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8th grade · English Language Arts · Unit 8 of 12

Digital Citizens

Safe, smart and respectful online

What your child practices

Staying safe and respectful online, protecting privacy, spotting misinformation and disinformation, understanding how feeds are curated, and thinking about audience and purpose in digital and media texts.

Arizona Academic Standards learning standard: 8.W.6; 8.W.8 · judging online information and staying safe online

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Protect your privacy: ask a trusted adult before sharing personal details.
  2. Misinformation is false information shared by mistake. Disinformation is spread on purpose.
  3. Feeds are curated: chosen and arranged for you. Be respectful when working online.

Example: A website asks for your home address to enter a contest. What is the best response? Your address is private information. Check before sharing anything. Answer: ask a trusted adult and check whether the site is legitimate before sharing

Digital Citizens in Arizona

In the Arizona Academic Standards, this is unit 8 of 12 in 8th grade English Language Arts, after Reading Detective and before Write It Better.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Arizona Department of Education

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Why did the post spread so fast?

    A Post That Spread

    Last Tuesday, a photo went around the school group chat: a long line of people outside an electronics store, with the caption “Free phones tomorrow! Share now!” Within an hour it had 400 shares.

    Nobody checked the store's website, which said nothing about a giveaway. The photo was actually from a sale three years earlier.

    • People shared it without checking because it was exciting.
    • Social media shows only true posts.
    • The store paid for it.
    • Its facts had been checked.

  2. Question 2

    Before posting a photo of a friend, you should…

    • post it and delete it later if they object
    • tag everyone automatically
    • ask for their permission
    • assume it is fine

  3. Question 3

    Your digital footprint is…

    • the size of your device
    • the speed of your internet
    • the trail of information about you that is left online
    • a password

  4. Question 4

    Which is a sign that a website might be unreliable?

    • It has no author, no date and no sources.
    • It links to its sources.
    • It has a contact page.
    • It names the author and gives the date.

  5. Question 5

    A video uses fast cuts and loud music. How might this affect the audience?

    • It can create excitement or make events feel urgent.
    • It removes the creator's message.
    • It makes the facts more accurate.
    • It makes the video silent.

  6. Question 6

    What should the students have done first?

    A Post That Spread

    Last Tuesday, a photo went around the school group chat: a long line of people outside an electronics store, with the caption “Free phones tomorrow! Share now!” Within an hour it had 400 shares.

    Nobody checked the store's website, which said nothing about a giveaway. The photo was actually from a sale three years earlier.

    • counted the shares
    • checked the store's official website
    • waited for more shares
    • shared it to be first

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