Going Places Safely

At Magee we use the Common Sense Media (CSM) scope and sequence to help teach internet safety, information literacy, privacy and creative credit and copyright.  The lessons are so easy to use.  I sometimes use them as they are and sometimes I just pull out pieces that apply to a project we are doing.  This week I used the Going Places Safely lesson with our first graders.  It compares going on a class field trip with  going online.  Field trips are something our first graders are quite familiar with.  After talking about field trips we've been on and rules we follow while on a field trip, we shared all the fun things we like to do online. We then learned the three rules for being safe online:

1.  Always ask a parent or teacher before going online.
2.  Only talk to people you know.
3.  Stick to places that are just right for you.

It was then time to visit two great sites for kids: The San Diego Zoo and Destination Modern Art .  First graders just finished studying Australia and there is a great section on Australian animals at the San Diego Zoo site.

Students filled out a handout sharing their favorite place they visited.  The handout included the three rules for being safe online.

Students were engaged on both the sites.  There was plenty to do and learn on both.