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.
Spotting scams and suspicious links
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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
Scam messages work by rushing you and offering something great, so you click before you think. The skill is to slow down and ask a few questions first.
Learning intentions (adapt to your class)
- I can name the signs of a scam message.
- I know three questions to ask before I click a link.
- I know to check with a trusted adult, or the real app, when I am not sure.
A suggested shape
Starter (about 5 minutes)
Show a "you've won!" style message. Ask: "what makes you want to click - and what makes you pause?" Draw out that excitement and urgency are the hook.
Explore (about 15 minutes)
Look at a pretend message together and spot the tells: it rushes you, you did not ask for it, the sender is unknown, and the link address looks wrong. Introduce the idea that the offer is bait.
Practise (about 10 minutes)
Give pupils a set of messages. In pairs, they sort them into "probably fine" and "stop and check", and say how they could check safely.
Safe Check plenary (about 10 minutes)
Pupils put the rule in their own words. Aim for the three questions: did I start this? do I really know who sent it? is it too good to be true? And: if unsure, do not click - check with a grown-up you trust.
Ready-to-use resources
- Background for you: our guide How can I tell if a message is a scam? covers the same ideas for adults.
- To send home: share that 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.