Grade 7-9
Cyber Defenders
The middle school years are a time of new challenges and opportunities—especially online. The Cyber Defenders Certificate Program equips students with the skills to stay in control of their online lives. They’ll learn how to protect personal information, avoid online risks, manage digital drama, and make informed choices about online interactions. This program empowers students to take charge, think critically, and be leaders in their digital communities.
Why Take This Program?
For Students:
Take Charge: Learn to manage privacy settings, protect your devices, and avoid scams.
Navigate Online Drama & Social Pressure: Know how to handle friendship conflicts, cyberbullying, and online peer pressure.
Earn Recognition: Show your achievement with a Cyber Defenders certificate.
For Parents:
Build Confidence and Safety: Help your child navigate online challenges with practical skills and knowledge.
Focus on Leadership and Responsibility: Encourage your child to be a leader in their digital community.
Plan for the Future: Lay the groundwork for high school and beyond by teaching essential life skills.
What Will You Learn?
The Cyber Defenders Course builds on the knowledge learned in each video lesson, so that by the end you’ll have the tools and confidence to defend yourself online and your devices! The main areas of focus are:
🔒Be Secure: From setting up MFA to navigating online relationships. You’ll learn the building blocks of keeping your devices and personal information secure.
🛡️Be Private: We will teach you how to set-up privacy settings for your social media and learn how to share information safely online.
🔎Be Skeptical: Learn how to spot phishing scams, fake profiles, and the difference between real and fake advertisements.
⭐Be Positive: Take what you’ve learned and become a cyber defender for others by teaching friends, siblings, parents and teachers how to stay safe online.
And much more!
By the end of this course, we hope you’ll feel more equipped to take on cybersafety and can use what you’ve learned on your next adventure… Highschool! Journey with us as a Cyber Defender and learn how to protect yourself and others while online. Remember, keep learning, stay alert and always be in control of your technology!
✏️Lesson 1: Privacy and Security in Real Life
Privacy and security aren’t just about passwords. They’re about staying in control of what you share and who can access your information. In this module, you’ll learn how to protect your devices, keep personal data private, and avoid manipulative online tactics. We’ll also explore real-life scenarios like peer pressure to share passwords, deceptive friend requests, and hidden tracking in apps.
Video Summary
- Set up stronger multi-factor authentication and know when passwords might be at risk.
- Protect home networks and devices from outside threats.
- Lock down privacy settings across social media, messaging apps, and games.
- Understand how data brokers track and sell information, even when you’re not online.
- Recognize manipulative phishing attacks, fake ADs, and scam websites.
- Learn how to spot when an online “friend” isn’t who they claim to be.
- Help friends make safer online choices.
- Mentor younger students by teaching them what to share (and not share) online.
After watching the video be sure to complete the cyber quests and quiz or participate in classroom activities to accelerate to the next video lesson!
🧑🏫Google Classroom Activity
Hello Cyber Defenders! If you enjoy working as a team, the group activities are a great way to work with your peers to recap everything you’ve learned from lesson 1.
Cyber safety discussion panel
In groups of 2-3, go over these discussion questions and jot down your ideas. Think about what tips were mentioned in the video, but also draw on examples and experiences you’ve had. Once your group is ready, share as a group to the rest of the class.
- What are some realistic ADs you’ve seen in the last week that have popped up on your device? What signs tell you they might have been fake or scams?
- What kinds of Apps do you allow all permissions for and why?
- What information might hackers be most interested in, and what can you do to protect yourself against them?
- What are the telltale signs of a phishing attack, and what action do you need to take if you come across a scam email?
- What would you say to someone who says MFA is a waste of time and an annoyance?
Time: 15 min
🗺️Quest 1: How Can You Protect Your Privacy Online?
Each flashcard has the question on the front and the answer on the back. Flip through and see how many you know the answer to! If you’re stuck on a card, refer back to the video lesson for the answer. Good luck Cyber Defenders.
🗺️Quest 2: Drag and Drop
Using your mouse, click and drag the words into the correct boxes to complete the sentence.
🧠Quiz 1
Try this quiz to test your knowledge of everything learned in lesson 1!
✏️Lesson 2: Online Relationships and Digital Drama
Hello again Cyber Defenders! Are you ready for your next adventure? Our next lesson is all about friends and relationships online. Online friendships can be amazing, but they come with challenges such as drama, cyberbullying, and people who aren’t always who they claim to be. This module helps you set boundaries, recognize red flags, and handle online conflict safely and respectfully. You’ll also learn how to support friends who might be dealing with online risks.
In This Lesson, We Cover:
- Spot warning signs in online friendships and learning how to respond to sketchy requests.
- Set healthy boundaries in online relationships.
- Know what’s safe to share and when it’s okay to say no.
- Verify identities before trusting someone online.
- Spot fake profiles, bots, and deceptive messages designed to gain your trust.
- Diffuse online drama instead of escalating it.
- Support friends by knowing when (and how) to report harmful behavior.
After watching the video be sure to complete the cyber quests and quiz or participate in classroom activities to accelerate to the next video lesson!
🧑🏫Google Classroom Activity
Hello Cyber Defenders! If you enjoy working as a team, the group activities are a great way to work with your peers to recap everything you’ve learned from lesson 2.
Online Drama Skits
In groups of 3-5 students, create a skit based on the following prompts. Each skit can have a recipient, an attacker and/or an observer. An example skit could be a student (recipient) is getting bullied online about his haircut by a kid (attacker) at school. His friend (observer) notices he’s acting differently at school. His friend helps him deal with the bullying and reports the mean comments.
Prompt 1: A hacker gains access to your online gaming profile and begins sending aggressive messages to other players. You’re unsure what to do and have tried gaining access back to your account. Your friends are also starting to get weird messages and you’re worried one of them might click a link sent by the scammers. How can this situation be resolved and how can you protect your friends from the hacker?
Prompt 2: A student starts a rumor about you at school. They sent screenshots of your conversation and pretty soon, everyone seems to know. While walking down the hall you notice people are whispering about you and you’re confused. At lunch you ask a friend to show you the screenshots and are shocked to see an AI generated screenshot of last weeks Math test. You never sent pictures of a test online and you’re concerned about getting in trouble if the school finds out. What should you do to get out of this sticky situation and potentially get support?
Prompt 3: A group of students created a large group chat for all the 8th graders at school. The chat is very chaotic, and many random links, images and texts are sent. You notice there are a lot of usernames you don’t recognize and profiles that may be fake. You also wonder if you should leave the group chat and report it to the principal. One day you see a message that says “Selling two concert tickets for $20 each for next month. DM me to claim!” You find this message suspicious are want to investigate it further before someone else accidently interacts with the message. What can you do in this situation to protect others and yourself?
Time: 1 hr
🗺️Quest: Twisted Texting Tales
🧠Quiz 2
Try this quiz to test your knowledge of everything learned in lesson 2!
✏️Lesson 3: Understanding Technology and Defending Your Devices
Congratulations Cyber Defenders for making it to the final lesson! We hope you have learned something new that you can share with your friends, family, or classmates! As we rely on technology more, it’s important to understand how it works and how to keep it secure. In our last lesson together we will help you understand the basics of how devices, networks, and security systems work so you can protect yourself from cyber threats. You’ll also learn how to avoid common hacking risks, recognize malware, and take action if something goes wrong.
In This Lesson We Cover:
- Learn how computers, smartphones, and networks connect and communicate.
- Understand how hackers attack devices and how security systems block them.
- Explore how data is stored, encrypted, and shared across apps and devices.
- Manage app permissions, cloud storage, and backups to protect your personal information.
- Avoid fake security alerts, tech support scams, and malware.
- Recognize the difference between real security alerts and fake pop-ups designed to trick you.
- Learn how to safely troubleshoot tech problems and help others with basic security fixes.
- Stay curious and build a foundation for learning more about cybersecurity and technology careers.
This lesson will help you take control of your digital world by understanding how the technology around you works since the best way to stay safe online is to know what’s happening behind the screen.
🧑🏫Google Classroom Activity
Hello Cyber Defenders! If you enjoy working as a team, the group activities are a great way to work with your peers to recap everything you’ve learned from lesson 3.
Safe Technology Posters
| In groups of 2, create a 10-step safety plan poster for how you could secure the devices of your home. Using the information you’ve learned in module 3 (and previous modules!) You can make a physical poster with paper or create a digital poster using a program like Canva or Google Docs. Once you and your partner are finished, share with the class. Time: 30 min – 1 hr | |
🗺️Quest: Guess Who?
Word Bank:
Malware Cache Permissions Cloud Software Authentication Bluetooth Restart Internet
🧠Quiz 3
Try this quiz to test your knowledge of everything learned in lesson 3!
Congrats. You finished!
Cyber Defender Certificate
🏆Congratulations on receiving your Cyber Defender Certificate!
You’ve mastered the powers of tech protection—defending devices, spotting scams, and leading with positivity in the digital world. Your Cyber Defender Certificate shows you’re a true protector of the online realm!
Keep using your defender skills to stay safe, smart, and kind as you explore the digital universe. Your journey doesn’t end here—the mission to keep the internet safe continues! 🌐🛡️✨
Takeaway
Cyber Defender Checklist
Well Done, Cyber Defender!
You’ve earned this special checklist as a reminder of the essential skills you’ve gained in protecting your digital world. Download and keep it as a guide to stay secure, alert, and responsible every time you go online.
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