Information Privacy Lesson Plan: Cybersecurity

Grade Levels: 3-5, 6-8, 9-12

This lesson accompanies the BrainPOP topic Information Privacy, and supports the standard of describing common safeguards for protecting personal information online. Students demonstrate understanding through a variety of creative projects.

Step 1: ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

Ask students: Why do you think it’s important to keep your personal information private?

Step 2: BUILD BACKGROUND

Read aloud the description below the Movie player.
Play the Movie, pausing to check for understanding.
Have students read one of the following Related Reading articles: “Did You Know,” “Real Life,” or “Laws and Customs.” Partner them with someone who read a different article to share what they learned with each other.

Step 3: APPLY
Students synthesize their ideas and express them through one or more of the following creative projects. They can work individually or collaborate.

Make-a-Movie: Create a tutorial explaining different strategies to protect your personal information online.
Make-a-Map: Make a concept map identifying different ways scammers might try to gain access to information, and how to protect yourself.
Creative Coding: Code a story in which a character gives tips to protect personal information online.

Step 4: REFLECT & ASSESS

Reflect: After sharing creative projects with each other, students reflect on what they’ve learned about information privacy. Prompt them by asking questions such as:

What should you look for before you share personal information online?
How is information sharing online similar to information sharing in real life? How is it different?

Assess: Wrap up the lesson with the Information Privacy Challenge.

Step 5: EXTEND LEARNING

Continue to build understanding around digital citizenship with BrainPOP’s Digital Citizenship topics, games, and teacher resources.