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Concept Taxonomy — Digital Citizenship for Grade 5

The 200 concepts in the learning graph are organized into nine taxonomy categories. Each category corresponds to one of the eight subject-area modules in the course, plus a ninth category for capstone synthesis projects.

Categories

Foundations of Digital Citizenship

  • TaxonomyID: FOUND
  • Description: Core vocabulary and ideas every Grade 5 student needs before any other module — devices, the internet, online communities, the four ISTE Digital Citizen indicators, the pause-think-act habit, and what it means to be a citizen (not just a user) of the digital world. Roughly the contents of Module 1.

Media Balance and Wellbeing

  • TaxonomyID: BAL
  • Description: Screen-time awareness, the Heart/Brain/Body activity framework, signs of media imbalance, screen-break strategies, and the Digital Habit Tracker. Aligned with ISTE 1.2.2b.

Privacy and Security

  • TaxonomyID: PRIV
  • Description: The private-vs-personal-information distinction, identifying information, strong passwords and passphrases, sign-out habits, account security, data tracking, cookies, targeted ads, clickbait, scams, and phishing basics. Aligned with ISTE 1.2.2d.

Digital Footprint and Identity

  • TaxonomyID: FOOT
  • Description: What a digital footprint is and why it is permanent, searchable, copyable, and shareable; digital trails, online reputation, public vs. private posts, and an age-appropriate introduction to intellectual property, citation, and copyright. Aligned with ISTE 1.2.2a and 1.2.2c.

Relationships and Communication

  • TaxonomyID: REL
  • Description: Online vs. in-person friends, online-only friends, strangers online, tone in text, emoji meaning, the Safe-Talk Rule (notice → stop → tell a trusted adult), block/report/mute features, polite reply, respectful tone, and boundary-setting. Aligned with ISTE 1.2.2b.

Cyberbullying, Digital Drama, and Hate Speech

  • TaxonomyID: CYB
  • Description: Distinguishing online conflict from cyberbullying, the bystander/upstander/target/bully roles, emotional impact, empathy online, reporting, saving evidence, conflict-vs-bullying, repeated harm, and the standing up safely rule. Aligned with ISTE 1.2.2b.

Misinformation and News Literacy

  • TaxonomyID: MIS
  • Description: News literacy fundamentals, fact vs. opinion, misinformation vs. disinformation, viral posts, shocking headlines, emotional/urgency/curiosity hooks, the kid-friendly fact-check workflow, trusted sources, source comparison, date and author checks, and edited images. The first of the two newly added subject areas.

Critical Thinking

  • TaxonomyID: CRIT
  • Description: The four critical-thinking questions (Who said it? How do they know? What is the evidence? What might be missing?), claims, evidence, reasoning, jumping to conclusions, healthy doubt, open-mindedness, changing one's mind, and reflective thinking. The second of the two newly added subject areas.

Capstone and Synthesis

  • TaxonomyID: CAP
  • Description: Project-based concepts that weave the eight modules together — the Digital Citizenship Toolkit capstone, personal pledge, habit-tracker project, upstander script, fact-check card, critical thinker toolkit, public service message, and the lifelong-learner mindset.

Distribution Target

The taxonomy is designed so that no single category exceeds 30% of total concepts. After Revision 2, the 265 concepts are distributed across the nine categories with each category holding between 25 and 33 concepts (9.4%–12.5% of the total). Detailed counts are reported in taxonomy-distribution.md.

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