Lesson plan

Topic: Online safety and security

Target age group: Middle primary, Upper primary (ages 7-12)

Lesson duration: The video is 5:50 minutes long. Each activity in the lesson plan
is designed to take a minimum of 30 minutes.

Description: The Be Secure online safety and security suite has five topic-based
activities that can be explored separately or delivered as a whole unit. It includes the
Act eSafe video, an interactive Be Secure kids’ quiz and this lesson plan. The lesson
plan details the learning activities and provides links to relevant pages on the eSafety
Kids website. It also includes a worksheet called ‘My personal online security plan’.

Contents
Learning outcomes 02
Teaching notes 02
Australian Curriculum links 03
Activity 1: Exploring critical thinking in online safety 04
Learning intentions 04
Resources 04
Activity 2: Keeping your device safe 05
Learning intention 05
Resources 05
Activity 3: Privacy and personal information 06
Learning intention 06
Resources 06
Activity 4: Spending money online 08
Learning intention 08
Resources 08
Activity 5: Getting help and support 09
Learning intention 09
Resources 09
Be Secure student worksheet 10
My personal online security plan 11

esafety.gov.au/education
Learning outcomes

The activities included in this suite are designed for young people setting up their
devices or signing up to an age-appropriate app, game or social media account
for the first time. Students will develop skills to help them protect their personal
information online and prevent unsafe or unwanted contact when using devices,
websites and apps.

By the end of the learning students will be able to:

• identify and establish personal online safety boundaries
• develop skills to question what they encounter online
• develop skills to identify problematic situations which may impact their online
safety or security
• consider appropriate help seeking and reporting strategies for dealing with
unsafe situations online.

Key words:
• respectful online relationships • online security
• dealing with unsafe or unwanted • privacy and personal information
contact • critical thinking
• grooming • accessing support

Teaching notes
The Act eSafe video and interactive Be Secure kids’ quiz can be used as
standalone resources, or with activities from this lesson plan which are linked to
recommended pages from the eSafety Kids section of the website. This lesson
plan includes a student worksheet, My personal online security plan, available
on p10.

Watch the video and discuss the students’ knowledge of the online safety and
security concepts covered. Depending on the current level of student knowledge,
use the resources as an online safety refresher or tackle one concept per lesson
and allow time for discussion and practise on a device.

The quiz offers students an engaging way to reinforce and apply what they have
learned. You could also use it to check students’ prior knowledge before you
get started.

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Australian Curriculum links

This suite addresses Australian Curriculum Health and Physical Education and
Digital Technologies outcomes including:
• practise skills to establish and maintain relationships (ACCPPS055)
• plan and practise strategies to promote health, safety and wellbeing
(ACCPS054)
• plan, create and communicate ideas and information including collaboratively
online, applying agreed ethical, social and technical protocols (ACTDIP022).

It addresses elements of the Personal and Social General Capabilities including:

• become confident, resilient and adaptable
• understanding relationships.

It addresses the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Capability

including:
• apply digital information security practices
• apply personal security protocols — apply standard guidelines and take action
to avoid the common dangers to personal security when using ICT and apply
appropriate basic social protocols when using ICT to communicate with
unknown audiences.

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Activity 1: Exploring critical thinking in online safety

Lesson duration
30 minutes minimum (6 minute video + class discussion)

Learning intentions
This activity is intended to allow students to:
• reflect on the critical thinking skills required to stay safe online
• develop a bank of questions to guide them as they navigate the online world.

Resources
• Device with online access (teacher and individual students)
• Post it notes and pens

Discuss
• Define critical thinking with the class: brainstorm what students think critical
thinking is, and why it is important to question what is online. Create a class
definition.
• As a class, watch the Act eSafe video. Then use the acronym Ask-Check-Think
(ACT) to help students think of some of the ways they can use critical thinking to
help them stay safe online. Choose three different spots in the room and allocate
each one a category (Ask, Check, Think). Have the students brainstorm questions
or comments, write them on post it notes, then stick each note in one of the three
categories. For example:
– Ask …
… if this post is based on truth or facts.
… why someone would post this.
… others about their online experiences and how they stay safe online.
… a trusted adult if unsure.
… for help if you are upset or have a bad experience online.
– Check …
… settings and passwords on devices.
… website and app security.
… who wrote the message.
… what the message says and if it’s the same as what it means.
– Think …
… about the benefits and risks of sharing information.
… if what is posted is true or not.
… about who may be affected by your online actions.
… about what you can do if you see someone being picked on or excluded
… about what might happen if you click on that link or share that photo.

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Apply
• As a class, review the eSafety Kids page How do I know if something is fake? Using
the student’s ideas, get them to create a ‘five top questions’ list for critical thinking online.
• Ask students to design and share a Question and Answer sheet to remind people at
school and at home to think critically about online content.

Activity 2: Keeping your device safe

Lesson duration
30 minutes minimum (6 minute video + class discussion)

Learning intentions
This activity is intended to encourage students to share knowledge and practise skills
for setting up and managing a device in order to protect data and content such as
photos and videos.
Resources
• Device with online access (teacher and individual students)
• Paper/pens or whiteboards
• Class set of student worksheet ‘My personal online security plan’ (see p11)

Review
• As a class, rewatch the Act eSafe video (if needed).
• Remind the class of the scenario in the video where Harvey accidentally clicked on a
link and installed a virus on his computer (starting at 2:30 minutes into the video).

Discuss
• Ask the students what the consequences were of Harvey downloading a virus.
• In pairs or small groups, have the students discuss the advice they would give
someone to help them avoid downloading a virus or malware, using the Ask-Check-
Think approach.
– Who could they ask if they aren’t sure? (For example: Ask a parent, carer, teacher
or older sibling.)
– What should they check? (For example: What is a pop-up ad offering — is it too
good to be true? Who is an email or text from — a friend or a stranger?)
– What should they think about? (For example: What could happen if they click on a
pop-up ad or a link in an email from someone they don’t know?)

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Apply
• As a class, review the eSafety Kids page Security and privacy for my device. Teachers
can then step through the directions on eSafety’s Use your device safely page and
the Protect your personal information page with the students – getting students to
note down important information.
– Ask students to find and check the settings on their own devices, and change
them if necessary.
– Discuss the ways that the school applies settings to the apps and platform that it
uses for education.
– Discuss the benefits of knowing how to do this.
• Ask students to go to their copy of ‘My personal online security plan’ and fill out the
‘Keeping my device safe’ section. (Students should retain their worksheet for use in
other activities.)
• Ask students to work through the ‘Keeping your device safe’ module of the Be
Secure kids’ quiz. (Or you can hold the quiz for revision when all activities in this
lesson plan are completed.)

Activity 3: Privacy and personal information

Lesson duration
30 minutes minimum (6 minute video + class discussion)

Learning intentions
The intention is to allow students to identify class and personal guidelines to protect
their personal information and identity online.

Resources
• Device with online access (teacher and individual students)
• Paper/pens or whiteboards
• Students’ copies of partially completed ‘My personal online security plan’

Review
• As a class, rewatch the Act eSafe video (if needed).
• Remind the class of the scenario in the video (starting at
1:24) where Anna’s brother could see her location because
she had not turned off ‘location services’ for the app she
was using.

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Discuss
• Ask the students to think about the video:
– Who else might be able to see Anna’s location?
– What are the risks of Anna sharing her location?
• Ask the students what other kinds of information might be best kept private. For
example:
– things that identify you, like your name and birthday
– things that can be used to identify your location, like your address or the name of
your school
– things in photos that can identify your location, like your school uniform or a shot
of your house showing the number and street sign
– things that are personal just to you, like your phone number and email address.
Note: Let students know these are all considered personal information. Personal
information could even include the sports team they belong to or their favourite park,
as this can reveal where they spend their time.
• Introduce the class to the eSafety Kids page Sharing photos and personal
information online and Security and privacy for my device. Then divide the class into
groups, and ask each group to use the pages to research one of these topics:
– Privacy: What are three things you can do to protect your own privacy and
personal information online? What are three ways you can show respect for other
people’s privacy?
– Passwords: What makes a good password?
– Settings: What settings should you check on a social media app to make sure only
your friends see your posts? Are there any other settings you should check to
protect your privacy?
– Posting and sharing: Describe three things that would be OK to post or share on
social media. Why are they OK? Describe three things it would not be OK to post
or share. Why not?

Share
• When students have finished their research, ask each group to share what they
found out with the rest of the class.

Apply
• Extend the research activity by asking students to create posters, artworks or videos
to share their tips with their school and family.
• Ask students to go to their copy of ‘My personal online security plan’ and fill out the
‘Privacy and personal information’ section. (Students should retain their worksheet
for use in other activities.)
• Ask students to work through the ‘Privacy and personal information’ module of the
Be Secure kids’ quiz. (Or you can hold the quiz for revision when all activities in this
lesson plan are completed.)

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Activity 4: Spending money online

Lesson duration
30 minutes minimum

Learning intentions
The intention is to support students to identify class and personal guidelines to protect
financial information online and control what they buy.

Resources
• Device with online access (teacher and individual students)
• Paper/pens or whiteboards
• Students’ copies of their partially completed ‘My personal online security plan’

Discuss
• Ask students to discuss ways that they spend money online — for example, asking
parents to pay for apps, purchasing skins, purchasing goods online with a parent’s
credit card, downloading music or books.
• Introduce the class to the eSafety Kids page Spending money online. Then divide the
class into groups, and ask each group to use the page to find a fact or tip about:
– avoiding in-app purchases
– being tricked into spending money
– clues that a website might be fake or unsafe
– steps to take before you buy something
– problems with pop-ups.

Share
• Ask each group to share their tips with the rest of the class based on what they
found out about their topic.

Apply
• Ask students to go to their copy of ‘My personal online security plan’ and fill out the
‘Spending money online’ section. (Students should retain their worksheet for use in
other activities.)
• Ask students to work through the ‘Spending money online’ module of the Be Secure
kids’ quiz. (Or you can hold the quiz for revision when all activities in this lesson plan
are completed.)

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Activity 5: Getting help and support

Lesson duration
30 minutes minimum

Learning intentions
The intention is to encourage students to explore where to get help and support when
online issues affect their identity, privacy or emotional safety.

Resources
• Device with online access (teacher and individual students)
• Paper/pens or whiteboards
• Students’ copies of their partially completed ‘My personal online security plan’

Discuss
• Ask students to discuss different types of negative experiences they might have
encountered online. Use the following questions to guide the discussion:
– Has anyone seen a picture or video online that made them feel worried?
– Has anyone ever had someone they don’t know contact them in a game?
– Has anyone ever said mean things about them or someone they know?
• Show the class the eSafety Kids - I want help with page. Divide the class into
groups, and get each group to choose one of the following eSafety Kids pages to
review and discuss:
– Someone is being mean to me online
– I saw something online I didn’t like
– Someone is contacting me and I don’t want them to
– Things to watch out for with online friends
– How eSafety can help

Share
• Ask each group to prepare a brief presentation for the rest of the class based on
their assigned page, covering these questions:
– What is the page about? What is the problem or risk it describes?
– What are (at least) three tips they have learned from the page about what to do?

Note: As part of this activity let students know that if they are feeling sad or worried
about something online it is important to talk to someone. They can talk to a trusted
adult, mum, dad, aunty, uncle, carer or teacher, or they can check out Kids Helpline.

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Apply
• Ask students to go to their copy of ‘My personal online security plan’ and fill out
the ‘Getting help’ section. (Students should retain their worksheet for use in other
activities.)
• Ask students to work through the ‘Getting help’ module of the Be Secure kids’ quiz.
(Or you can hold the quiz for revision when all activities in this lesson plan are
completed.)

Published 09/2020

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Be Secure Name: ______________________________

Student worksheet Date: _______________________________

My personal online security plan

When you are playing games, researching for school, watching videos and chatting to
people online, it is important to prevent online security risks. These risks could include
losing your information, spending money even though you did not mean to, damaging
your device, or having someone contact you in a way that does not feel safe.

Complete the worksheet below to come up with your own online security plan.

My personal online security plan

Keeping my device safe

Who is in charge of keeping my device’s operating system

and app software up to date?

How do I back up my data, photos and videos?

What are three ways I can avoid downloading a virus to

my device?

Privacy and personal information

When I get a new app, what settings should I check?

What is a safe username I could use online?

What information do I need to keep private?

How can I make a strong password?

Who can I ask to help me check and update my settings?

What are three things I can do to respect the privacy of
others online?

When is it safe to share my location on a game or

other app?

Spending money online

How do I turn off in-app purchases in a game or

other app?

What are three clues that a website or app might be fake

or unsafe?

Getting help and support

Who can I trust if I need to talk about something I’ve

seen online that has made me feel sad or worried?

Where can I go for information about staying safe online?

Where can I get support or advice at any time on any day,

if I feel upset about something online?

Published 09/2020