Digital Respect Skills

Lesson Overview

This 60-minute lesson for Years 3 and 4 focuses on helping students understand how respectful relationship skills apply in digital spaces, developing their ability to interact safely and respectfully online. Students will explore digital safety strategies, recognise risky online situations, and create personal rules to maintain safe, positive online relationships. This lesson is Lesson 9 of the "Understanding Relationships" unit and aligns tightly with the NSW Health and Physical Education Curriculum.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

Explain how respectful relationship skills extend to online friendships and digital communication.
Identify strategies for safe and respectful behaviour in digital environments, including recognising risky online situations.
Apply protective behaviours and help-seeking strategies in digital contexts.
Create personal rules to maintain respectful and safe online relationships.

These objectives align with the NSW Health and Physical Education achievement standards for Years 3 and 4, specifically:

Applying skills and strategies to interact respectfully with others.
Describing and applying protective behaviours and help-seeking strategies to keep themselves and others safe online and offline.
Interpreting health information to apply strategies to enhance safety, relationships, and wellbeing.

Curriculum Links

NSW Health and Physical Education Syllabus:

Content focus: Communicating and interacting for health and wellbeing
Outcomes:
Recognise how respectful relationships extend to online interactions.
Develop skills to manage personal safety and respectful communication online.
Understand help-seeking strategies for risky or uncomfortable online situations.

Materials Needed

Whiteboard and markers
Printed scenario cards depicting various online social situations
Personal reflection worksheet for creation of online safety rules
Chart paper or large paper for group work
Optional: projector to display examples or videos illustrating respectful/irresponsible online behaviours

Lesson Structure

1. Introduction & Launch – 10 minutes

Begin with an open class discussion: "How do the skills we use in respectful friendships apply when we make friends or talk online?"
List key respectful relationship skills on the board (e.g., listening, kindness, honesty, understanding personal boundaries).
Transition to considering these skills in digital friendships and interactions. Ask:
What is the same?
What is different?
Encourage sharing of experiences or observations.

2. Exploring Digital Safety Strategies – 15 minutes

Present and explain key strategies for online safety including:
Appropriate, respectful communication online (tone, language, emojis).
Recognising risky situations (e.g., strangers asking for personal information, cyberbullying).
Maintaining privacy and personal boundaries.
Use engaging, relatable examples and ask students to think about what they would do in each situation.

3. Scenario Analysis and Role-Play – 20 minutes

Divide students into small groups of 4–5.
Distribute printed scenario cards describing various online interaction situations (mix of positive and challenging scenarios). Examples:
A friend sends a mean message; how do you respond?
Someone you don't know asks to be friends online; what could you do?
You see a friend sharing too much personal information; how can you help?
Each group discusses the scenario, identifies the safe and respectful actions, possible risks, and help-seeking options.
Groups role-play solutions or responses based on the scenario to the class.
Debrief as a whole group to reinforce learning points.

4. Reflection and Personal Rules Creation – 10 minutes

Provide each student with a worksheet to create their personal rules for maintaining respectful and safe behaviour in online relationships.
Prompt reflection questions:
What rules can help you be a good digital friend?
How can you keep yourself safe and respect others online?
Ask volunteers to share one or two rules after completion.

5. Conclusion & Reinforcement – 5 minutes

Summarise key points from the lesson emphasizing:
Respect and kindness as important both offline and online.
Safety strategies help protect yourself and friends.
It’s okay and important to ask for help.
Encourage students to talk with family or trusted adults about their personal online safety rules.

Assessment and Feedback

Informal assessment through observations during group discussions and role-plays to gauge students’ understanding and ability to apply respectful and safe strategies.
Review students’ personal rule worksheets to assess comprehension of respectful digital relationship principles.
Provide positive feedback, highlighting examples of thoughtful, respectful, and safe online behaviours shared in class.

Differentiation and Extensions

Support: Provide sentence starters or example rules for students who need assistance during the personal rules activity.
Extension: Invite students to design a digital poster or infographic illustrating key online safety tips and respectful behaviours to share with the school community or display in the classroom.

This lesson provides a developmentally appropriate, interactive learning experience that connects personal relationship skills with the digital environment, helping students navigate online spaces safely and respectfully in line with the NSW curriculum expectations for Years 3 and 4. It blends discussion, collaboration, reflection, and creativity in an engaging 60-minute format.

Teaching Instructions