Be Comfortable

Download Student Activity Sheet(s) for printout.

Read a Letter to Educators about cyberbullying from The National Cyber Security Alliance.

Overview

Students learn to recognize feelings of discomfort and how to responsibly manage uncomfortable situations in cyberspace.

Objectives

Explain that, just like in the face-to-face world, there are good and bad places and people in cyberspace.
Describe and compare comfortable and uncomfortable feelings.
Identify strategies for responsibly managing uncomfortable online situations.

National Educational Technology Standards for Students © 2007

Source: International Society for Technology in Education

Creativity and Innovation
1. create original works as a means of personal or group expression.
Communication and Collaboration
1. interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.
2. communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats.
Digital Citizenship
1. advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology.
2. exhibit leadership for digital citizenship.

Home Connection

Download the Grades 4-5 Home Connection page related to this lesson.

Site Preview

Optional strategies for using Web 2.0 tools with your students are recommended under under Teach 3, Teach 4, and Extend.

Materials

Activity Sheets (3)

Introduce

Have students imagine that one morning their principal announces, "Today instead of classes, we're having an all-day picnic at the park." Ask: How would you feel? (relaxed; relieved; happy; at ease). Discuss their responses, explaining that those feelings could be categorized as comfortable.
Next, have students imagine that their teacher says, "We're having a surprise math test today. Take out a pencil and paper." Ask: How would you feel? (confused; caught off-guard; shocked; weird; nauseated; upset; stupid; afraid; angry) Discuss their responses, helping them conclude that those feelings could be categorized as uncomfortable.
Tell students they may experience online situations in which they feel comfortable or uncomfortable, and that they will learn how to manage their actions accordingly.

Teach 1: What's the Problem?

Distribute Activity Sheets 1 and 2.
Have students complete the sheets individually or in small groups and then share their responses. NOTE: Postpone discussion until students have read and applied the information on Activity Sheet 3.

Teach 2: Think About It

Distribute and help students read Activity Sheet 3.
Discuss Jan's use of the words embarrassed, upset, afraid, and scared to show how uncomfortable she felt. Explore with students other words that might also be used, such as guilty, ashamed, or confused.

Teach 3: Find Solutions

Have students revisit Activity Sheets 1 and 2 and discuss how their answers might be changed or enhanced.

Use Web 2.0 tools, such as a secure threaded discussion tool, to enable students to continue online their discussion of bystander actions that do and do not work.

Teach 4: Take Action

Have students record brief audio or video clips of one another in which they explain about uncomfortable feelings and tell how they can take action when these feeling occur online. View the clips as a mini film festival in your class and/or share with parents when they visit.

Use Web 2.0 tools, such as digital storytelling and podcasting, to help students create multimedia presentations. Then have them share their final products with others through video-sharing sites and/or by posting on the school Web site.

Assess

The following items assess student mastery of the lesson objectives.

Ask: How are people and places in cyberspace like people and places in the face-to-face world? (There are both good and bad people and places in cyberspace and in the face-to-face world.)
Ask: What are some words that describe feeling comfortable? uncomfortable? (Accept all reasonable adjectives and descriptions.)
Ask: What should you do when you get an uncomfortable feeling online? (log off; block; ignore; hit the back button; say "No;" tell a trusted adult)

Extend

Students will benefit by revisiting this lesson each year.
For students who completed this lesson in a previous grade, have the class create and maintain an interactive “word wall” display of words and expressions that describe how people feel—comfortable and uncomfortable, online and offline. For each addition to the wall, have them contribute definitions, examples of when they might feel this way, and drawings showing appropriate facial expressions (using the pictures on Activity Sheet 3 for inspiration) for each word or expression. In this way students will develop a vocabulary for speaking and writing about strong emotions and about how to handle them when they occur.

Use Web 2.0 tools, such as productivity tools or a wiki, to create an online word wall. Allow students to add entries, edit entries, and upload drawings and photos that illustrate entries. Students may decide to use their word wall as the basis of a digital story, explaining their feelings as their drawings are displayed.

Cyberbullying Prevention Activities for Your School, Families, and Community

Extend this classroom lesson with activities that will support a cyberbullying prevention campaign for your school, families, and community.

includes strategies for using interactive online Web 2.0 tools.

Free CyberSmart! Educator Toolbar

Save time. Search smart. Access essential information resources for educators. Download the free CyberSmart! Educator Toolbar. It's always on your desktop at home and/or at school.