Safer Choices Online

Overview

In this eighth lesson of Healthy Relationships and Hauora, students apply prior learning about boundaries, respect and communication to pressure in face-to-face and digital relationships. They practise a simple decision tree for recognising risk, protecting privacy, seeking help and supporting others without taking responsibility for stopping harm alone.

Learning intentions

• WALT recognise pressure, manipulation and concerning behaviour online and face-to-face.
• WALT choose safe immediate actions when a situation feels unsafe.
• WALT protect personal information and digital evidence.
• WALT identify trusted support options and ways to contact them.

Success criteria

• I can identify a concerning behaviour and explain why it may affect wellbeing.
• I can choose a safe action: pause, do not reply or meet alone, save evidence if safe, block/report, and tell a trusted adult or service.
• I can name at least two trusted supports and explain how I could contact them.
• I can protect personal information such as passwords, location, images and group-chat details.

Curriculum links

• Health Education: Relationships — communication skills, empathy, personal relationships and boundaries.
• Health Education: Relationships — managing emotions, setting boundaries and resolving conflict while protecting wellbeing.
• Health Education: Relationships — responding to online safety concerns, exclusion, bullying and stereotypes.
• Key competencies: managing self; relating to others; participating and contributing; thinking.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Safe opening. Teacher displays the purpose and reminds students: “We discuss fictional situations only; no one shares private accounts, messages or experiences.” Open the opening question and safety agreement slides and establish a right to pass, private check-in option and school safeguarding process. Students silently consider: “What might make someone hesitate to ask for help?”

2. 5–15 min · Model the decision tree. Teacher introduces pressure, manipulation, privacy, personal information, evidence, scam, grooming and trusted adult using brief, age-appropriate examples. Model a mock message with no real links: someone pressures a person to share an image and keep it secret. Use the vocabulary and decision-tree slides to think aloud: pause; do not reply or meet alone; save evidence if safe; block/report; tell a trusted adult or service. Students identify the unsafe feature and rehearse one safe response, without opening devices or real content.

3. 15–20 min · Demonstrate privacy protection. Teacher shows fictional the device-screen privacy examples covering group chats, fake accounts, location sharing, passwords and image sharing. Students sort actions as “protects privacy”, “needs checking” or “increases risk” using hand signals or response cards. Emphasise not forwarding images, using strong private passwords, checking settings and never meeting an online contact alone.

4. 20–38 min · Fictional case stations. Arrange four mixed-ability teams and provide the Health Decision-making Scenario Cards. Each team selects or receives cases involving pressure to keep secrets, a suspicious account, location or password requests, group-chat exclusion, image sharing or a possible scam. Students use the pressure and help-seeking case organiser to record: concerning behaviour; feelings or risks; safest immediate action; privacy protection; and who could help. Rotate once or twice using a visible timer. Offer read-aloud, audio, symbols, typing, drawing or oral recording.

5. 38–50 min · Help-seeking pathways. Teacher models that young people are not responsible for stopping adult or peer harm alone. Teams create a visual pathway on the worksheet: notice → pause and get safe → preserve evidence if safe → block/report → tell a trusted adult or approved service → keep seeking help if not heard. They add at least two support options, such as a whānau member, school counsellor, dean, teacher, health professional or school-approved youth service, plus an accessible contact method. Teams may present orally, use symbols or submit a typed/drawn pathway.

6. 50–56 min · Share and check. Invite groups to explain one case and justify their first action. Use the discussion and bystander-option slides to ask: “What could a bystander do safely?” and “How can we check whether advice or an account is reliable?” Reinforce culturally safe, trusted support and the option to keep asking another safe adult. Correct unsafe suggestions gently.

7. 56–60 min · Private exit response. Distribute the individual exit response section and ask students to complete privately: “One concerning behaviour is… My safest immediate action is… Two supports I could contact are… I would contact them by…” Students may write, type, draw or give the response orally to the teacher. Collect discreetly and remind students they can request a private conversation; follow school safeguarding procedures for disclosures.

Resources

• the complete digital safety teaching deck
• the case organiser and private exit response
• the Health Decision-making Scenario Cards
• Mock messages with no real links
• Fictional device screenshots
• Decision-tree display or board copy
• Timer and movement-station signs
• School-approved support contacts and accessible contact methods
• Headphones or read-aloud technology
• Pens, markers and paper

Assessment

• During modelling and sorting, check whether students can identify pressure, manipulation, privacy risks and a safe first action.
• Review group organisers and pathways for accurate sequencing, privacy protection and two realistic support options; assess understanding, not personal online behaviour.
• Use the private exit response to identify learners needing reteaching, an accessible follow-up or a confidential referral. Never view private student content.

Differentiation

• Support: Model one action at a time; use colour-coded decision-tree steps, short sentences, icons, examples and sentence starters such as “This is concerning because…” and “I could contact…”.
• ADHD/FASD: Use predictable routines, movement stations, a visible timer, defined team roles and brief chunks. Offer frequent check-ins and reduce copying demands.
• ASD and communication needs: Provide the cases in advance where possible, allow individual or paired work, make “right to pass” explicit, and accept typing, drawing, symbols or oral responses.
• Dyslexia/EAL: Use dyslexia-friendly sans-serif text, large spacing, read-aloud/audio support, pre-teach vocabulary and avoid requiring students to read messages aloud. Provide culturally responsive support choices and accessible contact methods.

Extension

• Evaluate whether a fictional source, account or message is reliable, identifying evidence and warning signs.
• Compare privacy settings and discuss bystander options, legal and ethical responsibilities, and how to seek culturally safe support without escalating risk.
• Design an improved decision tree for a younger student, explaining why each step protects wellbeing.