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Cybersecurity & Passwords

Seventh graders learn the basics of cybersecurity — how strong passwords, two-factor authentication, and smart habits protect their accounts and data from hackers and threats.

Grade 7Cybersecurity45 minutes1 class periodUse → Modify → CreateExplicit teaching4 StandardsCSTA
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Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Explain cybersecurity.
  • ✓Build strong passwords.
  • ✓Tell strong from weak habits.
  • ✓Protect your data.
Essential Question

Every account you have — games, email, social media — is protected by a password. But a weak one is like leaving your front door unlocked. How do you keep your data secure?

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Lesson Phases
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Vocabulary Terms
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Standards Aligned
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Interactive Task
Sort It · Interactive

Strong or Weak Security?

Project this and sort each habit into strong & safe or weak & risky security.

🔒 Sort each — strong & safe, or weak & risky?Try it
👍 Strong & Safe
⚠️ Weak & Risky
Tap a habit, then tap a bucket.
The Lesson · Use → Modify → Create (a coding progression with Unplugged practice)

45 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Hook — The Unlocked Door

5 min

A weak password is like an unlocked door — how do we lock it?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Ask about their accounts.
  • Pose the risk.
  • Set the goal.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Consider.
  • Think risk.
  • Predict.
2

Unplugged — Unplug It

10 min

Students practice.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Discuss what makes a password strong.
  • Rank example passwords.
  • Explain 2FA.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Discuss.
  • Rank them.
  • Explain 2FA.
3

Use — Strong or Weak

13 min

Students use.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send students to Strong or Weak Security?
  • Sort each habit.
  • Explain them.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Sort them.
  • Explain.
  • Check.
4

Modify — Fix It

12 min

Students modify.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Turn a weak habit into a strong one.
  • Build a strong password.
  • Explain 2FA.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Fix it.
  • Build one.
  • Explain it.
5

Create — Create

5 min

Students conclude.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Write a security tip.
  • Explain a strong password.
  • Complete the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Write it.
  • Explain it.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards and ISTE Standards for Students.

CSTA
2-NI-06

Apply multiple methods to protect and secure data.

CSTA
2-NI-05

Explain how security protects data on networks.

CSTA
2-IC-23

Describe tradeoffs of data collection and privacy.

ISTE
2

Digital Citizen — protect data and privacy.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Strong/weak habit cards.
  • Sentence frame: “A strong password has ___.”
  • Rank real examples.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with strong vs. weak passwords.
  • Sort one at a time.
  • Use examples.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Explain phishing.
  • Explain encryption.
  • Design a security checklist.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Projector / board
  • 🔐Password examples
  • 💻Strong or Weak Security?
  • 📋A security checklist
  • ✏️Pencils
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

cybersecurityprotecting computers and data from threatspassworda secret code to log intwo-factor authenticationa second step to verify it’s youhackersomeone who tries to break into systemsphishinga trick to steal your informationencryptionscrambling data to keep it secretprivatekept secure and to yourselfsecureprotected from threats
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
Name two features of a strong password.
Long, and a mix of letters, numbers, and symbols (and unique to that account).
QUESTION 2
What is two-factor authentication?
A second step — like a code sent to your phone — that verifies it’s really you.
QUESTION 3
Why shouldn’t you reuse the same password everywhere?
If one account is hacked, all your accounts using that password are at risk.

Create: a security checklist.

Have students write a short cybersecurity checklist they can use to keep their own accounts safe. A printable cybersecurity sheet is in the Computer Science library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 Cybersecurity & PasswordsFlip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
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Nice work!

Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 Cybersecurity & PasswordsQuiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
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Nice work!

Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ Cybersecurity & PasswordsPrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: cybersecurity, encryption, hacker, password, phishing, private, secure, two-factor authentication
  1. protected from threats
  2. scrambling data to keep it secret
  3. a secret code to log in
  4. protecting computers and data from threats
  5. a trick to steal your information
  6. someone who tries to break into systems
  7. kept secure and to yourself
  8. a second step to verify it’s you

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. Name two features of a strong password.
  2. What is two-factor authentication?
  3. Why shouldn’t you reuse the same password everywhere?
Answer key — Part A: 1) secure · 2) encryption · 3) password · 4) cybersecurity · 5) phishing · 6) hacker · 7) private · 8) two-factor authentication
Part B: 1) Long, and a mix of letters, numbers, and symbols (and unique to that account). 2) A second step — like a code sent to your phone — that verifies it’s really you. 3) If one account is hacked, all your accounts using that password are at risk.