Finding a teacher guide for Internet safety for various age groups can be difficult, but we've collected all of the information you need. Read on to find out where to find free Internet safety guides, safety videos and Internet safety activity ideas for your classroom.
Free Teacher Guides for Internet Safety
There are many free teacher guides available on the Internet to help you with presenting Internet safety to your class. If you don't have time to create a lesson plan of your own, these sites offer teacher guides and other goodies that you can put to use immediately.
- Safe Surfing Kids is clearly written lesson plan outlines for grades 3-12.
- Lesson Plans Page is a nice lesson plan for Internet safety for grades 9-12.
- Wired Safety has a variety of lesson plans, activities and ideas for your classroom, for all grades.
Internet Safety Videos
Sometimes nothing captures the attention of children like a well-made video. The following websites offer videos for younger children, which covers everything they should know about Internet safety. Companion teacher guides are available on the websites or come with a purchased video:
- The Safe Side Internet Safety Video is from the people who brought us the Safe Side personal safety video.
- Wired Safety is a great selection of free flash videos that you can watch right now on your classroom computers.
- iKeepSafe - Faux Paw teaches young children about Internet safety. Videos are for sale, but there are also free downloadable curriculum pages too.
Interactive Internet Safety Websites
Teachers that have Internet access for all of their students can use websites that have been specifically designed to teach Internet safety. These sites also have companion teacher guides; a few of these sites require registration by the teacher in order to access the information. Some of the best sites we found include the following:
- NetSmartz Kids - Follow Clicky and his Internet Outlaws through fun and educational games
- TeenAngels - A great site for teens that is about young people who have been trained by law enforcement teach other teens about Internet safety online
- Media-Awareness has a lot of interactive computer games that deal with Internet safety for grades 5-12
- AT&T is an Internet safety game site for children, grades 3-8.
- Disney's Internet Safety page - Visit this to learn Internet safety tips brought to you by the folks at Disney (includes printable tips and an Internet safety agreeement).
Create an Internet Safety Guide
Seasoned teachers who have the time will often want to create their own lesson plans that are tailored specifically for their students. Once you have taught Internet safety several times, creating your own lesson or even a thematic unit, becomes much easier. The following sites offer ideas on how to create lesson plans and thematic units for your classroom:
- Hot Chalk's Lesson Plans Page
- iLearn - An on-demand system that teaches individuals how to present Internet safety lessons to children
- Safe Kids - A site designed for parents, but it has lots of information, slide shows and more on Internet Safety for kids of all ages
Teaching Internet safety doesn't have to be boring with all of the great websites available to educators. The good news is that most of the information available to you is free! Whether you choose to use simple worksheets or videos, or a combination of all of the teaching methods mentioned above, your class will definitely have fun learnining safety tips for using the Internet.
