Digital Wellness Champions ✨ cross-curricular
Teacher: TeacherAI | Grade: 4 | Subject: Technology, Health Education | Duration: 45 minutes
📝 Description: Students identify positive and negative digital influences, create personal screen time goals, and design privacy protection strategies.
Standards
- TECH.4.2.c (Safeguard well-being by being intentional about online activities and time spent online)
- TECH.4.2.d (Take action to protect digital privacy and manage personal data and security)
- HE.4.2.5 (Identify positive internal and external influences on personal health behaviors)
- HE.4.2.6 (Identify negative internal and external influences on personal health behaviors)
Learning Objectives
Students will be able to:
- Identify at least three positive and three negative digital influences on their well-being
- Create a personal screen time balance plan with specific daily goals
- Demonstrate three strategies for protecting personal information online
- Evaluate digital activities and categorize them as helpful or harmful to their health
Supplies Needed
- Chart paper
- Crayons and markers
- White paper
- Whiteboard and dry-erase markers
- Counting manipulatives
Lesson Structure
Opening (5 minutes)
Display "Digital Wellness Scale" on whiteboard with a balance scale drawing. Ask: "What does it mean to have balance? How might we balance our digital lives?" Have students share with a partner, then gather 2-3 responses. Introduce today's mission: becoming Digital Wellness Champions who protect themselves online.
Main Activity (35 minutes)
Step-by-step instructions:
- Digital Influence Sort (8 minutes): Call out digital activities one by one: "Educational games," "Cyberbullying," "Video calls with family," "Too much social media," "Learning coding," "Inappropriate content." Students stand if it's a positive influence, sit if negative. After each, ask 1-2 students to explain their choice.
- Screen Time Reality Check (7 minutes): Give each student 24 counting manipulatives representing hours in a day. Have them physically sort into piles: sleep (8-10), school (6-7), meals/family time (2-3), screen time, other activities. Students examine their piles and discuss with a partner what surprised them.
- Privacy Protection Strategies (10 minutes): Create three stations around the room with chart paper titled "Personal Information," "Passwords," and "Safe Sharing." In groups of 6-8, students rotate every 3 minutes, adding ideas to each chart. Guide with prompts: "What should you NEVER share online?" "What makes a password strong?" "Who is safe to share with?"
- Digital Wellness Plan Creation (10 minutes): Students fold white paper into quarters, labeling sections: "My Positive Digital Activities," "Screen Time Goals," "Privacy Protections," "Balance Strategies." They fill each section with drawings and words, creating their personal plan. Circulate and help students set realistic screen time goals (like "1 hour educational games, 30 minutes videos").
Closing (5 minutes)
Students find a partner and share one goal from their Digital Wellness Plan. Create class commitment by having volunteers share one way they'll be more intentional with technology this week.
Quick Check: "Name one way to protect your privacy online. What's the difference between a positive and negative digital influence? How will you balance screen time this week?"
Formative Assessment
During the lesson, look for:
- Students correctly categorizing digital activities as positive or negative during the movement activity
- Realistic and specific screen time goals written in their wellness plans
- Accurate privacy protection strategies mentioned during station rotations
Differentiation Strategies
Support for Struggling Students:
- Provide sentence starters for wellness plans: "I will spend ___ minutes on..." or "To stay safe online, I will..."
- Allow drawing instead of writing for students with writing difficulties
- Partner struggling students with strong peer mentors during activities
Challenge for Advanced Learners:
- Have them research and add one new privacy protection strategy to each station
- Create a digital wellness tip sheet to share with younger students
- Calculate actual percentages of time spent on different activities using their manipulative sorts
ELL/ELD Support:
- Pre-teach key vocabulary: privacy, influence, balance, intentional, with visual examples
- Provide picture cards showing positive/negative digital activities for reference
- Encourage native language discussion with bilingual partners before sharing in English
Printable Materials
This lesson uses only classroom supplies - no printable materials required.