Summary
This B1 lesson, "Staying safe from online scams," equips students to identify common digital threats like phishing, AI impersonation, and malware. Learners will explore key vocabulary, analyze suspicious messages for red flags, and understand how scammers create a sense of urgency. Through practical exercises, including watching a real-life scam report and giving advice using imperatives, students will build confidence and skills to navigate the online world more securely and help others do the same.
Activities
Students begin by reflecting on personal experiences with suspicious online messages, discussing what made them wary and why people might fall for scams, fostering initial awareness and critical thinking. Learners encounter key terms like scam, impersonate, and phishing in context.
They deduce meanings from sentences, building a foundational vocabulary for understanding online fraud. Students watch a YouTube report about an AI scam, answering specific questions about the incident and safety advice provided.
Learners match different types of online scams, such as AI Impersonation Scam and Smishing, with their correct descriptions. This helps differentiate various fraudulent methods.
Students analyze sample scam emails and text messages to pinpoint warning signs (red flags) like poor grammar, suspicious sender addresses, and urgent requests, developing critical evaluation skills.
Learners identify words and phrases (e.g., "URGENT," "Act Now") that scammers use to create panic and pressure victims into quick, unthinking actions, understanding psychological tactics. Students match common online safety problems with appropriate advice given in the imperative form (e.g., "Verify the story," "Don't click on strange links"), practicing directive language.
Learners complete a fill-in-the-blanks paragraph using key vocabulary from the lesson, reinforcing their understanding of terms like scammers, verify, phishing, and red flags. Students formulate two personal rules for online safety based on the lesson and consider one piece of advice they can share, promoting practical application and peer education on digital safety.
Vocabulary focus
The lesson focuses on essential vocabulary for online safety, including terms such as scam, impersonate, phishing, malware, red flag, verify, financial, urgency, and secure. Students learn these words through contextual examples, definitions, and practical application in exercises, enabling them to discuss and understand online threats more effectively.
Grammar focus
The primary grammar focus is on using the imperative mood to give clear and direct advice and instructions. Students learn to form positive imperatives (e.g., "Delete it," "Call them") and negative imperatives (e.g., "Don't click on strange links," "Never share it") to provide actionable guidance for staying safe from online scams.
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