risk-takers thinkers principled (LEFT TO RIGHT) SCREENSHOTS FROM A STUDENT VIDEO DEPICTING A FRAUD-RELATED SCENARIO
STUDENTS GET WISE TO LIES
EVEN BY THE RIPE OLD AGE OF NINE, CHILDREN HAVE ALREADY BEEN EXPOSED TO FRAUD, SCAMS, AND OTHER ONLINE THREATS.
W
hile participating in our digital citizenship unit on private and personal information, grade 4 students had a slew of unsavoury stories to share in the classroom. Some reported that scammers tried to lure them into providing personal information while they were playing video games, while others spoke about supposedly trustworthy companies requesting private information from their parents. They came to school every morning eager to share new examples about compromised accounts, false credit card charges, long-lost cousins asking for money, or great prizes that were just “one click away!” We did a detailed study of the structure and technical aspects of fraudulent emails — including their introductory greeting and salutations, the body of the message, and hyperlinks — after which students created phishing schemes of their own. We are confident that they will use this newfound knowledge for good! They also created instructional videos, books and posters, outlining how to avoid falling victim to scams. Our young fraud experts were particularly proud and eager to share their work with their grandparents, having learned that seniors are more likely to be targeted.
FILIP VANJAKA GRADE 4 ENGLISH AND SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHER
18
LION SPRING 2022
