In a technology-driven world, learning to use digital tools safely and effectively is critical for all students. Some schools are trying to teach these skills—including learning to use computers, navigate the internet, and use artificial intelligence—to elementary students.
Earlier this year, Education Week reported on two elementary schools focused on teaching good digital habits. One school in Falls Church, Va., spends one hour every week during the first month of school teaching specific digital skills and then incorporates them throughout the academic year. Another school in Mendon, Mass., teaches students about cyberbullying and how AI can play a role.
Under President Donald Trump’s administration, there’s been a push for educators to learn about AI and integrate it into the classroom. At the same time, there are calls by some Democratic and Republican lawmakers to limit screen time in schools, ban social media, and require schools to develop AI policies.
Additionally, the American Federation of Teachers has called for a rollback of digital tools in classrooms and more teacher training on AI and other digital skills in a world where technology is so readily available.
"[Students are] going to be around [technology] all the time,” said Jodie Safer, a STEAM teacher at Bailey’s Elementary, a K–2 grade school in Falls Church, Va. “Teaching [young students] the safe, responsible, and respectful way to use it will help them later on and throughout their life.”
Below are three strategies for building digital literacy skills in younger students.
1. Implement a digital literacy curriculum
Recently, the Fairfax County district in Virginia launched a digital literacy curriculum with the mission being “purpose over platform,” said Nicole Sandrowicz, the school-based technology specialist at Bailey’s Elementary.
Teachers ensure they are making “purposeful engagement activities for students and helping them be prepared for whatever technology is being used,” she added.
Sandrowicz told Education Week that the curriculum, which is designed by Common Sense Media, a nonprofit focused on youth and technology, outlines different focuses for each grade level.
For example, kindergartners are introduced to six characters—arms, legs, guts, feet, heart, and head—that illustrate engagement habits related to digital media consumption. (Feet represent one’s digital footprint, while guts represent online safety, for instance.) At this point, teachers also initiate conversations around caring for devices—this includes talking about being responsible if a device is lost or learning how and why to charge a device.
First graders continue to learn about caring for their technological devices and how to determine what is acceptable to share online and what information should be kept private. Finally, 2nd graders learn about when to put away devices and how to limit their time on them.
2. Illustrate digital literacy skills in a variety of age-appropriate ways
Teachers at Bailey’s Elementary emphasized the importance of making digital literacy information digestible for every grade level. For this reason, they host a Digital Citizenship Week using the characters in Common Sense Media’s curriculum. Each student can dress up as the color of a body part and practice the associated habit or skill.
For example, on the day of Arms, students can wear the color green and practice putting away their devices to show screen time limitation. Teachers can also illustrate this behavior in the classroom both by modeling the same habits and having visuals in the hallways and on bulletin boards, said Sandrowicz.
“The earlier we start making them aware and exposing them to some of these ideas [related to digital literacy], and relating it to things that they already go through, the easier it is for them to grasp,” said Sandrowicz.
3. Teach students about AI-generated content
While AI is not addressed directly at Bailey’s Elementary, students in 2nd grade are taught research skills. They learn how to use technology to discover new information and how to search online using trusted platforms like PebbleGo, which has facts about animals and other sciences.
Teachers also go back to the basics of the Common Sense Media curriculum, encouraging students to use their “Head” when interacting with online platforms and thinking about what is true or not, especially when it comes to AI-generated images.
“We tell the students [to] look carefully, think about it, and if you’re really not sure, talk to a trusted adult or find a book about it in the library so you can verify what you’re seeing if it’s true or not true,” said Safer.
