meaningful way.

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Teaching Digital Citizenship in the classroom is important because it helps students understand online safety and prevents cyberbullying. It also promotes digital literacy, digital responsibility, and digital health. This is why it is so critical to teach to kids. Use children's books about digital citizenship as a gateway for opening up discussions in the learning environment. Whether you are a teacher, counselor, or parent, using books to help illustrate a topic is a great way for kids to learn.

Use this Character Education: Digital Citizenship resource in your counseling sessions. It covers cyberbullying, online safety, social media, clickbait, screen time, and more. Check out a FREE sample of this resource here.

Looking for more ideas on how to teach digital citizenship in the classroom? Check out this blog post on Teaching Digital Citizenship in the Classroom.

Books that Teach Digital Citizenship
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Title of Book and Author: Chicken Clicking by Jeanne Willis

A short summary of the book: This story is about a little chick who sneaks into the farmer's house and uses the farmer's computer. She sneaks back into the house multiple times and buys many items online for her farm friends ranging from teapots to a vacation.

Her online shopping is getting out of control. She even buys another chick friend and adds personal information about herself for the "friend" to see. She agrees to meet the new friend in the woods without telling her parents. The little chick is shocked to find out that her new friend is actually not a chick at all!

Why I like the book: This book contains bright illustrations and has fun rhymes to help keep little readers engaged while confidently teaching internet safety in a classroom setting.

The moral of the story: It is important to use the internet safely and be truthful with adults.

Topics covered: Digital Citizenship; Internet Safety; Navigating Technology; Online Predators; Honesty

Title of Book and Author: Nerdy Birdy Tweets by Aaron Reynolds

A short summary of the book: This is the second book in the Nerdy Bird series by Aaron Reynolds. It is about Nerdy Bird and his best friend, Vulture. These two best friends could not be more different!

They know they don't have to like all of the same things to stay friends. One day, Nerdy Bird joins Tweester online and soon has many friend requests. Vulture sees his friend becoming enveloped in all of these new friends and becomes angry. Thankfully, Nerdy Bird knows how to smooth things over with his best friend.

Why I like the book: Parents and teachers can use this book as a great introduction into safety with social media. This book also helps students ask hard questions: do I value my real-life friends or my online likes more? What is okay to share online?

The moral of the story: Think carefully about what you post and always consider your personal friendships.

Topics covered: Social media; Responsibility; Friendship; Digital citizenship; Online etiquette

Title of Book and Author: But It's Just a Game by Julia Cook

A short summary of the book: Jasper is a little boy who LOVES video games. If he isn't playing video games, he is thinking about them. Video games begin to take over his life. Responsibilities like homework and chores, and even fun things like play, are overlooked. Jasper's mom takes his game controller and helps Jasper get involved in his life again. She sets firm boundaries for him along the way.

Why I like the book: This book addresses a current growing issue of video game (and internet) addiction head-on. Julia Cook gives examples of clear guidelines and ideas for parents and teachers to use in helping children establish healthy limits with internet and video game use.

The moral of the story: Setting limits helps create a healthy balance in life.

Topics covered: Digital Citizenship; Video game addiction; Self-control; Balance; Boundaries

Title of Book and Author: But I Read It on the Internet! by Toni Buzzeo

A short summary of the book: This is the fourth book in the series of Mrs. Skorupski, the librarian, and library skills. In this book, Mrs. Skorupski and the classroom teacher collaborate to teach the fourth graders at Liberty Elementary School how to assess and cite all sources. The students learn to examine resources found on the internet for accuracy, how easy they are to use, and the level of informativeness.

Why I like the book: This book resembles realistic fiction and is best used for older elementary students. Readers will be able to relate to this story with ease as they see themselves in the various characters.

The moral of the story: Not all information online is created equally.

Topics covered: Internet research; Information literacy; Digital citizenship; Fact-checking

Title of Book and Author: The Fabulous Friend Machine by Nick Bland

A short summary of the book: At Fiddlesticks Farms, Popcorn is the friendliest chicken to be found. She loves to greet anyone she sees. One day, she sees a glowing screen in the straw that says "hello" when she pecks it, and she just must greet it in return. Popcorn becomes fixated on the conversation she is having on the screen and forgets all about her friends on the farm. She schedules a meeting with her internet friends and finds herself in a very tricky situation. Luckily, her farm friends come to her rescue!

Why I like the book: This book opens great conversations about friendships in real-life and those that only exist via the internet. Parents and teachers alike can use this book to help talk to children about internet safety.

The moral of the story: Choose your friends wisely.

Topics covered: Digital Citizenship; Friendship; Kindness; Technology; Internet safety

Title of Book and Author: #Goldilocks by Jeanne Willis

A short summary of the book: Goldilocks loves to create hilarious online videos, and everyone seems to love them too! She soon receives more likes, laughs, and hits. All of the excitement goes to her head, and Goldilocks decides to do more daring things like stealing porridge, breaking chairs, and sleeping in someone else's bed. How will Daddy Bear react when he sees these videos?

Why I like the book: Because this book is a twist on a very traditional classic, it is easy for younger and older readers to engage with the story. Jeanne Willis helps children learn what is appropriate and not appropriate to share online.

The moral of the story: Internet usage can go wrong very quickly; be wise in what you share.

Topics covered: Online safety; Digital citizenship; Digital footprint; Online attention

Title of Book and Author: Unplugged by Steve Antony

A short summary of the book: Unplugged is about a character named Blip. Blip is always plugged into her computer. She does a lot of great things while she is on the computer, but she just spends so much time online. During a blackout, Blip finds herself outside. She is surrounded by colors, meets new friends, and goes on adventures. When she goes back home, Blip realizes that the world can be so much more fun and exciting if you choose to unplug.

Why I like the book: The illustrations are symbolic to the excitement of life away from a computer as they are black and white at the beginning of the story while Blip is plugged into her computer but change into color as she shifts to the outdoors. This is a great book to read to students about finding balance between technology and the outside world.

The moral of the story: Finding balance between technology and the outside world is so important.

Topics covered: Technology; Outdoors; Finding balance; Digital citizenship

Title of Book and Author: Bully by Patricia Pollaco

A short summary of the book: Lyla and Jamie become great friends on the first day of sixth grade. Lyla makes the cheerleading team, and the "popular girls" invite her to join them. Lyla realizes that Jamie is left behind. She sees them teasing Jamie and other classmates on Facebook, and she knows that being a part of their friend group isn't for her. The popular girls don't stop easily though and are now out for revenge.

Why I like the book: This book speaks to a very relevant topic in today's society- cyberbullying. Students now have so much more complex bullying situations to decipher, and Patricia Pollaco rises to the occasion with Bully. In the end, she displays a girl who chooses to stand up for her friend despite the potential repercussions.

The moral of the story: Cyberbullying is still bullying, and it's wrong.

Topics covered: Bullying; Cliques; Online Bullying; Cyberbullying

Title of Book and Author: eNinja by Mary Nhin

A short summary of the book: This book is a story about teaching the proper online manners for virtual school. eNinja helps his friend Stressed Ninja by teaching him to be prepared, polite, and positive about school. He shares examples of how one might feel in different situations of distance learning and when to apply these best online practices.

Why I like the book: There are many realistic tips for parents and children shared in this fun ninja-themed book. A checklist is included in the back of this book to help prepare and get excited for a year of virtual school.

The moral of the story: You can be prepared and excited for a different, online school experience.

Topics covered: Virtual school; Distance learning; Anxiety; Preparedness; Helping others

*Purchase eNinja on Amazon or read it for FREE on Kindle Unlimited.

Title of Book and Author: Webster's Email by Hannah Whaley

A short summary of the book: Webster is a little spider who sends an email with a funny picture of his sister. The email is quickly forwarded to many others. He soon begins to feel regret as he realizes the number of people receiving his email continues to grow. Webster learns a valuable lesson about the speed and power of the internet.

Why I like the book: Hannah Whaley introduces how emailing and technology works to young children. The story is fun to read as it rhymes and the characters are friendly little spiders and bugs. It also highlights counting to 20.

The moral of the story: Be thoughtful in the messages you send online.

Topics covered: Technology; Internet etiquette; Regret; Digital citizenship
*Purchase Webster's Email on Amazon or read for FREE on Kindle Unlimited!
Title of Book and Author: Cell Phoney by Julia Cook

S hort summary of the book: So many children anxiously await getting a new cell phone - and Joanie Maloney is no different. When Joanie gets a new cell phone, her mom encourages her to take a cell phone safety course. Through the course, Joanie learns to safely use her new cell phone.

Why I like the book: As teachers and counselors, we are seeing an increase in cell phone usage among young students. Cell phones are a valuable technology, but they can also lead to unsafe actions and behavior by young children. As a former counselor, Julia Cook created an engaging, informative book with advice that young students will take to heart.

T he moral of the story: With a new cell phone comes great responsibility. With guidance and rules, you can use your cell phone in a safe way.

Topics covered: Digital citizenship

Resources about Digital Citizenship

Pair your favorite children's books about digital citizenship with these activities to make the perfect classroom lessons. I use this Character Education: Digital Citizenship resource that includes everything you need to teach kids to be good digital citizens. For more ideas on teaching Digital Citizenship, check out this blog post by clicking here.

Character Education: Digital Citizenship is a fantastic resource! It covers Cyberbullying, online safety, social media kindness, clickbait, addictive features, screen time, and digital etiquette. This resource is an easy print-and-go or digital learning tool to pair with children's books about digital citizenship.

To get a small preview of the Digital Citizenship resource, check out this Digital Citizenship FREEBIE that covers the different Digital Citizenship areas such as Digital Integrity, Digital Literacy, Digital Safety, and more. it's a great add on activity to after you use children's books about digital citizenship.

Find Books on Different Topics:
Perseverance Friendship Self-Control Mindfulness Cooperation Growth Mindset

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Children's Books about Digital Citizenship - Heart and Mind Teaching

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Looking for a list of Children's books about Digital Citizenship? These books for the classroom teach kids about cyberbullying, social media, online safety, and more.