"If you follow these rules you will be happy and safe!"

As I approached the fifth grade Internet Safety lessons, I thought, "How can I not repeat the amazing experience I had with my 5th grade students last year?"  (You can read about the lessons and experience here: Students as Teachers.)

I thought that, but I couldn't just repeat the previous year's lessons and not push myself and my students, SO , each fifth grade classroom engaged in a different project that allowed them to share what they know about Internet Safety(slightly daunting). My hope is to compare and contrast the results and determine the best method for next year!

All four classrooms started the same way: the previous week, we watched the AUP video I created and had small group and whole group discussions. When the students arrived for this lesson, we reviewed the AUP. I then explained that instead of me telling them about Internet Safety, I wanted them to tell not only me, but each other, and their buddy classes (younger students) about Internet Safety. .

The class project that I am sharing today was the one that mirrored last year's. The students in this class made posters. 

To do this, they worked with a brainstorming sheet I created, sketched out their design, and set to work. 

This week, the students presented their posters to each other. They worked hard practicing public speaking skills and modeling being an engaged audience. I forgot to give them a few minutes to set up their presentations, so they also had to practice extemporaneous public speaking! (Sometimes 30 minute lesson periods make me move too fast). Despite this shortcoming on my part, they did a great job. 

After presenting to each other, they worked in their groups to put their presentation into first-grader-friendly language.  They will be heading down to their buddy classes early next week. I will be using the fifth grade projects are visible reminders around our school and in our library.