LESSON

PLAN

MELS
Competencies

TITLE: Digital Citizenship Day 1: What is Digital Citizenship?

DATE: Wednesday, September 9th, 2015
TIME: 8:32am-10:02am

CLASS: All Cycle 3

DURATION: 90 minutes

SCHOOL: Hampstead Elem.

Cross-Curricular Competencies:
Competency 3: Exercises critical judgement
Students will think critically about how their online actions can
affect themselves as well as others. They will discuss the why of
the importance of being safe and responsible in a digital world.
Competency 4: Uses creativity
Students will use their creativity to create a PSA poster that
showcases information theyve gained about digital citizenship
Competency 6: Uses information and communications
technology
Students will evaluate his/her use of technology by reflecting upon
safe and responsible digital activity as shown by engaging in
class discussion and working in teams
Competency 8: Cooperates with others
Students will work in teams to create a PSA poster aimed at
summarizing an aspect about digital citizenship

OBJECTIVE(S)

GROUP SIZE,
LOCATION &
MATERIALS

This lesson is an introductory lesson (Day 1 of 4) to digital

citizenship and what it means to be a digital citizen. Students will
engage in class discussion about the roles and responsibilities of
a digital citizen in preparation for safe and responsible use of
technology in the classroom (primarily IPads).
Students will be able to broadly define digital citizenship
Students will be able to identify some of the responsibilities of a
digital citizen with respect to the self, friends & family, and the
greater community (how their online actions can affect these)
Students will create a PSA poster that is relevant to the topic of
digital citizenship
Group Size: All Cycle 3 students
Location: Large classroom with access to a Smartboard
Materials: - Smartboard
- Rings & Responsibility charts
- Glue sticks
- Large papers

- Markers, crayons, pencil crayons etc.

TIME

LESSON
Introduction:
*First introduce If you can hear me clap once rule to regroup students
given that this will be a group of ~70 students*
*This lesson will follow a short Prezi to add visuals including charts and
examples*
What is Digital Citizenship?
All Cycle 3 students will be gathered together in one classroom. The lesson
will begin with a whole group discussion, in which students will first be
asked what they think a citizen is and what it means to be a citizen. We
will record students ideas on the SmartBoard while asking questions such
as:
What responsibilities does a citizen have?
Are we all citizens? Citizens of what?
Are we citizens of more than one place?
This allows us to transition into the idea that we are not only citizens of
Montreal, Quebec, Canada, or even the World, but also citizens of the
Online World: digital citizens.
We will introduce the idea of digital citizenship and ask students whether
they believe we have similar or different citizen responsibilities online as we
do offline.
Are there rules we have to follow online just as we do offline? Think: laws,
traffic rules, school rules, household rules
Do we need to be careful and take care of ourselves online just as we do
offline? Think: locking our house, not talking to strangers, being respectful,
no bullying
Can the things we do online affect those around us in the same way that
our actions offline can as well? Think: gossip, bullying, offensive
comments/language
Once the students have established the idea that we as digital citizens have
responsibilities, we will provide the students with our own definition of a
digital citizen: A digital citizen is someone who engages in safe,
responsible, and legal use of technology. They are someone who

understands and respects the responsibilities of being online and

uses technology in a positive way.
After this, we will then begin to discuss just what those responsibilities are.
Development:
1. Rings of Responsibility
We will introduce the Rings of Responsibility chart and explain that our
responsibilities online can be divided into 3 broad categories: Self, Friends
& Family, and Larger Community.
First we will pull some ideas from students as to what kinds of digital
citizenship responsibilities we might have with respect to the 3 categories.
What kind of online responsibility might you have for yourself?
What is something you could do online that might be unsafe or
inappropriate and what could you do instead?
What is something you can do online that would affect other people? What
is your responsibility to them as a good digital citizen?
What can you do online that can affect a whole community, good or bad?
Once we have brainstormed some ideas with regards to the 3 Rings of
Responsibilities, we will ask the students to divide into groups of 10 and to
find a spot in the room to work (they can work anywhere they like as long
as it does not interfere with another group). Each group will be provided
with a Rings of Responsibility chart, as well as a bag of scenarios cut into
strips. Students will be informed that they have 10 minutes to quickly place
and glue the scenarios on the chart in the appropriate rings they
correspond to (arguably some may overlap; if students can argue why they
overlap, all the better!). 10 minutes should be timed on the board so
students can budget their time.
Once students have regrouped, we will briefly go over the list of scenarios,
taking answers from students and placing them on the large SmartBoard
version of the chart (drag & drop). Once this is finished, we will transition
into the PSA Activity:
Now that you have all discussed the responsibilities of a digital citizen, what
about the students who werent in this class today? The rest of the students
in the school, the city, the general public? How can you let them know what
the responsibilities of a digital citizen? (especially since we are all online!)
After taking a few suggestions, we will introduce the idea of a PSA (Public
Service Announcement).
2. What is a PSA?/Explanation of PSA activity
We will begin by asking students if they know what a PSA (Public Service

Announcement) is. Once we have heard ideas from a few students, we will
give a clear definition: A Public Service Announcement is a message
sent out to the public with the purpose of raising awareness about a
subject.
We will show two examples of PSA posters, both of which are related to
digital citizenship. We will briefly discuss the posters with students in order
to get them thinking about the different parts of a PSA poster
What is the message this poster is trying to send?
Is the message clear to somebody looking at the poster?
We will discuss the layout of the posters, bringing the students attention to
the size of the text, the use of images, the short and catchy slogans, and
the use of colour. We will emphasize the importance of the layout of the
posters and explain how they help catch the viewer's eye and clearly send
the message.
We will further draw the students attention to the slogans used in the
posters, and discuss with students what a slogan is, and what it is used for:
A slogan is a short and striking sentence used in advertisement. A
slogan should be short and easy to remember, that way those who hear it
or see it are able to remember it. We will give examples of slogans they
may have heard before such as Just Do It (Nike), or Im Lovin It
(McDonalds). This will serve to show students how a short and catchy
slogan can be stuck in somebodys head and remembered for a long time.
We will tell the students that they will be creating their own PSA posters
about digital citizenship.
3. PSA Activity
We will introduce the PSA Activity to students by explaining that they will be
working in small groups to create their own Digital Citizenship PSA posters
to spread awareness and showcase what theyve learned. The students will
head back to their own classroom, where they will then be split up into
small groups of 4-5 students. They will work together to choose an area of
digital citizenship that was discussed (such as some of the rights and
responsibilities of a digital citizen) and will create a slogan that sends a
message to teach others about their chosen topic.
The students will be asked to include a slogan, an image, a brief
explanation, and to use colour in their poster. We will remind students about
the layout of PSA posters, in particular reminding them of the importance to
write their slogan clearly and large, and have an accompanying and
relevant image that is also clear and large. Each group will be given a

checklist so that they can monitor that they have all of the required
elements on their poster. Students will be asked to inform their teacher of
their slogan before putting it onto their poster, to ensure that it is on topic
and sends a message about digital citizenship.
Once the explanation has been given and any questions have been
answered, the students will be sent back to their classroom, where their
teacher will organize them into groups and had out the required materials to
each group (papers, markers, crayons, etc.).
Closure/Transition:
Presentation of PSA posters
After all of the groups in the class have completed their PSA poster (and
even if they have not, they may find free time at a later date to finish), each
group will have 2 minutes maximum to present their poster to their
classmates and teacher. They will read out their slogan, and have the
chance to explain it and the image they used.
During the presentation the teacher will use the checklist to make sure the
poster contains all of the required elements, and will monitor students
understanding based on the poster created and the explanation given.

Evaluation
Evaluation during this lesson will be formative, and will be largely based on
observations throughout the lesson and activity. The teachers will check for
students understanding of the topic, in order to correct any
misunderstandings or confusion.
Once the PSA posters are completed, the teacher will make use of the
checklist to ensure each required element of the poster is present.

Student Checklist for PSA Activity

Digital Citizenship
PSA Checklist
My slogan is related to Digital Citizenship
My picture/image takes up at least half
the page
My writing is large, clear, and catches
peoples attention
I have used color to make my poster
noticeable
I have included 1-2 sentences explaining
my poster and why it is important

LIST OF SCENARIOS:
1) My school iPad is not locked with a password so that my teachers can access it.
2) I come to class prepared with my iPad charged and ready.
3) I know and remember my passwords for my online accounts.
4) I am respectful and kind when communicating online.
5) I never reveal my familys home address.
6) I never reveal my schools address.
7) I never participate in online bullying.
8) I stand up against cyberbullying.
9) I never call people mean names online.
10)I never share a friends private information.
11) I think carefully about what I read on the internet and question if it is from a
reliable source.
12)I get permission to post photos of others.
13)I give credit for information I find online.
14) I do not use offensive or inappropriate language online.