LESSON PLAN

GRADES 3-5
Super Digital Citizen UNIT 3

Essential Question Estimated time: 45 minutes

How can people help others to be good digital citizens?
Standards Alignment –
Lesson Overview
Students explore what it means to be responsible and respectful to their Common Core:
offline and online communities as a step toward learning how to be good grade 3: RI.1, RI.4, RI.10,
digital citizens. They create digital superheroes who exhibit exemplary RF.4a, W.3a, W.3b, W.4, W.10,
attributes and are able to solve digital dilemmas in a responsible way. SL.1a, SL.1b, SL.1c, SL.1d, SL.4,
SL.6, L.3a, L.6

Learning Objectives grade 4: RI.1, RI.4, RI.10,

Students will be able to ... RF.4a, W.3a, W.3b, W.4, W.10,
• compare and contrast their responsibilities to their offline and SL.1a, Sl.1b, SL.1c, SL.1d, SL.4,
online communities. SL.6, L.3a, L.6
• reflect on the characteristics that make someone an
grade 5: RI.1, RI.4, RI.10,
upstanding citizen.
RF.4a, W.3a, W.3b, W.4, W.10,
• devise resolutions to digital dilemmas.
SL.1a, SL.1b, SL.1c, SL.1d, SL.4,
SL.6, L.3a, L.6
Materials and Preparation NETS•S: 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 2d,
•   Preview the video “Super Digital Citizen,” and prepare to show 3b-d, 4b, 4c, 5a-d, 6a, 6b, 6d
it to students.
• Copy the Save the Day! Student Handout, one for each student.
Key Vocabulary –
• Preview the following optional online tools:
citizen: a member of
• Marvel’s Spider-Man (www.marvel.com/universe/Spider-Man) a community
• Marvel’s Create Your Own Superhero
(http://marvel.com/games/play/31/create_your_own_superhero) digital citizen: amember of a
• Make Beliefs Comix (www.makebeliefscomix.com) worldwide community linked by
• Comic Life (http://comiclife.com) the Internet

• ABCYa! (www.abcya.com/word_clouds.htm) responsibility: a duty

• ReadWriteThink Plot Diagram or obligation
(www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/plot-diagram/)
Family Resources
• Send home the Digital Life Family Tip Sheet
(Elementary School).

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 introduction
Warm-up (5 minutes)
EXPLAIN to students that they are going to watch a video about a character who finds he has some “super”
powers in everyday life.
SHOW students “Super Digital Citizen.”
ASK:

What were the three “good choices” that Arms • Guts changed his password to be more complex.
helped Guts make in the video? • He protects his tablet with a case and carries it in his
backpack so that it won’t break.
• He asks permission from Heart first before sharing a photo
of her online.

INVITE students to think about Arms’s question moving forward: What are your superpowers?

teach 1
Create a Digital Superhero (20 minutes)
POINT OUT that Spider-Man is a superhero who uses his great powers to help other people. Spider-Man’s uncle
says, “With great power comes great responsibility.” (Optional: Show students the following link about Spider-
Man: www.marvel.com/universe/Spider-Man.)
DEFINE the Key Vocabulary term digital citizen. Emphasize that a digital citizen is more than just an
Internet user. It’s someone who chooses to act in safe, respectful, and responsible ways online.
EXPLAIN to students that they are going to create digital citizen superheroes who use their great powers to
help people act safely, responsibly, and respectfully online.
CREATE a three-column chart with the terms “Safe,” “Responsible,” and “Respectful” written at the top of each
column. Invite students to suggest words or phrases that describe how people can act safely, responsibly, and
respectfully online, and then write them in the appropriate column. (Alternatively, have students write their
words or phrases on sticky notes and post them on the chart.)
DISTRIBUTE the Save the Day! Student Handout to each student. (Optional: Students can also create
superheroes online using Marvel’s Create Your Own Superhero at: marvel.com/games/play/31/create_your_
own_superhero.)
TELL students to complete Step 1, which prompts them to create a superhero for the digital world. Encourage
them to ask themselves the following:
• What kind of superpowers would my digital citizen superhero use to help others act safely, responsibly, and
respectfully online? What is special about the way my superhero acts and thinks?
• What kind of special costume would my superhero wear to help him or her do the job?
• What would my superhero’s name be? (for example, Dynamic Digital Dave or The Upstander).
REMIND students to note some of their superhero’s unique qualities.
INVITE students to introduce their superheroes to one another.

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 teach 2
Create a Save the Day! Comic Strip (15 minutes)
REMIND students how good digital citizens can harness the power of digital media to make the world a
better place.

TELL students to complete Step 2 of the Save the Day! Student Handout, which prompts them to create a
short, three-frame comic strip. They should illustrate a problem in the digital world, and how their digital
superhero helps resolve that digital dilemma. Students can create comic strips freehand on the handout using
illustrations, speech bubbles, and captions. Or, alternatively, they can use an online tool, such as Make Beliefs
Comix (www.makebeliefscomix.com; free online) or Comic Life (http://comiclife.com; Mac, must purchase).

SHARE one or two of the following examples, if students need guidance creating a scenario:
• Someone spreads rumors about somebody else online
• Someone cheats on an assignment for school by copying information from a website and saying they wrote it
• Someone uses someone else’s password to pretend to be that person online
• Someone says mean things online
• Someone forwards a message containing private information to someone else
DISPLAY your students’ comics around the classroom, like in an art gallery. Then have students take a “gallery
walk,” whether as a class or in small groups. Allow each student the opportunity to describe his or her comic
to others.

closing
Wrap-up (5 minutes)
You can use these questions to assess your students’ understanding of the lesson objectives. You may want to ask
students to reflect in writing on one of the questions, using a journal or an online blog/wiki.
ASK:

What does it mean to be a digital citizen? Acting safely, responsibly, and respectfully online.

What kinds of superpowers or qualities did Answers will vary, depending on the superheroes your
your digital superheroes have in common? students created. Help to point out the similarities between
students’ stories. Did some of the superheroes stand up for
people who were bullied or teased? Did some help guard
people’s online privacy? Did some save people from making
mistakes that would have jeopardized their online safety
or security?

What does Spider-Man’s motto “With great Encourage students to reflect on the possibilities and perils
power comes great responsibility” mean to associated with using technology, as well as the importance of
you, as someone who uses technology? acting mindfully online so that they and others will have
positive experiences.

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 SAVE THE DAY!

Super Digital Citizen

Directions
Step 1: Create a digital superhero. Note some of his or her special
powers or characteristics.
My digital superhero is named ___________________________________ ;
he or she can __________________________________________________ .

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Step 2: Create a comic strip in which your superhero sees an act of
poor digital citizenship. Then have your superhero fix the problem …
and save the day! Use illustrations and captions to tell your story.

Comic strip title:

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 ASSESSMENT

Super Digital Citizen

1. Read the scenarios below. Which person acts like a good digital citizen?

a) Kwame gets an email from a person he doesn’t know that says he won a prize.
He immediately deletes the email and doesn’t reply.
b) Sara makes a peanut butter sandwich for her little sister.
c) Willie and Juan are in a fight. They keep posting mean comments about one
another online.

2. What would a good digital citizen do in the following situation?

Nick sees that his classmate left her email account open on a school computer by
mistake. Nick decides to _____________________________________________________.

a) send an email from her account to a friend

b) log out of her email and let her know that he closed it for her
c) not do anything and let someone else deal with it

3. What is one way that you can act responsibly online?

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

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 ASSESSMENT
Super Digital Citizen TEACHER VERSION

1. Read the scenarios below. Which person acts like a good digital citizen?
a) Kwame gets an email from a person he doesn’t know that says he won
a prize. He immediately deletes the email and doesn’t reply.
b) Sara makes a peanut butter sandwich for her little sister.
c) Willie and Juan are in a fight. They keep posting mean comments about one
another online.

Answer feedback
The correct answer is a. Students should never reply to an emailer that they don’t know. Most
“You’ve Won a Prize!” types of emails are spam.

2. What would a good digital citizen do in the following situation?

Nick sees that his classmate left her email account open on a school computer by
mistake. Nick decides to ________________________________________________.

a) send an email from her account to a friend

b) log out of her email and let her know that he closed it for her
c) not do anything and let someone else deal with it

Answer feedback
The correct answer is b. Students should never use someone else’s private account. The responsible
action is to log out of the account so that no one can access the personal and private information.

3. What is one way that you can act responsibly online?

____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________

Answer feedback
Answers will vary. Students may respond that they will post kind
comments, keep private information protected, stand up to
cyberbullying, or give proper credit to authors and artists when
using their work.

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