This week, third graders will understand Rings of Responsibility in regards to their behavior online and offline.  This lesson comes from Common Sense for Education.  Students will watch this video:

After discussing the lesson, students will post this image to their blog.

They will complete the lesson by taking the quiz included in the Common Sense curriculum.

Fourth and fifth graders will begin creating an animated slide using Keynote on their macbook to help count down the days until Christmas.  The first step will be to create their own Christmas scene in Tuxpaint to use as a background in Keynote.  The best countdowns will be featured in Morning Announcements during the month of December. Below is an example:

The Rings of Responsibility lesson from Common Sense Media was a perfect opportunity to explain to students how their actions not only affect themselves, but their community and possibly the world.  I shared the story of the two young women who posted a picture of themselves on social media at the tomb of the unknown soldier while making an obscene jester.  Those young women did not THINK about how that picture would go viral and affect all the millions of people on social media who had a lost a loved one fighting for the freedoms we enjoy.  That one simple action caused a major backlash from the “world” and almost ruined one young ladies’ life!  I believe students understand now how vitally important it is to consider the Rings of Responsibility before they post anything online.