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=Teach Internet Safety= toc

Introduction:
Internet safety in the elementary grades should be integrated into the regular curriculum, using the [|Salem City Schools Computer/ Technology Skills Checklist] to guide instruction. For example, when teachers provide instruction to their students on using the Cafe Terminal system at the beginning of the year, they can also include the issue of password security. At that point, and periodically throughout the school year, teachers should provide instruction for students on confidentiality of information, building a context beyond Cafe Terminal to many other applications.

Classroom teachers will also instruct and assess students on their understanding of the [|Acceptable Use Policy] during the first two weeks of school. The assessment will be age-appropriate. For younger students, it might be a drawing to illustrate acceptable use. For older students, it might be an online assessment activity, a quiz, or writing assignment. Teachers will integrate other Internet Safety lessons throughout the year. Guidance Counselors and DARE officers are also in unique positions that afford them opportunities to teach internet safety as part of their curriculum.

The following sites contain pre-made lessons complete with worksheets, handouts, multimedia presentations, website links, and games for students to play to help teach internet safety in an age appropriate manner. Teachers can use these sites to teach internet safety with little planning. Sites can be added to this page as they are discovered, allowing the curriculum to evolve as technology evolves.

[|CyberSmart!: Lesson Plans and Acitivities]
The CyberSmart! Curriculum is non-sequential and is easily integrated, in part or in full. Organized in five units, each teaching an important facet of Internet use, it consists of 65 original standards-based lesson plans with Activity Sheets. The number of lessons per grade increases as students' reading and critical thinking skills develop.*

[|iKeepSafe and Dare Lessons]
D.A.R.E. America and iKeepSafe.org have teamed up to create 15 simple activities that teach important internet safety principles to children (4-10 years). Each activity is designed to be used with a parent, teacher, or law enforcement officer or perhaps an older child. Expect about 10 minutes for each activity.* Lessons includes titles such as "I Know the Safety Rules," "I Keep Telling My Parents," and "Don't Open That!"

My favorite section of this site is the movie, "Faux Paw the Techno Cat." In the movie, Faux Paw attempts to meet Happy Fluffy Kitty Face, a friend he met in a chat room, in person. He finds out, however, that Happy Fluffy Kitty Face is actually a bull dog! He is saved, though, thanks to quick thinking on the part of his friend, Clicker.

[| NetSmartz Activity Cards]
This site provides activity cards (or lesson plans) for grades K-2, 3-4, and 5-6. These activity cards are related to the online activities and easy to implement with few extra materials. Printable handouts are included. Each activity card features
 * an overview of the topic and activities for each stand-alone card
 * the key safety message to be conveyed and educational goal
 * a list of materials needed
 * instructions for one or two activities
 * an estimated time needed to complete each activity, ranges from 15 to 30 minutes
 * discussion questions, dialogs, and suggested answers in italic type*

Read "[|Introduction to Activity Cards]" to learn more about using these activities with children. [|Supplemental materials] are also provided for you, including visual aids and worksheets. [|Online and Offline Activities and Games] are also provided.

[|HCPS ISAFE] This site has computer activities broken down for each grade level to learn about internet safety. A Teacher's Guide is provided.

[|Get Your Web License]
This site allows students to earn a "Web Licenses" by answering questions about things such as passwords and meeting people. The only thing I saw that might be questionable was that one of the categories said that it was okay to give out your first name, age, city, and hobbies. Many of the other games discourage giving out any form of your name or address. This site is appropriate for Grades 3 - 5 due to the amount of reading involved.

[|NetSmartzKids]
This site goes along with the [|NetSmartz Activity Cards]. Games and activities are provided in a fun and entertaining way. Kids meet Clicky, Webster, and Nettie who lead them on fun adventures. But watch out for the WizzyWigs like the Spamozoid, Hot-Head, Potty Mouth Pete, the Oogle, Numbut, and Follow-You-Fiona!

[|Disney's Surf Swell Island]
The Surf Swell Island site is a quiz-driven adventure game. Internet safety material is presented in a series of three games, each featuring a classic Disney character and focusing on an area of concern: privacy, viruses, or netiquette (guidelines for behavior on the Internet). Each of the three games is followed by a mini-quiz reinforcing what was presented in the game. The exciting Challenge of Doom mega-quiz brings together the content from the first three games. Answering correctly gives children access to a collection of fun Surf Swell-themed activities located in the password-protected Treasure Palace.* Only one drawback: this site does contain ads.

Notes:
 * Description of the site directly quoted from the site itself.