E-safety (Ages 7-11)
Introduction
Below are a series of videos and resources to help teach e-safety to Years 3-6 (ages 7-11). We have divided them into two packs (Years 3/4 and 5/6). Pupils can also access a pupil activity pack (see codes below), helping them access the videos, games and question independently at school or home. The resources are also mapped to the Education for a Connected World (2020) framework using this interactive page.
⏱ 1-2 hours per pupil activity pack
Years 3/4 (Ages 7-9) E-safety Activity Pack (Teacher View)
Pupil Activity Code: ESW9 – What is it?
Progression of skills:
1. Understand what to do if something upsets you online. (Video 1)
2. Understand why and how people can be nasty online. (Video 1 + questions)
3. Describe the term ‘sharing online’ and why we need to get permission to share photos and videos of other people. (Video 2 and 3)
4. Understand why people pretend to be someone else online. (Video 2 and 3 + questions)
5. Understand why we only talk to people we know in the real world, when online. (Video 2 and 3 + questions)
6. Understand why we should not always trust what we read online and how to check (Video 2 and 3 + questions)
7. Understand the importance of being kind in the real world and also online. (Activity 3 Kindness Kingdom)
8. Understand how to protect digital content with a strong password. (Activity 3 Tower Of Treasure)
9. Understand the importance of using avatars and how to make them. (Activity 4)
- Use technology safely, respectfully and responsibly; recognise acceptable/unacceptable behaviour; identify a range of ways to report concerns about content and contact.
The first episode of Band Runner below covers children setting up a band and then posting videos online. The children receive not very nice messages about their video online and block the contacts and a parent.
Key questions to ask after watching video, there are also questions in the pupil activity pack that pupils can answer on a piece of paper after they have watched each video:
– What should you do if you see something that upsets you online? (Block a person if you receive a message, tell and trusted adult (teacher/parent)
– Why do people post nasty words online? (Because people hide their identify and think no-one will find out)
2. Describe the term ‘sharing online’ and why we need to get permission to share photos and videos of other people. Understand why people pretend to be someone else online. Understand why we only talk to people we know in the real world, when online.
The second and third episode cover the band sharing photos online without permission and people posting messages online by pretending to be someone else. The third video also covers if we should trust what we read online (the children wrongly go to an address they are sent via an online message)
Key questions:
– What does the word ‘sharing’ mean in terms of the online world? (To post information/photos/videos online for others to see)
– What was wrong about the children sharing the photo at the beginning of episode 2 and who would see that photo? (They did not have permission of the person in the photo and anyone could see that photo because they made it public)
– Why do people pretend to be someone else online? (To say and do naughty things without people finding out who they really are)
– Who should you talk to online? (Only people you know in the real world – talk about the difference between the real world and the online world)
– Should we always trust what we read online? (This is also covered in the fake news activity Year 4 Internet Research Activity Pack.
Band Runner includes is a platform game that covers many of the scenarios from the videos above as a quiz built into a platform game. There are instructions at the start.
The Kindness Kingdom is a platform where pupils need to get to the top by sharing kindness online. It is a good way to encourage respecting people online.
Pupils will need to read the instructions carefully at the start. Mindful Mountain help’s children’s awareness of only sharing personal information with people that they know.
To help pupils understand the importance of protecting digital content with a strong password, pupils could try Tower Of Treasure. Move around collecting the digital content (using keyboard arrows or onscreen arrows), such as message and emails and then lock it away by choosing the best password to protect it.
4. Avatars
Avatars are cartoon versions of us and should be used instead of photos when creating online profiles. Watch the video to learn why we use avatars how to make them. Then use the Doppelme.com website to make your own and save it.
The Troll Stinks book introduces cyber-bullying to younger pupils and respecting people’s privacy. We have included this book in our KS1 section too but can cover both.
This video below talks about all the different ways the Internet is exciting and helps us but it also covers screen time and the importance of playing outside etc.
Assessment
The pupil activity pack (see pupil code above) includes questions next to each video that pupils can answer on a piece of paper after watching to show their understanding of the video. The assessment sheet/cards below can be used to assess many of the e-safety rules/skills covered in the activities above, particularly the Play, Like, Share videos. The sheet could be used individually by pupils or as discussion points in small groups.
Progression of skills
1. Understand to keep personal information private.
2. Respect and protect against online bullies.
3. Understand the consequences of sharing photo/videos online.
4. Understand the term digital footprint.
5. Check online content is trustworthy.
6. Understand how, where and who can we report concerns we have to.
7. Understand the pitfalls of in-app purchases.
8. Understand how and why companies/people track our online behaviour and how we can prevent it. (Data Defenders activity)
9. Understand how clones, trojans and hackers can steal your online identity. (Cyber Sprinters Activity)
– Personal information/privacy (name, address, email, passwords, phone number)
– Cyber-bullying (includes the word respecting people online, trolling)
– Sharing (sharing photo/videos online)
– Digital footprint (things we put online can never completely be removed)
– Trust (Do we trust what we read? What is fake news? How can we check that information is correct?
– Report (Where, how and who can we report concerns we have?)
Jigsaw Video (Recommended for Year 5)
The Jigsaw video is an older resource but it shares a great message about how we try to stay safe in the real world but can not apply the same rules to our online activity It does this my showing a young girl putting up photos/profile outside her house, leaving her door open and letting strangers into her bedroom to take her photos and talk to her.
1. In the first scene, the young girl puts her personal profile on a board in her front garden and leaves her door open. Why did she do this do you think? (Showing that when we make a profile public on the internet, anyone can see it)
2. The next scene shows other children taking photos of the profile and then a stranger walking into the house and taking photos off the wall. Can you describe what digital footprint means? (Something we put online, such as a photo, can never be fully removed)
3. How did the stranger know which school the girl went to? (She was wearing her school uniform in the photo on her profile)
4. Why do people pretend to be people they are not when talking online? (To trick people into talking to them)
5. What did the girl do to get help? (Reported it through CEOP report button)
6. Can you write down 3-4 things you have learned from watching this video?
Caught in the Web (Recommended for Year 6)
Caught in the web video shows a number of scenarios including talking to strangers online, cyber-bullying, reporting issues and addiction.
7. Why do people change their appearance online? (To be someone else, maybe tricking people into talking to them)
8. How can cyberbullies hurt someone online? (Writing hurtful things, such as name calling and scaring us)
9. What should you do before leaving your computer or phone? (Log off and make sure it is password protected)
10. What could happen to your health and school work if you get addicted to video games, apps or websites? (Could become poorly because tired or not eating healthy and not concentrating on school work, meaning bad reports and grades)
11. Why should we not meet people we speak to online in the real world? (Because they may be people pretending to be somebody else who may want to hurt us)
The Caught in the web video above covers, in multiple scenes, children receiving messages online from people who they do not know. The Fake Text Message website allows teachers (and pupils) to create a fake text message conversations. This could be used by teachersr to to help pupils spot where people are going wrong with messages. Pupil could also create their own message and discuss with each other how they would respond to each message.
Trusting the Internet
There are billions of pieces of information on the Internet, many true and many untrue.
12. What we do when we read news or information online to make sure it is not ‘fake news’? (Try more than one source, such as another website or speak to someone)
13. How do we know a website is secure? (Padlock icon next to website address)
14. What can companies do with your personal information? (Sell it or send your junk mail with viruses)
You can demonstrate how information changes from websites to website by showing a weather report for your school’s postcode on three different websites, BBC Weather, Accuweather and Weather.com.
Also discuss how when research information and facts online, it is a good idea to use 2-3 websites to find the same information. This is linked with the activity in the Internet Research Activity Pack.
The Reality River game presents real/fake scenarios for pupils to use their common sense.
In-app purchasing
Watch the video to understand how in-app purchases work and make sure we are using them sensibly. Then answer the questions below.
15. Why is it important to read reviews of apps before buying them or purchasing in-app purchases? (to see if the in-app purchases are worth the money)
16. Why is it important to ask permission before buying an in-app purchase? (Because it may not be worth the money and others will give unbiased opinions)
17. What should we do if we do not want to see in app purchases in the App Store? (turn them off in the settings of the device)
Quizzes
Pupils can test their understanding of e-safety using the Safe Kids Quiz.
Digital Passport (Across Year 5 and 6)
The Common Sense Education Digital Passport helps pupils understand various aspects of e-safety, including passwords, the distractions of mobile phones, sharing personal information, responding to Cyberbullying scenarios and narrowing search results. For the first digital passport, pupils can choose a suitable username and then this is used when passport is awarded and also to attempt other passports. There is an educators guide here.
Data Detectives
Learn how companies/people track our online behaviour and what they do with our personal data. Work through the Data Detectives activities, which is a matching game but also helps us understand what we can do to protect our personal data.
For teachers, there is a guide here.
Cyber Sprinters
Learn about hackers, clones and trojans, to stay cyber-secure. Try the Cyber Sprinters activity and remember to read/listen to the instructions at the start.