Students and Choose Privacy Week

When thinking and talking about privacy issues today, we find that young people are among the most important participants in these conversations. Why? Children and teenagers have unique perspectives to share on the meanings of privacy in their lives. Their attitudes and opinions may surprise some who assume that young people simply don’t care about privacy.

For example, a recent study found that a majority of young people in fact agreed with older adults in their desire for more privacy, not less. Yet, despite growing up as “digital natives,“ young people tend to have many large gaps in knowledge about their rights and responsibilities related to online privacy.

This desire for privacy, combined with a clear need for education around the issues, makes school and other libraries serving young people especially critical components of ALA’s Choose Privacy Week initiative. We were thrilled to have this highlighted in a School Library Journal article and we look forward to learning about all the innovative ways that librarians and teachers are introducing their students to privacy issues and concerns.

For those looking to engage students on privacy, consider the following ideas and resources:

Lesson Plans: Four sample school library lessons from the Choose Privacy Week Resource Guide are freely available for download. The PDF contains sample lesson plans for grades K-2, grades 3-5, grades 6-8, and grades 9-12.
Video and Trailer: School libraries can host viewings of this 20 minute video (or its short trailer) and link or embed it on library websites or social networking sites.
Word Search: Hand out this free downloadable PDF word search, focusing on “Computers and Privacy.“
Celebrate CPW Throughout the Year: We know that the first week of May won’t be ideal for all libraries, including school libraries, to celebrate Choose Privacy Week. Find the day, week, or month during the year that works best for you to highlight these vital issues for your students.
Student PSAs: Students in Rhode Island created these audio public service announcements to celebrate Choose Privacy Week. Consider including them in your morning announcements, as part of a library lesson, or ask your students to create their own!

What other great ideas will you have? We are eager to hear how your community’s libraries are helping students Choose Privacy. Contact us at so we can add your activities to our Events page and share your success with school librarians across the country.