Core Skills Analysis
Digital Literacy
Lolli learned how to be a careful and critical internet user by exploring online shopping safety, spotting scams, and checking whether a company was legitimate. She practiced evaluating reviews to tell the difference between trustworthy feedback and warning signs of fake or misleading information. This activity helped her build decision-making skills for safe online behavior, including noticing red flags before making a purchase. For a 13-year-old, this was an important step in becoming more independent and responsible when using websites and online marketplaces.
Critical Thinking
Lolli practiced comparing information and making judgments based on evidence when she researched reviews and decided whether a company seemed real. She had to look for patterns in bad reviews, question suspicious claims, and avoid accepting information at face value. This strengthened her ability to analyze details, identify inconsistencies, and think carefully before trusting a source. For a 13-year-old, this kind of reasoning supports safer choices online and stronger problem-solving in everyday life.
Tips
To extend Lolli’s understanding, she could compare real and fake product pages and highlight clues that make a site trustworthy or suspicious. She could also practice writing a short checklist for safe online shopping, such as verifying contact information, reading multiple reviews, and checking for overly perfect language. A role-play activity could help her act as both a shopper and a scam detector, explaining why she would or would not trust a website. Finally, she could create a “red flag” poster showing common scam warning signs so she can remember them in future online purchases.
Book Recommendations
- So You Want to Be a Hacker by Jane F. Collier: An accessible introduction to how computers and online systems work, with useful connections to digital safety and responsible internet use.
- Behind the Internet by Anita Ganeri: Explains how the internet functions and helps readers understand the systems behind online activity and digital interactions.
- Cyberbullying: Deal with It and Ctrl Alt Delete It by Rana Husseini: A practical guide for teens about staying safe online, recognizing harmful behavior, and making smart digital choices.
Learning Standards
- UK National Curriculum Computing KS3: This activity matched the expectation that pupils use technology safely, respectfully, and responsibly, including recognising acceptable/unacceptable behaviour and identifying risks online.
- UK National Curriculum Computing KS3: It supported evaluating digital information critically by checking sources, comparing evidence, and making informed decisions about online content.
- UK National Curriculum English KS3: Researching reviews and judging whether they were reliable connected to reading critically, identifying bias, and interpreting text for purpose and credibility.
Try This Next
- Create a checklist of 5 signs a website might be a scam.
- Circle the warning words in a sample review and explain why they seem suspicious.
- Write 3 questions Lolli could ask before buying from a new company.