Shields Up for Cyber Safety Lesson Plan
Grade Level: 7–9
Duration: 45-60 Minutes
Author: Matthew Johnson, Director of Education, MediaSmarts
This lesson is part of USE, UNDERSTAND & ENGAGE: A Digital Media Literacy Framework for Canadian Schools.
Overview
In this interactive lesson, students become cyber safety strategists as they explore common online risks and learn practical ways to protect themselves, their accounts and their devices.
Students discover how two types of protection work together to keep them safer online: the security tools that help block threats and the critical thinking skills that help them recognize scams and make smart decisions.
Through group activities and realistic scenarios involving gaming, social media, phishing and hacked accounts, students investigate different cybersecurity tools, including the CIRA Canadian Shield app, and learn when and how to use them.
They'll put their new skills to the test by matching online threats with the best ways to respond, then create their own personalized cyber safety plan based on the devices and platforms they use.
Learning Outcomes
In this lesson, students will:
- Explore common online risks, including phishing, scams, malware and account hacking.
- Discover practical cybersecurity tools, including CIRA Canadian Shield, multi-factor authentication, password managers and ad blockers, and learn how they help keep devices and accounts secure.
- Learn to spot the warning signs of scams, including messages that create a false sense of urgency, fear or pressure to act.
- Practise thinking critically about suspicious messages, links and offers, and learn how to verify information before responding.
- Work together to solve realistic cyber safety challenges, matching different threats with the tools and strategies that can help prevent them.
- Create a personal cyber safety plan with practical steps they can use to protect themselves online and share what they've learned with family and friends.
This lesson and all accompanying materials, including student handouts, activity cards and assignments, are available in an easy-to-print PDF kit.
Sponsored by
Disclaimer: CIRA provides financial support to MediaSmarts. This resource has been developed in collaboration between CIRA and MediaSmarts. MediaSmarts does not endorse any commercial entity, product or service.