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Chapters

This textbook is organized into 17 chapters covering 265 concepts from the learning graph.

Each chapter is sized for a Grade 5 reader — most chapters cover 13 to 19 concepts and are designed to be read in roughly two class periods, with time left over for the chapter's MicroSim, graphic-novel story, and class discussion. Chapter 17 (the capstone) is project-based and unfolds over the final unit.

Chapter Overview

  1. Welcome to the Digital World — Meet the devices, networks, and basic vocabulary every Grade 5 student needs to start exploring the digital world safely and confidently.
  2. What Is a Digital Citizen? — Learn what it means to be a citizen of the digital world — not just a user — and meet Maka's central habit: pause, think, act.
  3. Media Balance and Spotting Imbalance — Discover the Heart, Brain, and Body activity framework, and learn to spot the signs that your tech use is out of balance.
  4. Building Healthy Tech Habits — Build personal habits — screen breaks, the Digital Habit Tracker, family media plans — that keep you healthy and balanced online.
  5. Private vs. Personal Information — Learn the most important safety distinction online: which information is private (and must be protected) and which is personal (and is safe to share).
  6. Passwords, Clickbait, and Staying Safe Online — Learn how strong passwords work, how clickbait, scams, and trackers try to fool you, and how to stay one step ahead.
  7. What Is a Digital Footprint? — Discover what a digital footprint is, why it is permanent, searchable, copyable, and shareable, and how every click adds to your trail.
  8. Reputation, Sharing, and Giving Credit — Learn how your online reputation grows over time, how to protect it, and how to give credit when you use someone else's creative work.
  9. Online Friends and How We Talk — Explore the difference between online and in-person friends, the meaning of tone and emoji in text, and how online conversations can be misunderstood.
  10. Safe Talk and Setting Boundaries — Learn the Safe Talk Rule (notice → stop → tell a trusted adult), how to use block, report, and mute features, and how to set healthy boundaries.
  11. When Conflict Becomes Cyberbullying — Learn the difference between online conflict and cyberbullying, and meet the four roles in a bullying situation: target, bully, bystander, and upstander.
  12. Standing Up Safely as an Upstander — Learn how cyberbullying affects feelings, how to safely stand up for someone, and how to report harm and ask for adult help.
  13. What Is Misinformation? — Learn what misinformation is, how it spreads, and the emotional and curiosity hooks designers use to make you click and share.
  14. Becoming a Fact Checker — Learn the kid-friendly fact-check workflow — who said it, when, with what evidence — and become a confident fact checker.
  15. The Four Critical Questions — Meet the four critical-thinking questions and learn the basic vocabulary of evidence, claims, reasons, and inferences.
  16. Healthy Doubt and Open Minds — Learn how to use healthy doubt, spot your own biases, change your mind when the evidence changes, and stay open-minded.
  17. Your Digital Citizenship Toolkit — Bring everything together in your personal Digital Citizenship Toolkit — a capstone project that turns what you've learned into something you can share with your family and friends.

How to Use This Textbook

Chapters are designed to be read in order. Every chapter builds on concepts from the chapters that came before it — the learning graph behind this textbook guarantees that no chapter introduces a term before its prerequisites have been taught.

Most pairs of chapters follow a "recognize → respond" pattern: the first chapter in the pair teaches students to notice something (an unbalanced screen-time habit, a piece of misinformation, a cyberbullying situation), and the second chapter teaches them what to do about it. This pattern matches the central habit the textbook teaches: pause, think, act.

Each chapter includes:

  • A summary of what the chapter covers and how it fits into the learning progression
  • A list of concepts drawn from the learning graph
  • A list of prerequisite chapters the student should complete first
  • The chapter content itself (in body text, with stories, MicroSims, and Maka admonitions)

Note for teachers: A chapter-by-chapter pacing guide and lesson-planning suggestions are available in the Teacher's Guide (when published).

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