Safer Internet Week in Belted Galloway Class

This week has been Safer Internet week and we have been looking at aspects of our behaviour that will make us a more responsible internet user. We took part in an on line quiz, where we discussed situations where the children had a number of dilemmas. An underlying theme for this was, if you don't know how to react, flag things up and ask for help. We also looked at the concept of Fake News and the emergence of fake news on the internet. We linked this in with our learning of propaganda when we studied World War 2. The idea that a news story based around a lie can alter people's thoughts and behaviours, even leading to who they would vote for, was an interesting one for the children. I even played them a bit of old school music: they listened to News of the World by the Jam and looked at the lyrics, seeing that the concept of fake news is not a new one. The children are currently taking part in an competition where they are creating a fact sheet using Powerpoint on the dangers of fake news and how to verify where a story may or may not be true.