Lesson at a Glance | He Tirohanga Whakamua
Ngā Whāinga Ako | Learning Intentions
Students will know
- What a Digital Footprint (Tapuwae Matihiko) is: The permanent trail of data left by internet activity, messages, and posts.
- How to decide what you would actually do when someone is excluded or targeted online, and who you would tell.
- The difference between a Bystander (watching harm happen) and an Upstander (reporting, supporting, seeking adult help).
Students will demonstrate
- By deciding what they would actually do in three real online situations, and naming honestly what would make each one hard.
- By writing an upstander plan: one thing they will do, and one adult they would go to.
- By completing Section 3 of their Y7–8 Leadership Portfolio.
Do Now | Tīmatanga Whakaaro (10 min)
Digital Footprint Prompt:
"Pick a famous New Zealander — an All Black, a singer, a streamer. If we typed their name into a search engine right now, what would the first page of results show about them?"
Collect answers: photos, old posts, interviews, headlines, things other people wrote about them. Then point out the two facts that matter — most of it the person did not choose, and none of it comes down just because they want it to. Search a public figure, not each other: if you project a live search, pick the person yourself before the lesson, or run it as discussion only. Never put a student's name in the search box.
"Second question: if you walked through wet concrete wearing sneakers, your footprints would stay there for good. How is posting a message or picture online like walking through wet digital concrete?"
Unpack: Screenshots, server archives, and digital logs mean nothing online is ever truly erased. One day someone will type your name into that search box — a coach, an employer, a new school. A good digital citizen creates footprints they are proud of!
THINK Filter & Upstander Action (15 min)
Before hitting send: Is it True? Helpful? Inspiring? Necessary? Kind? If any answer is NO, don't post!
1. Do NOT like or share harmful posts.
2. Private message the target: "I'm here for you."
3. Report to a trusted teacher or Netsafe.
Upstander Decisions (15 min)
Section 3 of your portfolio has three real situations. This is not acting — nobody performs anything. You decide, then you defend the decision.
On your own (5 min). For each situation write what you would actually do, and then the harder question: what would make that difficult? Answer that one honestly. "I would look like I was taking it too seriously" is a real answer.
In threes (7 min). Compare Situation A. Where you disagree, say why. You are not trying to reach one answer — you are finding out what the actual cost of doing right is.
Whole class (3 min). Hands up for which of the three would be hardest. Usually it is C, the one where nobody is being obviously mean.
Kaiako note. Expect students to say the right thing is hard. Take that seriously rather than correcting it — a class that admits the cost is far more likely to act than one that recites the rule. Netsafe and a named trusted adult both count as reporting.
📁 Y7–8 Leadership Portfolio — Section 3: Digital Citizenship
Students open Section 3 of their Y7–8 Leadership Portfolio.
Section 3 Requirements:
1. Digital Decisions: Work through the three situations. For each one, write what you would actually do, and then what would make that hard.
2. My upstander plan: One thing you will actually do, and one adult you would go to.
Exit Verification | Ka Mutu Hoki (5 min)
Exit Check:
"My Section 3 says what I would actually do in all three situations, and names one thing I will do and one adult I would go to."
Teacher Planning & NZ Curriculum Alignment
Curriculum anchoring. This lesson has no Phase 3 statement of its own. Phase 3 carries no digital-citizenship statement: a live query returns only the generic Technology statement about designing and developing an outcome. The unit anchors at overview level instead — see the verified statements on the Y7–8 Starter Pack overview. Claiming a nearby statement this lesson does not actually teach would be worse than claiming none.
Vocabulary: Digital citizenship, digital footprint, THINK filter, upstander, Netsafe, netiquette.