Lesson+02.+Making+Good+Decisions

=UNIT: Safety and Security Online. What do students need to know about Internet safety, privacy, and security?= =Making Good Decisions - Overview= Students take a true/false quiz about the risks to teens regarding online sexual victimization by adults. They use an analysis of the results as the basis for a classroom discussion of how they can harness the power of the Internet wile avoiding risky behavior that can lead to involvement in criminal sexual activity.

Download [|Student Sheet(s)] for printout in PDF format. Read a [|Letter to Educators] about Internet safety and security from CyberSmart!

Warning
This lesson discusses sex between adults and teens and is aimed at preventing sexual solicitation of teens by adults online. It is based upon a careful reading of the most recent findings regarding online sexual victimization of youths conducted by the [|Crimes Against Children Research Center] at the University of New Hampshire, and findings on adolescent risk-taking by the [|Laboratory For Rational Decision Making] at Cornell University. In each case, CyberSmart! has addressed these researchers' relevant recommendations for new public policy measures. Teachers should read this lesson in its entirety before presenting it to students. Students who appear to be at high risk should be referred to school psychologists for counseling.

Learning Targets

 * I can identify the kinds of teen behaviors that are risk factors for receiving online sexual solicitations.
 * I can use critical thinking to explain why solicitation by adults of underage teenagers for sex is wrong and illegal.
 * I can collaborate to develop a safety message guiding other teens to avoid online sexual solicitations by adults.

Home Connection
Download the [|Home Connection] sheet related to this lesson.

Site Preview
//**Optional strategies for using Web 2.0 tools with your students are recommended throughout the lesson plan.**//

Materials

 * Student Sheets (3)

Introduce

 * **Ask:** //What are some of the problems teens can encounter when interacting with people they know only online?//(Answers will vary with your students' experiences. Students may point out that teens can be threatened, harassed, or solicited for sexual activity by people they know and by strangers.)
 * If you wish to address teen-to-teen online threats and harassment, preview CyberSmart!'s two lessons for Grades 9–12 on cyberbullying.

Teach 1: Analyze the Problem
//**Use [|Web 2.0 tools] to convert the paper-and-pencil quiz on Student Sheet 1 into an online survey with automatic reporting features.**//
 * Distribute Student Sheet 1. Have students take the quiz and turn in their sheets without putting their names on them.
 * Have a team of students tally and post the results as the percentage of students who think the statement is true and the percentage who think the statement is false.

Teach 2: Think About It

 * Distribute Student Sheets 2 and 3. Discuss the Get the Facts statements for the quiz items. Have students spend more time on the quiz items that a majority of the class answered incorrectly.
 * Have students read and discuss the Think About It section of Sheet 3. **Ask:** //Sometimes when teens are going online together, they take more risks than they would alone. Why do you think this is so?//Guide students in a discussion of the causes and effects of peer pressure. Point out that it is natural for teenagers to be tuned in to peer pressure.
 * Age of consent laws state at what age a youth may legally agree to have sex. Explain that these laws are intended to prevent young people from being exploited by older, more experienced people. You might want to have students do an Internet search to determine the age of consent in your state.
 * You may wish to tell students that the FBI and police often speak about online child predators as going after the “low-hanging fruit”—that is, the young people who willingly engage in explicit sexual talk online with strangers.

Teach 3: Find Solutions
//**Use Web 2.0 tools, such as a wiki or a threaded discussion, to enable students to collaborate and record their brainstorming ideas online.**//
 * Have students brainstorm some strategies they can use to avoid these risky situations. Guide them to consider avoiding sex chat rooms and sex sites, talking about sex to strangers by e-mail, IM, and in social networking sites.
 * Have students brainstorm some actions they can take if they or a friend receives an online solicitation, including reporting people who act weird or aggressive to Web site managers, to their Internet service provider, and to law enforcement.

Teach 4: Take Action
//**Use Web 2.0 tools that will enable students to publish their final products online in the form of a blog, podcast, video, or wiki.**//
 * Based on what students have learned, have them develop a safety tip list, poster, or message to help other teens avoid risky situations online. Messages will vary but may include the following:
 * Be careful about talking to people you only know online about sex.
 * Report scary or aggressive sexual invitations to Web site owners and to law enforcement.
 * Sharing or posting suggestive photos (swimsuits or underwear) of yourself online will attract attention from strangers.
 * If talk with strangers online turns to sex or personal information, get out of the conversation.
 * If you make online acquaintances with people who are several years older than you, never engage in sexual talk or share suggestive photos.
 * Don't meet anyone you know only on the Internet unless you take trusted friends or a parent with you. Make sure you have an exit plan if the person you meets turns out to be different than you were led to expect.

Assess
The following items assess student proficiency and learning targets.
 * **Ask:** //What kinds of actions that teens may take on the Internet increase their chances of receiving online sexual solicitations?//
 * **Ask:** //Why is it wrong and illegal for adults to try to get underage teens to have sex with them?//
 * **Ask:** //What are safety tips you would tell other teens about avoiding online sexual solicitations?//

Extend

 * Students will benefit by revisiting this lesson each year.
 * For students who completed this lesson in a previous grade, tell students about the Ad Council's 1990–1991 national campaign tagline, “Friends don't let friends drive drunk.” This tagline likely contributed to a 10 percent drop in alcohol-related fatalities that year. Challenge students to develop a tagline to prevent Internet-initiated sex crimes involving teens. Have students work in small groups and when each group agrees on their tagline, allow them to use photo or video editing applications to create an ad.
 * //Use Web 2.0 tools that will enable students to post one or all of the ads they create on a class blog and invite other students to vote for their favorites.//**