Teacher’s Guide

Exposure to
Inappropriate Content
Adapted for the DepEd Alternative Learning System

e-CITIZENSHIP LEARNING PACKET

 This e-Citizenship Learning Packet covers the following learning competencies
of the DepEd ALS K to 12 Basic Education Curriculum

Code Learning Competency

LS6DL-DE-PSF-JHS-12 Digital safety – Discuss ways on how to detect risks online (e.g.,
cyberbullying, grooming, radicalization) and problematic content
(e.g., violence and obscenity), and know how to avoid and limit
these risks.

LS6DL-DE-PSE-JHS-10 Digital communication – communicate with others with humility

LS6DC-DE-PSF-AE/JHS-3
LS6DC-DE-PSF-AE/JHS-5
and respect, and in a constructive manner.
Practice respectful conduct when using the Internet, such as:
• sensitivity to national and local cultures
Internet etiquette while chatting, emailing, blogging, and using
social media
Explain how to minimize the risks of negative online behaviors
and inappropriate content such as:
• pornography
• exposure to violent conduct
• online gambling
• online sexual behaviors
• meeting online strangers

This publication is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC
BY-NC-SA 3.0). (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/)

For more resources on Mobile Technology for Teachers, please visit our website at http://www.seameo-
innotech.org/mt4t or download the SEAMEO INNOTECH Reader from your Apple, Android, or Windows
device’s application store.
 TEACHER’S GUIDE | EXPOSURE TO INAPPROPRIATE CONTENT 1
Topic Designed for developmental stage(s):
Exposure to inappropriate Late childhood to
content adolescence
Activity name Recommended age range:
Surf to Safety! A Game of 10 to 18 years old
Hopscotch

Rationale In the application stage, which is after the discussion of

Children are the most vulnerable sector of society with
regard to exposure to inappropriate content on the
web. Inappropriate content may include but is not
limited to offensive language, child or adult
pornography, and illegal activities that young children
might consider to be “cool.”
Children who have access to the Internet are easily
exposed to unsafe surfing if they are left on their own.
They have to be made aware of their responsibility as
digital citizens to empower themselves against harmful
sites. Instilling responsible surfing in them will help
protect themselves from any inappropriate content.
This calls for teachers to advocate strongly for the
protection of children against all these potentially
harmful materials that abound on the web by facilitating
a n d integrating learning activities for this purpose.
the key learning points, learners will categorize images
as either appropriate or inappropriate through values
voting.
The lesson will be concluded with a commitment activity,
which is a letter to oneself.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the lesson, the students will be able to:
✓ distinguish between safe and unsafe sites;
✓ explain the consequences of choosing inappropriate
content;
✓ identify the steps to be taken when exposed to
inappropriate content; and
✓ commit to choosing content that is proper to one’s
age.
Integration Points

Prerequisite Knowledge and Skills This learning session could be integrated in the
intermediate grade subjects like in:
✓ basic computer skills
✓ basic online surfing ✓ language lessons on verbs and letter writing;
✓ physical activities like stepping and skipping ✓ reading lesson on cause and effect;
✓ abstract thinking skills ✓ social studies lesson on the rights of a child; and
✓ basic understanding of metaphors ✓ values education lessons.

Lesson Overview Resources Needed

The lesson starts with the “Surf to Safety!” activity, ✓ cut-out or picture of a “surfboard” (what the player will
which is designed to have children ages 10-18 be holding during her/his turn);
experience physically hopping onto safe ground while ✓ print-outs of “island” (final destination);
avoiding dangerous areas during a game of hopscotch ✓ “spots” to be stuck to the floor during the game; and
(skipping game). This serves as a metaphor for the ✓ template of letter to oneself.
need for children to learn how to distinguish between
appropriate and inappropriate content.
Analysis of the experiential learning activity will be done
through question-and-answer (Q&A), and lead to the
abstraction of the key learning points.

e-CITIZENSHIP LEARNING PACKETS

Commonwealth Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City 1101 Philippines www.seameo-innotech.org
Tel. (+632) 8924 7681 to 84 Fax (+632) 921 0224 www.seameo-innotech.org/mt4t
seameoinnotech ISO 9001 Certified
 TEACHER’S GUIDE | EXPOSURE TO INAPPROPRIATE CONTENT 2
Summary Matrix
[The highlighted keywords give an overview of the learning packet’s main themes and intended age group.]
Orientation of
Risk Opportunity
Lesson
Development Early Middle/Late
Adolescence
Stage childhood childhood
Theme of
Cyber Cyber Cyber Cyber
Cyber use
Wellness relationship citizenship identity
(Singapore)
Pillar of
Digital Online
Balance Relationships Ethics Reputation Privacy
Citizenship security
(iKeepSafe)
Component of
Value-Based Digital Cyber-
Screen time Critical Privacy Digital Cyberbullying
Digital Digital empathy citizen security
management thinking management footprints management
Intelligence identity management
(Park)
Behaviour of
Digital
Etiquette Communication Responsibility Rights Security Safety Education Access Commerce
Citizenship
(Ribble)
Digital
Digital Kids Digital Digital
Digital Digital Safety Creativity
Asia Pacific Participation Emotional
Literacy and Resilience and
Framework and Agency Intelligence
Innovation
Ages 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16+
Download SEAMEO INNOTECH’s e-Citizenship e-book for related information and activities at this site:
www.seameo-innotech.org/mt4t

Background Information Reports and research have established that there is an

alarming number of children being exposed to different
Various sources agree that inappropriate content refers
forms of violence and pornographic materials which can
to web resources that may have themes of violence and
have negative effects on the behavior of children. The
sexually explicit materials. These may be in the form of
photos, videos, or text that learners can easily be
Department of Education and Training in Victoria,
subjected to as they browse the web. For instance, the
Australia, states that most internet users will at some
UK Council of Child Internet Safety (2017) refers to
stage come across offensive content online and in the
inappropriate content as “(1) information or images that
majority of cases, this will not cause long-term harm.
upset your child; (2) material that’s directed at adults; and
However, problems can arise when this exposure is
(3) inaccurate information or information that might lead
constant and is not discussed with a parent who can
or tempt your child into unlawful or dangerous behavior.
provide a balanced view (2017). Daly and Perez (2009)
Such content includes pornographic materials;
confirmed in their study that watching media violence is
inappropriate language; sites that encourage vandalism,
associated with aggressive behavior in preschool
crime, terrorism, racism, eating disorders, and even
children. Another study, conducted by Escobar-Chavez
suicide; pictures, videos, or games that show images of
and Anderson (2008), established that media has a very
violence or cruelty to other people or animals; gambling
powerful influence on health behaviors such as physical
sites and unmoderated chatrooms – where there’s no one
inactivity, smoking, underage drinking, early sexual
supervising the conversation and barring unsuitable
initiation, and violent behavior.
comments.” Similarly, the National Center for Missing &
Exploited Children (2017) also enumerates inappropriate Ribble, Bailey, and Ross (2004) state that the standards
content such as pornography, violent images or hate for students, teachers, and administrators all address
speech, dangerous behavior such as cutting, anorexia, social and ethical issues. They cited, as example, the
and suicide. standards from “NETS for Students 2: Social, Ethical,
and Human Issues,” covering three very broad areas:

e-CITIZENSHIP LEARNING PACKETS

Commonwealth Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City 1101 Philippines www.seameo-innotech.org
Tel. (+632) 8924 7681 to 84 Fax (+632) 921 0224 www.seameo-innotech.org/mt4t
seameoinnotech ISO 9001 Certified
 TEACHER’S GUIDE | EXPOSURE TO INAPPROPRIATE CONTENT
1. Students understand the ethical, cultural, and societal
issues related to technology.
2. Students practice responsible use of technology
systems, information, and software.
3. Students develop positive attitudes toward
technology applications that support lifelong learning,
collaboration, personal pursuits, and productivity.
Parents will not always be there to monitor the internet
activities of their children; a big responsibility then is on
the shoulders of teachers to help ensure that children are
mentally equipped to navigate the Internet safely. It is
imperative to help students become conscious of the
materials that they might encounter online and how to
deal with such encounters.
Ribble (2017) asserts that it is not enough to create rules
and policies; students, particularly when they reach
adolescence, also need to be taught to become
responsible digital citizens. This particular lesson
highlights the element of digital rights and responsibilities
of students so they will know how to protect themselves
from unsafe or inappropriate content as they use the
Internet. Their health and safety will be ensured when
these elements are integrated explicitly in their lessons.
According to the Internet Society (2017), parents,
guardians, educators, and trusted influencers should
take an active role in teaching children and young people
about the risks they may face from sexually explicit
materials online and from internet predators and
scammers and how to avoid them.
Learning Plan
Pre-Activities
✓ Coordinate with the department head for the use of
the playground in facilitating the experiential activity.
✓ Prepare the cut-outs and cardboards/illustration
boards to be used in the activity.
✓ Create the template to be used for the letter to
oneself.
✓ Prepare strips of paper or metacards with questions
for abstraction. Stick these questions under the chairs
or tables of students.
✓ Go over the pictures to be used.
✓ Practice using the slide presentation and be
conscious of the slide numbers to be shown as the
lesson proceeds to the next part.
e-CITIZENSHIP LEARNING PACKETS
Commonwealth Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City 1101 Philippines
Tel. (+632) 8924 7681 to 84 Fax (+632) 921 0224
3
Activity: Surf to Safety!
Conduct a quick survey on how many students in your
class surf the Internet. Tell your students that they will be
“surfing” outside the classroom, and then introduce the
“Surf to Safety” activity (an adaptation of hopscotch or
skipping game).
✓ It’s a play on the word “surf” because the game is
designed as if they are surfing the waves to cross to
the other island, and also to refer to the act of surfing
the Internet.
✓ Materials: print-outs of “island” (final destination),
“spots” to be stuck to the floor during the game, and
a picture/card cut-out of a “surfboard” (what the player
will be holding during her/his turn).
✓ Mechanics:
• Ask the students to form a line along one end of
the classroom.
• Students will pretend to be surfers who need to
cross to another island by navigating “dangerous
waters.” The objective of the game is to be able to
reach the “island” at the other end of the classroom
by picking the right “spots” to hop on/surf on.
• Each spot depicts an image that surfers must look
at and decide whether it is safe or unsafe to step
on.
• Once a surfer steps on a spot, she/he must flip
over the spot mark to reveal if it is safe (marked
with a green check mark) or unsafe (marked with
a red X). Stepping on a “safe spot” means a surfer
can proceed; stepping on an “unsafe spot” means
the player’s turn ends, and she/he must go back to
the end of the line.
• To win the game, the surfer must successfully
choose “safe spots” all the way to the other island.
Note that students cannot step anywhere except
on the spots on the floor.
✓ Options:
• The same type of spot may be repeated several
times and scattered throughout the game.
• Make multiple sets so students can play in groups
(shorter waiting time while in line).
• Play the game outdoors (if the available area is
paved, make sure it is safe) but instead of
printouts, you can draw on the pavement using
colored chalk. Instead of safe/unsafe markings,
you may also use a buzzer sound for “unsafe
spots.”
www.seameo-innotech.org
www.seameo-innotech.org/mt4t
seameoinnotech ISO 9001 Certified
TEACHER’S GUIDE | EXPOSURE TO INAPPROPRIATE CONTENT 4
Inspiration Photo

SPOTS SAFE OR UNSAFE? METAPHOR

(VISUALS/PRINT-OUTS) (RATIONALE) (TO BE ELICITED/DISCUSSED DURING ANALYSIS)

sea snake unsafe people online that you do not know and may
(scary and dangerous) or may not harm you (discuss in the context
of inappropriate chat rooms)

jellyfish unsafe people online that you do not know, who

(beautiful but dangerous) seem nice and kind but may or may not harm
you (discuss in the context of inappropriate
chat rooms)

deep sea shipwreck/ unsafe content that are for adults (not for children)
dark trenches under the sea (not for the untrained, ill-
equipped or unprepared)

water tornadoes unsafe violent online content (like in video games or

angry sea storm (people may drown or die) videos/shows)
huge waves/choppy waters
risky stunts

websites about crime or self-harm

sun safe content that is appropriate for children

friendly waves (harmless, colorful,
bubbles interesting, age-appropriate, kid-friendly activities online for fun
corals educational)
starfish secure websites and moderated chat rooms
clown fish
dolphins
seashells
turtles

e-CITIZENSHIP LEARNING PACKETS

Commonwealth Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City 1101 Philippines www.seameo-innotech.org
Tel. (+632) 8924 7681 to 84 Fax (+632) 921 0224 www.seameo-innotech.org/mt4t
seameoinnotech ISO 9001 Certified
 TEACHER’S GUIDE | EXPOSURE TO INAPPROPRIATE CONTENT
Analysis
Tell learners to find strips of papers or meta-cards under
their chairs. If they find one and are called by the teacher,
they have to read aloud the questions written there and
give their answers. The questions include the following:
1. What was the activity about?
2. How did you feel during the activity?
3. What were the spots that made you smile? Why did
you have this feeling?
4. What spots made you frown? Why did you feel that
way?
5. On which spots did you feel safe? Explain.
6. On which spots did you feel unsafe? Explain.
7. Was your game play similar to the way you surf the
Internet?
8. In which situations do you feel safe when surfing the
Internet?
9. In which situations do you feel unsafe when surfing
the Internet?
10. What do you do when you feel unsafe while surfing
the Internet?
11. What do you do when you feel safe while surfing the
Internet?
Group the learners by five to discuss why sexually
explicit, abusive, and violent materials online are not
appropriate for their age group.
Conduct a whole class sharing of group responses.
Show slide #21 to point out the potential impacts (based
on research) of constant exposure to inappropriate
content.
Abstraction
Highlight the following key learning points:
1. There are internet sites that are inappropriate for
children of certain ages because they are still very
young to comprehend the content.
2. There is a need to know what appropriate and
inappropriate contents are. Exposure to inappropriate
or unsafe sites may be harmful for young learners.
e-CITIZENSHIP LEARNING PACKETS
Commonwealth Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City 1101 Philippines
Tel. (+632) 8924 7681 to 84 Fax (+632) 921 0224
5
3. Young people should be personally responsible
towards their physical and mental well-being, as well
as cyber wellness, even when nobody is watching.
4. There are cues to pay attention to that appear when
they are surfing the Internet.
5. Not all colorful and attractive sites are appropriate for
children.
6. Whenever possible, report and block inappropriate
contents online, and immediately disengage from
such materials on the Internet.
7. Students should speak with their parents, guardians,
or teachers every time they encounter an online
material that upset them or make them feel
uncomfortable. Nothing is so bad that they can’t ask
for help to deal with it.
Continue with the slide presentation and offer
suggestions as to how the students may avoid exposure
to inappropriate contents, such as reading warning
labels and disclaimers, being sensitive to signs about the
nature of a website’s content, respecting age
regulations, and using a checklist to help discriminate
between appropriate and inappropriate content.
Application
For ages 10-13, show slides of online images and let
learners show thumbs up sign if they think these are
appropriate for their age, thumbs down sign if they think
these are inappropriate, or thumbs sideways sign if they
are not sure.
✓ educational games
✓ age restricted notice
✓ brain teasers
✓ National Geographic Kids
✓ Facebook
✓ YouTube
In your discussion, point out to what extent the students
agree with each other on their opinions. Your students
may all agree about the age-appropriateness of some
sites, but for other sites, there may be disagreement.
You can ask selected students why they made the
choices they did to encourage thinking and discussion.
The activity can be changed into a game where students
are asked to line up in front of emoticons (smiling,
frowning, or neutral), printed or drawn, to show what they
feel about the websites being shown in the slides.
www.seameo-innotech.org
www.seameo-innotech.org/mt4t
seameoinnotech ISO 9001 Certified
 TEACHER’S GUIDE | EXPOSURE TO INAPPROPRIATE CONTENT
For ages 14-18, show slides of situations and ask
students what they will do in each situation. Let them
dramatize the situation showing their decision.
✓ Situation 1: Your best friend found a viral video about
eating something as part of a challenge on the web.
This was shared on your social media account.
✓ Situation 2: While reading something online, a site
suddenly popped up inviting you to click if you are 18
years old and above.
✓ Situation 3: You received an email or message asking
for your personal details and description of yourself.
Assessment
✓ To cap the lesson, ask students to pair up for a
“Reflect and Review” (R&R) session. Ask them to talk
about the following with their partners:
• 3 things they learned from the lesson (1 minute)
• 2 questions still left hanging in their minds
(1 minute)
• 1 personal commitment or resolution on being
mobile (1 minute)
Ask some pairs to share their answers. Encourage them
to answer the questions raised by their classmates during
the R&R session to clarify each other’s thinking.
Motivate them to make a personal commitment that is
doable and relevant to their individual contexts.
Letter to Oneself
Date:______________
Dear (write your name),
(Write in this space what you promise to avoid doing
when going online. Describe how you will show
personal responsibility in surfing online even if no one
is supervising.)
(Remind yourself the benefits of avoiding inappropriate
sites.)
Yours truly,
(write your complete name)
e-CITIZENSHIP LEARNING PACKETS
Commonwealth Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City 1101 Philippines
Tel. (+632) 8924 7681 to 84 Fax (+632) 921 0224
6
Adapting to Other Learners
Activity: If you have students with visual impairment, ask
some students to describe for them what is shown in the
pictures on the ground. Let their classmates assist them
by working with their peers. The computer applications
listed below can also be used to assist students with full
or partial visual impairment in reading electronic
materials.
• NegativeScreen – Windows application enabling
users to invert screen colors. The application is
available for download at https://www.softpedia.
com/get/Desktop-Enhancements/Other-Desktop-
Enhancements/NegativeScreen.shtml
• NVDA (Non-Visual Desktop Access) – free
screen-reader application that uses a synthetic,
computer-generated voice to read the text on the
screen. It can also convert the text into Braille if
the learner has access to a Braille-display device.
The application can be downloaded at
https://www.nvaccess.org
Resources are available below for more information
on classroom strategies for students with special
needs. Click on the hyperlink to access the articles on
your web browser.
• A Guide to Inclusion & Teaching Strategies For
Students With Physical Disabilities
• Adaptive Physical Education: Modifications for
Children With Physical Disabilities
• Teaching Strategies for Students With Physical
Disabilities: Classroom Setup and More
✓ Analysis: Pair and share maybe used as a strategy.
✓ Abstraction: Allow students to just verbally share their
key learning points from the discussion.
✓ Application: Ask students to create an MS Word
document for the descriptions of the images/
situations and save the file on their tablet/laptop/
notebook for reading. Ensure that the students have
a text reader installed in their gadgets.
✓ Assessment: Instead of writing on a piece of paper
their answers, allow students to use their tablet/iPad. If
these gadgets are not available, Braille writing can be
used or let someone (student) dictate the answer to be
noted by a classmate who finishes ahead.
www.seameo-innotech.org
www.seameo-innotech.org/mt4t
seameoinnotech ISO 9001 Certified
 TEACHER’S GUIDE | EXPOSURE TO INAPPROPRIATE CONTENT 7
Ross, C. (13 August 2012). Overexposed and Under-
References Prepared: The Effects of Early Exposure to Sexual
Daly, L. A. & Perez, L. M. (2009). Exposure to Media Content [Weblog]. Retrieved from
Violence and Other Correlates of Aggressive https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/real-
Behavior in Preschool Children. Early Childhood healing/201208/overexposed-and-under-prepared-
Research & Practice, 11(2), 1-13. Retrieved from the-effects-early-exposure-sexual-content
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ868537.pdf.
UNICEF. (2020). Strengthening Child Protection
Department of Education and Training. (22 June 2020). Systems. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/
Inappropriate content [Weblog]. Retrieved from protection/strengthening-child-protection-systems
www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/bullysto
ppers/Pages/adviceinappropriatecontent.aspx.
Escobar-Chaves, S. L. & Anderson, C. A. (2008). Media
and Risky Behaviors. Future of Children, 18(1), 147- This document was prepared by Shirley L. Ayao-ao,
180. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?q=media+ and the layout was done by James P. Trinidad.
and+risky+behaviors&id=EJ795862.
All images used in this document are licensed under
Finkelhor, D., Turner, H., Ormrod, R., Hamby, S., & Creative Commons Public Domain (CC0), and are
Kracke, K. (2009). Children’s Exposure to Violence: sourced from the following websites:
A Comprehensive National Survey [Bulletin].
www.pixabay.com| www.pexels.com |
Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1
www.unsplash.com
/ojjdp/227744.pdf.
Hollingdale, J. & Greitemeyer, T. (2014). The Effect of
Online Violent Video Games on Levels of
Aggression. PLoS ONE 9(11): e111790.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone. 0111790. Retrieved from
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/j
ournal.pone.0111790.
Internet Matters. (n.d.) Inappropriate Content Advice
Hub. Retrieved from https://www.internetmatters.
org/issues/inappropriate-content/
Internet Society. (2017). Children and the internet
[Weblog]. Retrieved from https://www.internet
society.org/resources/doc/2012/children-and-the-
internet/.
International Telecommunication Union, & UNICEF.
(2014). Guidelines for Industry on Child Online
Protection [PDF]. Retrieved from
https://www.itu.int/en/cop/Documents/bD_Broch_IN
DUSTRY_E.PDF.
Ribble, M. (2017). Nine Themes of Digital Citizenship
[Weblog]. Retrieved from https://www.digital
citizenship.net/nine-elements.html.
Ribble, M., Bailey, G. & Ross, T. (2004). Addressing
appropriate technology behavior. Learning and
Leading with Technology, 32(1), 6-12. Retrieved
from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ695788.

e-CITIZENSHIP LEARNING PACKETS

Commonwealth Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City 1101 Philippines www.seameo-innotech.org
Tel. (+632) 8924 7681 to 84 Fax (+632) 921 0224 www.seameo-innotech.org/mt4t
seameoinnotech ISO 9001 Certified