CyberShield Kids • Module 1 • Lesson 1.4
Trusted Adults
In this lesson, students learn when to pause, step away, and ask a trusted adult for help. Asking for help is not getting in trouble. It is a smart cyber safety habit.
What You Will Learn
By the end of this lesson, students should be able to:
Safety Reminder
Students should not handle unsafe situations alone.
If something online feels scary, confusing, secret, urgent, mean, or unsafe, students should pause and ask a trusted adult. CyberShield should always encourage safe help-seeking, not hiding problems.
Simple Explanation
Who is a trusted adult?
A trusted adult is a grown-up who helps keep students safe. Trusted adults can help students decide whether a website, game, message, popup, link, or online situation is safe. Students should never feel like they have to solve confusing online problems by themselves.
Key Vocabulary
Words to know
Trusted adult
A grown-up who helps keep students safe, such as a parent, guardian, teacher, counselor, or school technology staff member.
Warning sign
Something that tells you to slow down, pause, and ask for help before continuing.
Uncomfortable
A feeling that something is strange, wrong, scary, confusing, or unsafe.
Report
To tell a trusted adult about something unsafe, hurtful, strange, or suspicious.
Warning Signs
When should students ask for help?
Students should ask for help when something online feels strange or unsafe. These warning signs are examples of moments when it is smart to pause and talk to a trusted adult.
Safe and Unsafe Choices
Practice choosing when to ask.
These are safe, fake examples. Students should use them to practice knowing when to pause, step away, and ask for help.
Safer choice
A student sees a strange popup and asks a parent or teacher before clicking anything.
Unsafe choice
A student keeps talking to a stranger online after the stranger asks where they live.
Safer choice
A student tells a trusted adult when someone online asks them to keep a secret.
Think About It
Why is asking for help a strong choice?
Online problems can be confusing. A trusted adult may notice warning signs that a student does not see yet. Asking for help can protect private information, accounts, feelings, and safety.
Discussion Question
What are three online situations where a student should ask a trusted adult for help?
What To Do In Real Life
Use the pause-step-away-ask habit.
Mini Practice
What should the student do?
Read each situation and think about the safest next step.
Practice 1
A game message says, 'Tell me your school name, but do not tell your parents.' What should you do?
Safer answer
Do not answer. This is a warning sign because the message asks for private information and asks you to keep a secret. Tell a trusted adult.
Practice 2
A popup says you won a free prize and must click quickly. What should you do?
Safer answer
Pause and ask a trusted adult before clicking. Urgent prize messages can be unsafe or fake.
Practice 3
Someone in a class chat is being mean to another student. What is a safer choice?
Safer answer
Do not join in. Step away and tell a teacher, counselor, or another trusted adult.
Practice 4
You feel confused about a website asking for your password. What should you do?
Safer answer
Do not type the password until a trusted adult helps you check if the website is safe and expected.
Review Checklist
Before moving to the Module 1 review, students should be able to say:
Lesson Navigation
Continue to the Module 1 review.
Next, students will review personal information, private information, safe usernames, and trusted adult safety habits.