Information and media literacy

Searching well: Use precise queries, quotation marks for phrases, and minus signs to exclude terms. Open results in new tabs to compare and perform lateral reading—leave a page to investigate the source, author, and purpose.

 

Evaluating claims: Ask who made it, for whom, with what evidence, and what might be missing. Compare two results that disagree; discuss ranking factors such as sponsorship, recency, and location.

 

Visual literacy: Analyse images and short videos for cropping, filtering, captions, and emotional appeal. Pupils annotate with call‑outs and propose alternative captions to shift meaning.

 

Communication and collaboration

Professional tone and clarity: Practise concise subject lines, structured paragraphs, and respectful salutations and sign‑offs. In forums, teach turn‑taking and how to build on others’ points without dog‑piling.

 

Collaborative tools: Draft in shared documents, suggest edits, and leave constructive comments using stems (‘Have you considered …’, ‘What evidence supports …?’). Keep a changelog and reflect on how feedback improved the product.

 

Inclusion online: Co‑create guidelines that protect participation: cite sources, acknowledge contributions, and be kind and specific. Use closed captions and accessible formats to widen participation.

 

Creation and copyright

Creative Commons basics: Introduce licences (BY, SA, NC, ND) and how to attribute. Practise finding CC‑licensed images and sounds and add credits to slides and videos.

 

Accessible by default: Add alt text, captions, clear colour contrast, and readable fonts. Show that accessibility is an ethical choice and improves communication for everyone.

Project ideas: 60‑second explainers, infographics with citations, short podcasts with transcripts, narrated screencasts. Keep scope small and quality high; publish to a protected space when appropriate.

 

Safety, privacy, and wellbeing

Privacy routines: Strong passwords, multifactor authentication where available, device locks, and platform privacy settings. Discuss digital footprints, consent, and what not to share even in ‘private’ spaces.

 

Wellbeing: Build routines for screen breaks, posture, and night‑time settings. Explore persuasive design; practise muting notifications during focused work.

 

Reporting routes: Teach how to block and report and when to involve trusted adults. Rehearse help‑seeking language and signpost school procedures.

 

Data and AI awareness

Data journeys: Map how apps collect interactions and how data is used to tailor content or services. Discuss data minimisation and why it matters.

 

Algorithms and curation: Compare two search results or feeds and hypothesise ranking factors (relevance, freshness, personalisation). Encourage reflection on filter bubbles and the importance of seeking diverse sources.

 

AI tools: Discuss potential benefits and risks, age‑appropriate use, verification of outputs against reliable sources, and the need for human oversight. Follow school policy and cite assistance appropriately.

 

Inclusion and accessibility

Close digital divides: Provide offline options, lend devices where possible, and teach low‑bandwidth workflows (download for offline, compress media, small formats).

 

Assistive technology: Use read‑aloud, dictation, magnification, and colour overlays. Build accessibility into templates—alt text prompts, caption checklists, and colour‑contrast guidance.

 

Assessment and portfolios

Use strand checklists with can‑do statements (‘Can cite two sources for an image’; ‘Can add alt text’). Collect two artefacts per half‑term with brief reflections: What did I create? What sources? What would I change next time?

 

Peer assessment: Use a short rubric—clarity, accuracy, attribution, accessibility, and respect. Keep stakes low and feedback focused on habits and reasoning.

 

Home–school partnership

Share a one‑page family guide on privacy, screen‑time routines, respectful online talk, and reporting. Invite families to a protected showcase of pupil projects and explain attribution and accessibility features.

 

30/60/90‑day plan

Days 1–30: Map the five strands to current units. Teach search and source evaluation with a paired‑results activity. Start portfolio folders.

 

Days 31–60: Run a mini ‘create and credit’ project using Creative Commons media with captions and alt text. Teach privacy settings and consent routines.

 

Days 61–90: Introduce data journeys and algorithm discussions. Reflect on how feeds are curated. Publish selected artefacts to a protected platform and review evidence to set next targets.

 

Safeguarding, policy, and compliance (overview)

Align classroom practice with school policies on online safety and data protection. Teach age‑appropriate behaviours, follow reporting procedures, and ensure consent and access controls for publishing pupil work in protected spaces.

 

Extended strategies, exemplars, and checklists

Lesson arc template (10–15 minutes):

 

(1) Brief retrieval from last lesson (one question or a 30‑second recap);

(2) Teacher modelling with think‑aloud on a single example;

(3) Guided practice with immediate feedback (pairs or mini‑whiteboards);

(4) Independent attempt (one or two items);

(5) Share and compare exemplars;

(6) Quick self‑assessment against today’s success criteria;

(7) Log one next step in pupil‑friendly language.

 

Success criteria writing: Keep three or four criteria visible, specific, and behavioural (e.g., ‘Use one accurate connective of contrast’, ‘Include an appositive that renames a noun’, ‘Cite the source with “According to …”’). Avoid vague criteria such as ‘be creative’ when the goal is structural control.

 

Low‑stakes response systems: Mini‑whiteboards, exit slips, and shared documents allow every pupil to attempt the same move at the same time. This produces rich information for the teacher and reduces the temptation to over‑mark lengthy pieces.

 

Talk rehearsal before writing: Give 30–60 seconds for pupils to say a draft sentence aloud to a partner before committing it to paper. Rehearsal improves fluency, helps pupils test vocabulary, and reveals where clarification is needed.

 

Metacognitive prompts that travel: ‘What is the sentence doing?’ ‘Which connective fits the relationship?’ ‘Can I reduce two sentences into one without losing meaning?’ ‘What word would make this more precise?’ ‘What will my reader not know yet?’

 

Inclusion by design: Anticipate barriers before the lesson—provide enlarged texts, word banks with visuals, dual coding for key concepts, and optional speech‑to‑text for pupils with fine‑motor or spelling difficulties. Maintain the same intellectual goal for all; adjust the route, not the destination.

 

Feedback routines that fit live lessons: Use a visualizer to show two anonymised pupil attempts. Ask the class to identify one strength and one precise improvement linked to the criteria. Then give 90 seconds for everyone to apply that improvement to their own work.

 

Evidence folder setup: Keep a slim portfolio with one or two samples per fortnight that demonstrate the targeted move. Add a short reflection: What did I try? What changed after feedback? What will I watch next time? This provides a clear narrative of progress without excessive paperwork.

 

Cross‑subject vocabulary bridging: Maintain a shared list of Tier 2 academic words (e.g., ‘however’, ‘consequently’, ‘justify’, ‘contrast’, ‘evaluate’). Display them in every room and insist on their use in talk and writing, with gentle prompts and celebrations when pupils use them accurately.

 

Spacing and interleaving: Revisit core routines two or three weeks later with fresh content. Interleave one or two prompts from an earlier unit to encourage discrimination (‘Is this cause‑effect or contrast?’). Keep stakes low and feedback immediate.

 

Safeguarding and professionalism online: When publishing pupil work to protected platforms, obtain consent, use first names or pseudonyms as per policy, avoid personal images without explicit permission, and review settings to ensure only intended audiences can view artefacts.

 

Professional learning cycles:

(1) Agree a focus move across a phase;

(2) Co‑plan stems, examples, and non‑examples;

(3) Try in class within 48 hours;

(4) Bring two examples to a 20‑minute huddle;

(5) Identify a tweak;

(6) Repeat for three weeks before shifting focus.

 

Practical accessibility checks for resources:

 

(a) Minimum 12–14pt readable fonts;

(b) Sufficient colour contrast (use a checker);

(c) Alt text for images;

(d) Captions or transcripts for multimedia;

(e) Clear headings and logical reading order for assistive technologies.

 

Home–school alignment: Send a one‑page guide summarising the current focus, two conversation starters families can use at home, and a short, optional micro‑task that reinforces the classroom routine without requiring internet access.

 

Monitoring without burden: Sample a small set of books weekly (e.g., six per class) for a deep look at the specific move. Record patterns (class needs a reteach on appositives; two pupils need extra practice with sentence boundaries) and plan the next mini‑lesson accordingly.