As middle school educators, we recognize the increasing need to equip our students with essential cyber skills. With the digital landscape rapidly evolving and becoming a significant part of students’ lives, understanding cyber safety has never been more critical. Our Free Interactive Cyber Skills Activity for Middle Schoolers is designed to provide a hands-on approach to this topic.

Why is Cyber Skills Training Essential for Middle School Students?

Middle school students are at an age where their online interactions can vary from harmless games to potential exposure to unsafe online environments. With cyber threats on the rise, from cyberbullying to online scams, it’s our responsibility as educators to ensure our students can navigate the internet safely.

Presenting the Free Interactive Cyber Skills Activity for Middle Schoolers

Designed with middle school educators in mind, this interactive activity, called “Cyber Skills Safety,” aims to help students distinguish between safe and unsafe online practices.

Lesson Plan: Cyber Skills Safety Activity

Objective: By the end of this lesson, students will be able to identify safe versus unsafe online behaviors and understand the importance of cyber safety.

Materials:

• “Cyber Skills Safety” interactive activity (download here).
• Project on a Smartboard or 1-1 device

Introduction to Cyber Safety (5 minutes)

1. Initiate a discussion about the internet, asking students to share what they do online.
2. Highlight the importance of being safe online and introduce the upcoming interactive activity.

Cyber Skills Safety Interactive Activity (10 minutes)

1. Provide students with the Free Interactive Cyber Skills Activity for Middle Schoolers.
2. Allow students to navigate through the activity, identifying safe and unsafe online behaviors.
3. Offer assistance and clarification when needed.

Group Reflection (10 minutes)

1. After completing the activity, organize students into small groups to discuss their findings.
2. Prompt discussion with questions like, “What was the most surprising unsafe behavior you identified?” or “Why is it essential to recognize these unsafe behaviors?”

Class Feedback (5 minutes)

1. Gather feedback, creating a comprehensive list of safe vs. unsafe online behaviors.
2. Emphasize the importance of always being cautious and checking with a trusted adult if unsure about online actions.

No-Prep Activity Ideas for Subsequent Lessons:

1. Online Quizzes: Create or source quizzes that test students’ knowledge about online safety.
2. Scenario Discussions: Provide hypothetical online scenarios and ask if they are safe or not.
3. Guest Speaker: Consider inviting a cyber safety expert to speak about real-life examples.

Implementing Cyber Skills in Your Middle School Classroom

The online world offers boundless opportunities for learning and interaction. Yet, with these opportunities come risks. As educators, our job is to provide students with the knowledge and tools they need to navigate these digital waters safely. Our Free Interactive Cyber Skills Activity for Middle Schoolers serves as a valuable tool in this endeavor.

Sample Video

Students learn best from watching real students their own age model skills. Try out this sample video-modeling lesson below. We offer our entire Social-Emotional Learning platform free for 30 days here!

Related Blog Posts:

How to Teach Middle School Online Safety

Teaching Cyber Skills for Online Safety in Middle School

Developing Cyber Skills for Safe Online Communication and Social Media Usage