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Story time: Brick Needs a Break by Jayden Choi (Age 5) and Kim Maslin
Child Safeguarding Statement
Some resources and activities may prompt a child to remember and potentially share an experience of harm. Make sure you’re familiar with your school's safeguarding policies and procedures so you can confidently report safety and well-being concerns.
Prepare students for the session by discussing: their right to be safe and respected; what to do if discussing online safety makes them feel uncomfortable or unsafe; and how to seek help if they feel or have felt unsafe. Use this resource available on the website.
Story time: Brick Needs a Break by Jayden Choi (Age 5) and Kim Maslin
Overview
In this lesson, learners will explore the free eBook “Brick Needs a Break", a winning entry from the Series 1 Stories by Digital Children competition.
Stories by Digital Children: A storytelling competition for 5-12 year olds is a Digital Child competition, hosted by the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence (CoE) for the Digital Child. Children aged 5-12 across Australia were asked to submit story ideas for the 2023 theme ‘Fun with digital media: Getting the balance right.’
This book was co-authored by the winner of the 5-6 age group category, Jayden Choi, and Kim Maslin.
Setup
- Project the book using a central screen. Download the book from the Resources section, or flip through the book for free at the Stories by Digital Children website.
- Paper (or workbooks) and pencils for drawing.
- (Optional) Use the slides in the Resources section as visual prompts. Click View > Full Screen in your PDF reader to use the slides as a presentation.
This lesson is part of the FREE digital licence program
Learning Intentions
Learners will:
- Recognise physical and emotional signs of excessive device use.
- Understand what it means to use devices in a healthy way.
These intentions are evidenced when learners can:
- Identify at least one of the signs of excessive device use.
- Identify at least one healthy way to balance time on devices with other activities.
Educators will:
- Highlight signs of excessive device use through storytelling.
- Guide students in the application of healthy habits to device usage.
These intentions are evidenced when educators can:
- Lead discussions in identifying at least one physical or emotional sign of excessive device use.
- Support learners in practicing at least one strategy for healthy device use.
Lesson Instructions
1. Introduce the lesson
Discussion: Predict what the story is about.
- What are devices? (eg. tablets, smart phones, computers, consoles, smart watches).
- What fun things can we do with devices?
- This story is about a device called Brick. What might happen to Brick in the story?
- Is taking a break a healthy thing to do? why or why not?
- Why might Brick need a break to stay healthy?
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2. Read the story and discuss
- What were the signs that Brick needed to take a break?
- How do you feel when a grown up asks you to put devices away? Did Brick show some of those same feelings?
- What else might be healthy for Brick and Jayden to do when using devices? And what would be healthy for you?
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3. Exit pass
In-class discussion or set as homework.
Drawing activity
- Learners draw a picture of what they will do to stay healthy while using devices.
- For learners who have difficulty expressing ideas, try small group discussion or roleplay instead.
As a class, discuss:
- How the activity pictured helps to stay healthy.
- One sign that they need to take a break from devices.
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4. (Optional) Top-up or extend the lesson
Top-up the lesson:
For learners who need more help meeting the learning intentions & success criteria.
- Review the “Healthy habits for using devices” slide with learners. Ask them to identify which strategy would work best in their lives and explain why.
- Ask if learners have any additional tips for staying healthy - it doesn’t have to be in relation to devices. Add these to the list of possible strategies they can use next time they need a break from devices.
Extend the lesson:
For learners who have met the learning intentions & success criteria, and need a bit more of a challenge.
- Project onto a central screen or hand out the Online/Offline Balance worksheet.
- On one side of the scales, ask learners to draw or write the things they love to do online. On the other side, ask them to draw or write activities they love to do offline. The aim is to make sure that the scales balance so that there are equal activities on either side.
Aligned Curriculum
Australian Curriculum (Version 9.0)
The Australian Curriculum outlines the fundamental knowledge, comprehension, and abilities students are expected to acquire as they advance through the initial 11 years of schooling.
Foundation: General Capabilities
Personal and Social Capabilities
Reflective Practice:
Level 1: identify how their choices affect the development of personal abilities and achievements.
Manage Digital Wellbeing:
- Level 1: follow adult directions for the use of digital tools at school and home.
- AC9EFLE01: Share ideas about stories, poems and images in literature, reflecting on experiences that are similar or different to their own by engaging with texts by First Nations Australian, and wide-ranging Australian and world authors and illustrators.
- AC9EFLE02: respond to stories and share feelings and thoughts about their events and characters
- AC9EFLY02: Interact in informal and structured situations by listening while others speak and using features of voice including volume levels
- AC9EFLY05: Use comprehension strategies such as visualising, predicting, connecting, summarising and questioning to understand and discuss texts listened to, viewed or read independently
Year One: General Capabilities
Personal and Social Capabilities
Reflective Practice:
- Level 2: Describe what they have discovered about themselves by engaging with feedback.
Manage Digital Wellbeing:
- Level 2: Follow agreed rules for the healthy use of digital tools and apply them at school and home.
- AC9E1LE02: Discuss literary texts and share responses by making connections with students’ own experiences.
- AC9E1LE03: Discuss plot, character and setting, which are features of stories.
- AC9E1LY02: Use interaction skills including turn-taking, speaking clearly, using active listening behaviours and responding to the contributions of others, and contributing ideas and questions.
- AC9E1LY05: Use comprehension strategies such as visualising, predicting, connecting, summarising and questioning when listening, viewing and reading to build literal and inferred meaning by drawing on vocabulary and growing knowledge of context and text structures.
CASEL Framework
The CASEL Framework creates a foundation for applying evidence-based, Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) strategies both at school and in the broader community. Its aim is to support the cultivation of SEL skills and environments that advance students’ learning and development.
- Self-management: The abilities to manage one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviours effectively in different situations and to achieve goals and aspirations.
- Responsible decision-making: The abilities to make caring and constructive choices about personal behaviour and social interactions across diverse situations.
My Time, Our Place – Framework for School Age Care in Australia
The aim of My Time, Our Place: Framework for School Age Care in Australia (the Framework) is to assist educators to provide children and young people with opportunities to maximise their potential and develop a foundation for successful lifelong learning. The Framework has been designed for use by approved providers and school age care educators working in partnership with children and young people, their families and the community, including schools.
Outcome 2: Children and young people are connected with and contribute to their world.
Children and young people develop a sense of belonging to groups and communities and an understanding of the reciprocal rights and responsibilities necessary as active and informed citizens.
This is evident when children:
- Understand the concept that while digital technology can connect us, it is also vitally important to maintain our face-to-face and interpersonal connections too.
Differentiate the lesson by assessing the discussion.
Modify the lesson based on whether students can:
- Identify devices.
- Explain why taking a break is “healthy” vs. “unhealthy”.
- Make accurate predictions about the story.
Option one: Make it easier
Refer to the “Healthy Habits” slide to further explain healthy vs. unhealthy behaviours.
Option two: Make it more challenging
Introduce the idea of “finding balance”. This is conceptually more challenging because it asks learners to compare, contrast, and evaluate behaviours.
Assess discussion responses. Revise concepts if learners struggle to:
- Comprehend the story.
- Identify signs that Brick needed a break.
- Identify healthy activities for the characters, and for themselves.
Options:
- Talk through specific images or lines in the book.
- Use the “Healthy Habits” slide to help explain the concepts.
- Send the “Exit pass” activity, in the following section, home so that concepts can be discussed with a parent or trusted adult.
Assess the “Exit pass” activity to ensure learners have met the following success criteria:
- They can identify at least one of the signs of excessive device use.
- They can identify at least one healthy way to balance time on devices with other activities.
Next steps:
If some learners didn’t meet the criteria, conduct the brief “Top-up” activity in the following section.
Important Note:
If this lesson is being conducted as part of the eSmart Digital Licence, you’ll need to ensure that all learners have met the success criteria before accessing and distributing the Digital Licences.
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Read the free eBook "Brick Needs a Break", a winning entry from the Series 1 Stories by Digital Children competition.
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