Manners, Cyberbullying, & Ethics: Grades 4-5

Do the Right Thing

Download Student Sheet(s) for printout in PDF format.

Read a Letter to Educators about online manners, bullying, and ethics from CyberSmart!

Overview

Students learn that they should apply the same ethical principles in cyberspace that guide them in face-to-face situations.

Objectives

  • Recognize computer files, including Web sites, as property to be respected
  • Explain that behavior in cyberspace should be the same good behavior used in face to face situations
  • Give a example of how the "Golden Rule" can be applied in cyberspace

National Educational Technology Standards for Students © 2007

Source: International Society for Technology in Education
  1. 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 Home Connection sheet related to this lesson.

Site Preview

No Internet site is used in this lesson.

Materials

  • Activity sheets (2)

Introduce

  • Describe the following to students: A sixth grader bullies a third grader on the playground of a public park. What should you do about it? (Stop the bully, ask an adult to help stop the bully, or report the bully to a police officer, teacher or parent.)
  • Add: That evening you are chatting in cyberspace. One girl bullies another girl and threatens to make her lose all her friends. What should you do?

Teach 1

  • Distribute Activity Sheet 1.
  • Make sure students understand that all of the behaviors on the left are unethical, or wrong. Then have them complete the sheet by writing what they think about the behaviors on the right. NOTE: Postpone discussion until students have read and applied the information on Activity Sheet 2.

Teach 2

  • Distribute Activity Sheet 2.
  • Explain that there are many ways of expressing the "Golden Rule," such as "Do unto others as you would have them to do unto you" or "Treat others as you wish to be treated," and then invite students to express it in their own words.

Teach 3

  • Have students revisit Activity Sheet 1 and make changes or additions. They should recognize that all the behaviors on the right are unethical as well.

Assess

The following items assess student mastery of the lesson objectives.

  • Ask: Why shouldn't you disturb a computer file that is not yours? (because if it does not belong to me, it is the property of someone else)
  • Ask: What is the connection between behavior in real life and in cyberspace? (You should have the same standards for behavior in both places.)
  • Ask: What is an example of using the "Golden Rule" in cyberspace?

Extend

The following activity can be added for students who completed this lesson in a previous grade.

  • Have students conduct a mock trial in which the "prosecutor" describes an offense in cyberspace (for example, a student goes online and pretends to be someone else), witnesses are called, a defendant is questioned, and a judge directs the jury to reach a verdict.

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