Trial resource - not yet verified for classroom use. This is a starting point to help you build your own lesson, not a finished or approved plan. Cyber Safe with Monkleton is new, and we are shaping this with teachers - please adapt it freely, use what works, and tell us what doesn't so we can improve it. Once it has been shaped and checked with teachers, we will mark it verified. Feedback: cybersafe-feedback@monkleton.io.
Helping a grown-up spot a scam
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This is a starting point, not a script - take what is useful, change what is not, and shape it around your class. It brings a Cyber Safe with Monkleton lesson into the classroom: the behaviour, not just the rule.
The big idea
Scams are built by professionals to fool everyone, adults included. Children can help spot them - and the way to help is kindly, because the shame always belongs to the scammer, never the person who was targeted.
Learning intentions (adapt to your class)
- I can name three tells in a scam message.
- I can explain how to warn a grown-up without making them feel silly.
- I know the safe way to check: open the real app, not the link.
A suggested shape
Starter (about 5 minutes)
A grown-up is about to pay a small "parcel redelivery fee" from a text. Ask the class: what looks wrong here?
Explore (about 15 minutes)
Draw out the three tells: a strange link, a rush, and a small fee. Then talk about why kindness matters - these messages fool everyone, so there is no room for teasing.
Practise (about 10 minutes)
In pairs, pupils practise warning a grown-up gently: "loads of people get these, they're really convincing - shall we check it together?"
Safe Check plenary (about 10 minutes)
Pupils recall the three tells and the kind approach, and the golden line: the shame belongs to the scammer.
Ready-to-use resources
- Background for you: our guides How can I help an older relative stay safe from scams? and How can I tell if a message is a scam?.
- To send home: share either guide with families.
In the app
This lesson pairs with an in-app quest in Cyber Safe with Monkleton, so classroom time and screen time reinforce the same habits. The app is in its first previews now, and supporting media is coming soon. Until then, the discussion and activities here stand on their own.
Tell us how it went
This is a trial, and your classroom experience is exactly what will make it better. If you use it, we would love to know what worked and what you changed - email cybersafe-feedback@monkleton.io.
Trial guidance, shared early for teacher feedback - please adapt it before any classroom use, and let us know how it went. Product names are used only to describe their features; Monkleton Labs is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, them. No ads, no affiliate links.