Digital Citizenship Lesson 1
2023-2024
Vision: Cultivate. Motivate. Succeed.
Mission: We will empower ALL students to experience success and cultivate their full potential in an equitable, rigorous, and culturally relevant
environment that fosters academic and social/emotional growth while preparing students for college and career.
Teacher: Ethan Young School: Cockeysville Middle School
Grade Level(s): 6 Subject: Digital Citizenship
Lesson Period: 1, 2, 5/6, 7/8, 10 Lesson Dates: October 2023
Standard(s) Addressed: (As taken from ISTC-S Standards)
1.2 Students recognize the rights, responsibilities and opportunities of living, learning and working in an
interconnected digital world, and they act and model digital citizenship in ways that are safe, legal
and ethical.
Lesson Objective: (Either “Students will be able to <insert primary activity> in order to <insert how they will demonstrate mastery>” OR “I
Can…” statements that include verbiage from the standard)
-I can identify benefits and issues with technology use in the school.
-I can identify and define digital citizenship.
Relevance/Rationale: Consider how your outcomes and lesson plan will engage students cognitively and build understanding. Why are the
lesson outcomes important in the real world? How is this lesson relevant to students in this class (interests, cultural heritages, needs)?
This is important as students who are learning to be future digital citizens will use technology throughout their life, and they need to
be educated in how to use technology responsibly and as a productive member of society. This will only become increasingly
important as technology starts to become more seamlessly integrated into almost every aspect of everyday life.
Agenda
Drill: Students will enter the library and collect a card from Ms. S******* (librarian) to designate their seat. Their drill
question will be posted. They will write down a piece of technology they use on a daily basis on their post-it note, and then
add that to the word wall at the front of the lesson.
Motivation: Students, in their assigned groups, will then answer questions on giant post-its to posted questions at each
group. After five minutes of discussion and writing with their groups, they will change positions and move to a new
question board. When all rotations are finished, we will then discuss as a group…
Sample Questions
1. What is a way you use technology with your family and friends?
2. What is a way you use technology in class or to help with school?
3. What is a way you use technology for yourself?
4. What is a way you could use technology that is harmful?
Instruction
We will pass out an abbreviated and student friendly copy of the ISTE-S standards for students to peruse, and we will
explain the purpose of the Digital Citizenship curriculum and ISTE standards. The students will review these standards,
discuss them with a group, and then come up with how the school is either meeting or missing these standards. After
about 15 minutes, we will reconvene to discuss these standards.
Assessment
Students will create a digital vision board with their groups of what an ideal school using digital citizenship principles would
look like.
How Will Students Demonstrate Mastery of this objective? (What is your assessment?)
Students will create a vision board of the “ideal school” according to the tenets of digital citizenship.
What struggles do you anticipate students may have with this lesson? How have you accommodated them?
This is an introductory lesson, so I imagine many students will struggle with the concepts and the reading of the standards. The
standards will be modified for more student friendly language, as well as pictographic resources for IEP/inclusion and ESOL classes.
Using an equity lens, how have you examined any parts of this lesson that may be problematic for certain student groups?
What was your solution?
Accommodations should handle any equty gaps.
Of our Cockeysville Middle areas of emphasis, what would you like us to pay particular attention to today?
My use of…
✘ Costa’s Levels of Questioning ✘ Targeted Small Group Instruction ✘ Differentiation for mixed ability groups
Focused Notetaking Use of AVID Strategies (listed in Agenda) ✘ Constructive Group Work
Follow Up: (What will today’s lesson lead to next class? How will you use assessment data next class?)
The next lesson will be on positive online and school culture, which builds directly off the assessment of this lesson.
Digital Citizenship Lesson 2
2023-2024
Vision: Cultivate. Motivate. Succeed.
Mission: We will empower ALL students to experience success and cultivate their full potential in an equitable, rigorous, and culturally relevant
environment that fosters academic and social/emotional growth while preparing students for college and career.
Teacher: Ethan Young School: Cockeysville Middle School
Grade Level(s): 6 Subject: Digital Citizenship
Lesson Period: 1, 2, 5/6, 7/8, 10 Lesson Dates: November 2023
Standard(s) Addressed: (As taken from ISTC-S Standards)
1.2.b Students engage in positive, safe, legal and ethical behavior when using technology, including in social
interactions online or when using networked devices.
Lesson Objective: (Either “Students will be able to <insert primary activity> in order to <insert how they will demonstrate mastery>” OR “I
Can…” statements that include verbiage from the standard)
I can discuss what makes a healthy online interaction, and create a guideline for healthy online behavior.
Agenda
Drill: Students will enter the library and sit in a socratic circle format. Students will be asked to differentiate between what
makes a “school culture” and an “online culture.”
Motivation: We will engage in a socratic seminar style discussion of key issues revolving around school culture and
technology.
Sample Questions…
1. Is there a negative online presence in this school? What issues do you see with technology use in this school?
2. What are some ways that teachers, students, and the school uses technology well and appropriately?
3. Why do you think some people are less afraid of consequences when posting something online?
4. What are some negative consequences for when people do these negative behaviors online?
Students may share personal stories as needed, but it would not be required to participate in the discussion.
Instruction/Assessment: Students will then be shown the expectations for a healthy online school environment, and we will
continue to discuss where are problem areas for our school. Students will then be broken into groups, and they will be
tasked with creating an infographic or presentation that presents general guidelines for maintaining a healthy online
atmosphere.
When finished, we will review what the groups made as a class, and vote on our favorite to share with the school.
Relevance/Rationale: Consider how your outcomes and lesson plan will engage students cognitively and build understanding. Why are the
lesson outcomes important in the real world? How is this lesson relevant to students in this class (interests, cultural heritages, needs)?
Negative online interactions are quite common amongst adolescents at the middle school level, and students needs to be educated
on how to properly act in a medium where they feel are little consequences for their behavior.
How Will Students Demonstrate Mastery of this objective? (What is your assessment?)
Students will create a list of guidelines for healthy online behavior.
What struggles do you anticipate students may have with this lesson? How have you accommodated them?
Discussion can always feel forced, and I am hoping that the relevance of the subject matter and the personal connection to the topic
will help elicit discussion. Several questioning strategies will be used to help keep the discussion on topic.
Using an equity lens, how have you examined any parts of this lesson that may be problematic for certain student groups?
What was your solution?
As long as the environment of mutual respect and trust is maintained, and expectations are made clear, there should be little issue in
this regard.
Of our Cockeysville Middle areas of emphasis, what would you like us to pay particular attention to today?
My use of…
✘ Costa’s Levels of Questioning Targeted Small Group Instruction ✘ Differentiation for mixed ability groups
Focused Notetaking Use of AVID Strategies (listed in Agenda) ✘ Constructive Group Work
Follow Up: (What will today’s lesson lead to next class? How will you use assessment data next class?)
The following topic is cyberbullying, which stems from a healthy school environment.
Digital Citizenship Lesson 3
2023-2024
Vision: Cultivate. Motivate. Succeed.
Mission: We will empower ALL students to experience success and cultivate their full potential in an equitable, rigorous, and culturally relevant
environment that fosters academic and social/emotional growth while preparing students for college and career.
Teacher: Ethan Young School: Cockeysville Middle School
Grade Level(s): 6 Subject: Digital Citizenship
Lesson Period: 1, 2, 5/6, 7/8, 10 Lesson Dates: December 2023
Standard(s) Addressed: (As taken from ISTC-S Standards)
1.2.b. Students engage in positive, safe, legal and ethical behavior when using technology, including in social
interactions online or when using networked devices.
Lesson Objective: (Either “Students will be able to <insert primary activity> in order to <insert how they will demonstrate mastery>” OR “I
Can…” statements that include verbiage from the standard)
I can evaluate the dangers of cyberbullying, and create media to promote a positive online environment.
Relevance/Rationale: Consider how your outcomes and lesson plan will engage students cognitively and build understanding. Why are the
lesson outcomes important in the real world? How is this lesson relevant to students in this class (interests, cultural heritages, needs)?
Cyberbullying is an increasingly dangerous and topical issue within the school setting, and certainly something that many students
will encounter in their school career and social life.
Agenda
Drill: Students will enter the library and sit with groups chosen at random. Students will respond to the drill “What does it
mean to be a bully?”
Teacher will provide school criteria for what is considered bullying. This will extend to coming up with a class definition of
“cyberbullying.”
Motivation: Students will listen to a testimonial from a previous student who suffered from cyberbullying and how they
overcame it. Students will then discuss as small groups, and then as a class about the testimonial.
Instruction: Students will be placed into groups, each with a news story about cyberbullying geared to showcase negative
consequences of cyberbullying. Students will identify these negative impacts, and either what the school/others did to help
the student affected, or how they fell short of helping the student. Each group will then share out their findings when
finished their analysis.
Check-in/Assessment: Students will be tasked with creating a piece of media (podcast, poster, meme, video, etc) that is
anti-cyberbullying, fact based, and made to be posted around the school to help create a education minded and positive
culture around this topic.
How Will Students Demonstrate Mastery of this objective? (What is your assessment?)
Students will create positive anti-cyberbullying posters or media that will be posted around the school and
through the school LMS.
What struggles do you anticipate students may have with this lesson? How have you accommodated them?
This topic might be traumatic to some students who have been victims of bullying. While the gravity of this topic will be expressed, it
will be presented tactfully.
Using an equity lens, how have you examined any parts of this lesson that may be problematic for certain student groups?
What was your solution?
Much the same as above; it really depends on student background. As long as the material is handled with tact and care, and follow
up conferences should be expected with some students.
Of our Cockeysville Middle areas of emphasis, what would you like us to pay particular attention to today?
My use of…
✘ Costa’s Levels of Questioning ✘ Targeted Small Group Instruction Differentiation for mixed ability groups
Focused Notetaking Use of AVID Strategies (listed in Agenda) ✘ Constructive Group Work
Digital Citizenship Lesson 4
2023-2024
Vision: Cultivate. Motivate. Succeed.
Mission: We will empower ALL students to experience success and cultivate their full potential in an equitable, rigorous, and culturally relevant
environment that fosters academic and social/emotional growth while preparing students for college and career.
Teacher: Ethan Young School: Cockeysville Middle School
Grade Level(s): 6 Subject: Digital Citizenship
Lesson Period: 1, 2, 5/6, 7/8, 10 Lesson Dates: January 2024
Standard(s) Addressed: (As taken from ISTC-S Standards)
1.3.c. Students evaluate the accuracy, perspective, credibility and relevance of information, media, data or
other resources.
Lesson Objective: (Either “Students will be able to <insert primary activity> in order to <insert how they will demonstrate mastery>” OR “I
Can…” statements that include verbiage from the standard)
I can analyze media for perspective and credibility, then create guidelines for media analysis.
Relevance/Rationale: Consider how your outcomes and lesson plan will engage students cognitively and build understanding. Why are the
lesson outcomes important in the real world? How is this lesson relevant to students in this class (interests, cultural heritages, needs)?
Students may have already and certainly will encounter media and news that either biased, inaccurate, or meant to sell the student
something (adver-media), and students have to be trained to be able to identify this media from legitimate resources.
Agenda
Drill: Students will enter and be put into groups via randomization method. Students will discuss what the “joke” of this
cartoon is…
Motivation: Students will be shown a series of “fake news” headlines and articles, and we will discuss what about them
“seems” fake. We will then start interspersing real articles in, and students will start to identify characteristics of the “real”
vs. “fake.”
Instruction: Students will be given a list of “look fors” when analyzing media, and each group will be given an article. They
will, after some time, have to decide whether the news is “real” or “fake” and craft an argument as to why they believe that.
We will then present each article to the class and the students will discuss before receiving the answer from the teacher.
Assessment: Students will have to find their own “fake” article or piece of media, and then create an infographic or
presentation identifying the key marks of its inauthenticity. The end product will be a list of guidelines for other students to
properly analyze media with a pertinent example included.
How Will Students Demonstrate Mastery of this objective? (What is your assessment?)
Students will create an infographic that displays a set of guidelines.
What struggles do you anticipate students may have with this lesson? How have you accommodated them?
Media analysis is a higher level analytical skill, and many students are still struggling with reading and writing cogently, vs being able
to speak about the perspective or intent of the author. Accommodations for reading as well as simple media will have to be chosen
for these students.
Using an equity lens, how have you examined any parts of this lesson that may be problematic for certain student groups?
What was your solution?
N/A
Of our Cockeysville Middle areas of emphasis, what would you like us to pay particular attention to today?
My use of…
✘ Costa’s Levels of Questioning Targeted Small Group Instruction ✘ Differentiation for mixed ability groups
Focused Notetaking Use of AVID Strategies (listed in Agenda) ✘ Constructive Group Work
Follow Up: (What will today’s lesson lead to next class? How will you use assessment data next class?)
Fake news pairs up well with our final topic, which is digital security and protection of identity.
Digital Citizenship Lesson 5
2023-2024
Vision: Cultivate. Motivate. Succeed.
Mission: We will empower ALL students to experience success and cultivate their full potential in an equitable, rigorous, and culturally relevant
environment that fosters academic and social/emotional growth while preparing students for college and career.
Teacher: Ethan Young School: Cockeysville Middle School
Grade Level(s): 6 Subject: Digital Citizenship
Lesson Period: 1, 2, 5/6, 7/8, 10 Lesson Dates: February 2024
Standard(s) Addressed: (As taken from ISTC-S Standards)
1.2.d. Students manage their personal data to maintain digital privacy and security, and are aware of data-
collection technology used to track their navigation online.
Lesson Objective: (Either “Students will be able to <insert primary activity> in order to <insert how they will demonstrate mastery>” OR “I
Can…” statements that include verbiage from the standard)
I can identify basic online scams, and create a checklist of basic steps to protect my online profile.
Relevance/Rationale: Consider how your outcomes and lesson plan will engage students cognitively and build understanding. Why are the
lesson outcomes important in the real world? How is this lesson relevant to students in this class (interests, cultural heritages, needs)?
With the digital age came people looking to profit off the technological ignorance of others. Students need to be taught how to best
protect themselves from people and groups with questionable intentions online.
Agenda
Drill Students will enter the library and be sorted into group tables through a simple randomization. Students will think of
an answer to the question posted on the board: what is an example of personal information? Students will answer and we
will make a class list on the white board.
Motivation: Students will listen to a testimonial on the potential dangers of identity theft. We will watch a video then on the
potential types of scams that they may encounter. We will discuss afterwards.
Instruction: We will conduct a carousel brainstorming session where students, in their groups, will interact with an fake
online profile or conversation, and they will analyze it according to ways that the profile/conversation is being unsafe
with regards to personal information. They will list the various ways on a giant post-it note by the station, and then
switch to the next station when groups are ready. Afterwards, we will debrief and go over each station.
Check-in/Assessment: Students will use the provided resources to create a list of “commandments” or steps to protect
their online profile and to ensure security of personal information.
How Will Students Demonstrate Mastery of this objective? (What is your assessment?)
Students will create a checklist of basic steps to protect their online profile.
What struggles do you anticipate students may have with this lesson? How have you accommodated them?
Students might have little to no experience with social media or protecting an online profile, while other students might have too much
experience but none of the knowledge of how to protect their digital presence.
Using an equity lens, how have you examined any parts of this lesson that may be problematic for certain student groups?
What was your solution?
N/A
Of our Cockeysville Middle areas of emphasis, what would you like us to pay particular attention to today?
My use of…
✘ Costa’s Levels of Questioning Targeted Small Group Instruction Differentiation for mixed ability groups
Focused Notetaking Use of AVID Strategies (listed in Agenda) ✘ Constructive Group Work
Follow Up: (What will today’s lesson lead to next class? How will you use assessment data next class?)
The follow up will be in a series of 7th grade lessons the following year which will build upon this foundation.
