Promote SEL and digital citizenship with these CASEL-aligned quick activities.
For high schoolers, technology can be an incredibly positive influence as they use it to expand their social circles, explore their interests, and even find causes that bring purpose to their lives. But it can also present unique dilemmas around protecting their online reputations, establishing boundaries and maintaining healthy relationships, and knowing how to respond to divisive and hateful content online.
These 15-minute activities support the social and emotional well-being of your students as they navigate the challenges and opportunities of the digital world. For the full collection of K–12 activities visit our SEL in Digital Life Resource Center.
Who Are You on Social Media? (Grades 9–12)
Social media gives us a chance to choose how we present ourselves to the world. We can snap and share a pic in the moment, or carefully stage photos and select only the ones we think are best. When students reflect on these choices, they can better understand the self they are presenting and the self they aim to be.
Screen Time: How Much Is Too Much? (Grades 9–12)
We are spending more and more time on devices and often feel pressure to constantly be connected. But how much screen time is too much? In this activity, students will identify how their use of technology can affect their physical and emotional health, and develop strategies for achieving healthy media balance.
Perspectives on Posting (Grades 9–12)
Tagging friends on social media is a great way to connect with others and capture memorable experiences. But should everything you say or do be posted or tagged online? Encourage your students to think about how what they post online can affect not only their digital reputations but also that of their friends.
Friendships & Boundaries Online (Grades 9–12)
"It's complicated" can describe many of our relationships with others. Add digital devices and social media to the mix, and things get complicated even further. Use this activity to help students understand how technology can affect their friendships so they can take steps toward building and maintaining healthy relationships both online and offline.
The Impacts of Online Hate Speech (Grades 9–12)
As humans, we thrive on social connections and group associations. But this tendency can also lead us to be suspicious of people outside our group. With this activity, students reflect on how encountering hate speech online affects themselves and others, and then identify ways to combat hate speech online.
Image courtesy of Allison Shelley/The Verbatim Agency for American Education: Images of Teachers and Students in Action.
