Common Sense Education’s digital citizenship lessons

Common Sense Education is the education arm of the non-profit Common Sense Media, and it offers a complete, free curriculum in “digital citizenship” – the skills children and teenagers need to use the internet safely, wisely and respectfully. Our children spend long hours on screens and deal every day with privacy, online friendships and misleading news, and this curriculum helps teachers and parents discuss these subjects in an organised way that suits each age.

What sets this curriculum apart is that it is not built on fear of the internet but on critical thinking and responsibility: students learn to decide for themselves what to share, whom to trust, how to act when something upsetting happens, and when to ask a trusted adult for help. In the long run that works better than prohibition alone.

What you will find

• Ready-made lessons arranged by school grade, from primary school to the end of secondary.
• Core topics: media balance, privacy and security, cyberbullying, self-image and relationships, critical thinking about news and advertising, and digital footprints.
• For each lesson: a teacher’s plan, presentation slides, student activities and discussion questions.
• Resources for parents to follow what their children are learning and discuss it at home.

Who it suits

It suits teachers at every stage, especially ICT teachers and school counsellors, and parents who want a clear starting point for a conversation with their children about the internet. The content is in English; a teacher can use the lessons’ ideas and activities and present them to students in Arabic, taking the students’ culture and age into account and crediting the source when using its materials.

How to use it, step by step

1. Choose the right school stage, then start with a topic your students or children need now, such as privacy or bullying.
2. Read the whole lesson plan before teaching it, and adapt the examples to your students’ reality.
3. Put discussion at the heart of the lesson, and let students talk about situations they have faced themselves.
4. Send parents a summary of what was discussed, so they can continue the conversation at home.
5. Return to the important topics every year at a deeper level, because digital citizenship is built gradually.

Before you start

The resource provides an excellent framework, but values and rules are set by each family and school as suits them. For parents, we also recommend UNICEF Parenting in the library, and the parents’ page on the Badr Academy Education website. The content and its rights belong to Common Sense Media.