Week 1: Internet Playground
Internet Basics & Digital Citizenship
In our first week, we explore a big idea:
The internet is not just technology — it is a giant network of people sharing ideas, information, videos, pictures, and games.
Just like a real playground or city, the internet has amazing things to explore.
But it also requires good judgment and awareness.
This week focuses on helping the student understand how the internet works at a basic level and how to make thoughtful choices while exploring it.
- You do not need to teach every bullet on the page. Use the learning goal and one or two activities for the session you are teaching today.
- If time is short, teach one guided session well and leave the rest for later. The lessons are designed to stretch across the week.
- The independent session works best after the learner has already explored the main idea with you once.
Teacher Preparation
- Time needed: ~30–40 minutes per guided session, ~30 minutes for the independent session.
- Devices needed: One computer or tablet with a web browser and internet access.
- Accounts needed: None. All activities use public, kid-friendly websites.
- Prepare simple analogies for the internet:
- a city full of places
- a library full of information
- a network of roads connecting people
- Bookmark a few kid-friendly websites related to the child’s interests (dogs, animals, how things are built, etc.).
- Prepare a whiteboard or paper for quick drawings.
- Prepare a few example questions the student might want to search later.
- Set up a visual timer for sessions.
This week is about understanding and judgment, not rules.
Avoid saying “don’t go there” or “that’s dangerous.”
Instead help the student understand why certain situations require caution or asking for help.
All browsing this week should be supervised by an adult. Sit alongside the learner while they explore websites. Pre-bookmark sites before the session so the learner stays within safe, age-appropriate content. If something unexpected appears, use it as a calm teaching moment rather than a source of alarm. For a complete safety quick-reference, see Digital Habits & Safety.
Guided Session 1
The Internet Is Made of People
Learning Goal
By the end of this session, the student can:
- analyze examples of online content and infer the people behind them
- compare different reasons people create and share things on the internet
- create a simple explanation of the internet as a network of people, ideas, and tools
Activities
1. Draw the Internet Together
Ask:
“What do you think the internet actually is?”
Draw a simple diagram together:
Person → computer → internet → other people
Explain:
- The internet connects computers.
- Behind most things online are real people.
Examples:
- Someone made the videos she watches.
- Someone wrote the website about dogs.
- Someone built the game she plays.
2. The Internet Playground Analogy
Explain:
“The internet is like a giant playground or city.”
Some places are:
- educational
- fun
- creative
- made for kids
Other places might be:
- confusing
- meant for adults
- trying to get attention or clicks
Just like in a city, we learn how to explore smartly.
3. Explore a Few Safe Websites
Visit one or two kid-friendly sites.
Examples:
- NASA Kids
- National Geographic Kids
- a dog information site
- a "how things are made" style page
Let the student click around and explore briefly.
Point out things like:
- pictures
- menus
- videos
- links (clickable text, usually blue or underlined)
Explain that each page is something someone made and shared.
4. Browser Basics: Your First Tools
While exploring, introduce a few browser basics naturally:
- The address bar: Point to it at the top of the browser. Explain that every website has an address (called a URL). You can see it change as you visit different pages.
- Links: Show how clicking a link takes you to a new page. Some links open in the same tab, some in a new one.
- Tabs: Open a second website in a new tab. Show how tabs let you keep two pages open at once. Practice switching between them.
- Back and forward buttons: Show the arrow buttons at the top left. Click Back to return to the previous page.
- Scrolling: Point out that most pages are longer than the screen. Scroll down to see more content.
Keep this light and exploratory. The goal is familiarity, not memorization.
Reflection Questions
Ask open-ended questions:
- “What clues helped you infer who made something online?”
- “How were the sites you explored similar or different in what they were trying to do?”
- “If you had to explain the internet to someone younger, what idea would you want them to understand?”
Sentence starters for younger learners:
- “I noticed that the website was made by…”
- “One thing that surprised me was…”
Guided Session 2
Being a Smart Digital Explorer
Learning Goal
By the end of this session, the student can:
- evaluate online situations and judge which ones are safe, private, or adult-help moments
- justify why some information should stay private even when a website asks for it
- create a simple personal safety rule for what to do when something online feels confusing or strange
Activities
1. Public vs Private Information Game
Explain that some information is okay to share and some information should stay private.
Draw two columns:
Public Things | Private Things
Ask the student to help decide where things belong.
Examples:
Public:
- favorite animal
- favorite color
- a drawing
- a story
Private:
- home address
- school name
- passwords
- phone number
- full name + location together
Explain why private information matters.
Not because it is scary — but because we protect important things.
2. What If Something Feels Weird?
Discuss possible situations:
Examples:
- A website asks for personal information.
- A video suggests something strange.
- Something confusing pops up.
Ask:
“What could you do if something online makes you unsure?”
Help them discover the best answer:
Talk to a trusted adult.
Explain:
That is not “getting in trouble.”
That is being smart.
3. Introduce the Idea of Algorithms (Lightly)
Explain very simply:
Websites and video platforms often recommend things based on what people click.
Example:
If you watch:
- dog videos
The website may show more dog videos.
Explain that sometimes this is helpful, but sometimes it can lead to rabbit holes.
This idea will return later in the course.
Reflection Questions
- “How did you decide whether a piece of information was public or private?”
- “Which situations should lead to an adult-help decision, and why?”
- “What rule would help you stay in control when a website tries to influence your attention?”
Sentence starters for younger learners:
- “I think this information is private because…”
- “If something felt weird online, I would…”
Independent Session
Internet Explorer
Instruction
Explore a kid-friendly website and study it like a careful digital explorer.
As you explore, notice:
- who seems to have made the page
- what the page is trying to help you do
- what makes it feel useful, fun, or confusing
When you finish, create one of these:
- a short explanation of what the site teaches or shares
- a drawing that shows something you discovered
- a spoken explanation of why the site seems helpful for kids
Be ready to explain how you decided what was interesting or useful.
Skills Reinforced
- analyzing websites for purpose and audience
- evaluating what feels useful, safe, or confusing online
- inferring that digital content is created by people
- communicating a reasoned takeaway from exploration
Setup
- open a safe bookmarked website
- provide paper or a drawing tool
- set a visual timer for ~30 minutes
🔄 Simplify or Extend
To simplify:
- Focus only on the playground analogy and visiting one pre-bookmarked website together.
- Skip the algorithm discussion and keep the session to exploring and talking about what they see.
To extend:
- Have the learner compare two websites on the same topic and discuss which one seems more trustworthy and why.
- Ask the learner to create a short list of “rules for smart internet exploring” in their own words.
💾 Save This Week’s Artifact
Save a bookmarked list of 3–5 safe, kid-friendly websites the learner explored or wants to return to. This can be a written list, a text file, or browser bookmarks saved to a folder. This will become part of their collection of work that builds toward the final project.
✅ Success Indicators
By the end of this week, look for whether the learner can:
- Explain in their own words that the internet connects people and that real people make the content they see
- Sort examples of information into “public” and “private” categories with reasonable accuracy
- Describe at least one thing they would do if something online felt confusing or uncomfortable
- Navigate a kid-friendly website by clicking links, using menus, and identifying what the site is about
- Use basic browser controls: address bar, back button, scroll, and switch between tabs
- Talk about why some websites are more helpful or trustworthy than others
- Recognize at least one example of an online trick (popup, flashy ad, clickbait) and describe what to do
Browser • URL (web address) • Link • Tab • Scroll • Popup • Clickbait • Private information
See the Glossary for definitions.