8th Grade Digital Citizenship Lessons
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Which Me Should I Be?
Essential Question  | What are the benefits and risks of presenting yourself in different ways online?
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Students will be able to...
  • ​reflect on the benefits and risks of presenting their identities in different ways online.
  • evaluate – from an ethical point of view – the feelings, motivations, contexts, and possible outcomes associated with adopting different roles online.
  • judge whether certain ways people present themselves online are harmless or harmful.

Which Me Should I Be? - Lesson Plan PDF
Resources from Common Sense Media

Cyberbullying: Be Upstanding

Essential Question  |   How do you judge the intentions and impact of people’s words/actions online?

Students will be able to...
  • reflect on what it means to be brave and stand up for others offline and online.
  • learn to show empathy for those who have been cyberbullied.
  • generate multiple solutions for helping others when cyberbullying occurs.

Cyberbullying: Be Upstanding - Lesson Plan PDF
​Resources from Common Sense Media

Cyberbullying: Crossing the Line

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Think Before You Post Link
Essential Question  |  When does inappropriate online behavior cross the line into cyberbullying, and what can you do about it?
Students learn to distinguish good-natured teasing from cyberbullying. Students learn about serious forms of cyberbullying. Students watch the video “Stacey’s Story – When Rumors Escalate,” a documentary-style story in which a girl reflects on what it was like to be the target of cyberbullying. Students then discuss the video and related case studies in the Cyberbullying: Crossing the Line Discussion Guide.
Lesson Objectives
Students will be able to ...
  • analyze online bullying behaviors that “cross the line.”
  • learn about the various ways that students can be cyberbullied, including flaming, deceiving, and harassing.
  • adopt the point of view of teens who have been cyberbullied, and offer solutions.
​Family Tip Sheet      Student Activity      Lesson Plan
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Literacy - Research and Information

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Research and Information
​Essential Question  |  Which keywords will give you the best search results?

Students will be able to...
  • experiment with different keyword searches and compare their results.
  • refine their searches by using multiple words, synonyms, and alternative words and phrases.
  • draw inferences to explain their search results
Key to Keywords - PDF Lesson
​Family Tip Sheet Smart Searching - PDF
Research and Information  |  BrainPop  (3:01)
  • How do you do an Internet search?
  • Search engine
  • Keywords
  • Using quotation marks

Digital Etiquette

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Digital Etiquette
Digital Etiquette  |  BrainPop (3:58)
  • What’s the deal with digital etiquette?
  • How to treat others online (games, email, IM, chats, blogs, and social networks)
  • Communicating online

Online Safety

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BrainPop Online Safety Video
Internet Safety  |  BrainPop  (4:45)​
  • People meet and communicate
  • Friends and new people
  • Games
  • Profile – what to share and what not to share
  • Post, chat, join groups
  • Privacy settings
  • Strangers