Common Sense Education Digital Citizenship Curriculum VideoEquitable and Inclusive Curriculum  The CSDE believes in providing a set of conditions where learners are repositioned at the center of curricula planning and design. Curricula, from a culturally responsive perspective, require intentional planning for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the development of units and implementation of lessons. It is critical to develop a learning environment that is relevant to and reflective of students’ social, cultural, and linguistic experiences to effectively connect their culturally and community-based knowledge to the class. Begin by connecting what is known about students’ cognitive and interdisciplinary diversity to the learning of the unit. Opposed to starting instructional planning with gaps in students’ knowledge, plan from an asset-based perspective by starting from students’ strengths. In doing so, curricula’s implementation will be grounded in instruction that engages, motivates, and supports the intellectual capacity of all students.Empowering Thoughtful Digital Citizens:Digital citizenship is a critical skill that empowers students to navigate the complex digital landscape with wisdom, empathy, and responsibility. We strongly believe in a whole-school approach to digital citizenship that engages educators, school leaders, and families in supporting students' technological growth. Our model curriculum is designed to equip students from kindergarten through high school with essential skills to safely and thoughtfully engage with technology, fostering digital literacy, critical thinking, and social-emotional learning. By creating intentional learning spaces that encourage in-person connections, teach impulse control, and develop media literacy, we aim to prepare students to appreciate the nuanced nature of technology use, protect their well-being, and cultivate healthy digital habits that will serve them throughout their lives.Course Description:  In this ninth-grade course, students explore digital citizenship through a mature lens of personal responsibility and social impact. The curriculum examines digital well-being, data privacy, and social media etiquette, including the implications of tagging and sharing content about others. Students learn to navigate online communication challenges, evaluate manipulated media, and practice lateral reading skills to verify information. The course emphasizes making ethical digital choices while protecting both personal and peer privacy.Upon completion of Grade 9, students should have a deeper understanding of:Explore the role that digital media plays in their lives.Use the Digital Habits Checkup to reflect on the positive and negative impacts of digital media.Create a personal challenge to improve their digital well-being.Define online tracking and describe how companies use it.Identify the benefits and drawbacks of online tracking to both companies and users.Analyze specific examples of online tracking and take a position for or against them.Define "digital reputation," and identify examples of socialmedia posts that can have a positive or negative effect.Use the 1-2-3-1 Perspectives activity to consider the causes and effects of posting about others online.Generate a list of questions to ask themselves before posting pictures or information about someone else.Identify the types of messages that might cause a red flag feeling for someone.Use the Feelings & Options thinking routine to analyze and respond to a situation involving a red flag feeling.Identify examples of online behaviors that may hurt, embarrass, or offend others.Use the Feelings & Options thinking routine to analyze and respond to a digital dilemma.Define "misinformation" and explore the consequences of spreading misinformation online.Learn how to use lateral reading as a strategy to verify the accuracy of information online.Apply lateral reading to examples of questionable videos to determine their accuracy.Aligned Core Resources:Core resources is a local control decision.  Ensuring alignment of resources to the standards is critical for success. The CSDE has identified Common Sense Education Digital Citizenship Curriculum  as a highly aligned core curriculum after a rigorous review process. Transferable Skills Addressed in the Course: Media Balance & Well-Being Privacy & Security Digital Footprint & Identity Relationships & Communication Cyberbullying, Digital Drama & Hate Speech News & Media Literacy Family Engagement Opportunities:Family engagement is fundamental to our digital citizenship efforts, rooted in a whole community approach that recognizes families as essential partners in supporting students' technological development. We are committed to providing family engagement resources, and opportunities to support healthy digital habits, establish open communication about technology use, and model responsible digital behavior. Recognizing that parents and caregivers have diverse concerns about media, technology, and devices, we aim to be a supportive resource in guiding their children's digital experiences. By fostering ongoing communication and partnership, we create a dynamic support system that addresses challenges across school and home environments, ultimately strengthening students' digital citizenship skills.

This lesson is designed to apply Common Core State Standards and facilitate a comparison of informational texts and primary source material from the Scottsboro Boys trials of the 1931 and 1933, and the fictional trial in Harper Lee's novel, To Kill A Mockingbird (1960).