Class 6 · Unit 4: Ethics and digital responsibility · Lesson 4.4 · 40 min
Respect online — kind words, true words
"URGENT!!! Schools closed tomorrow!" Forwarded to five groups in ten minutes. Next morning: sunshine, school open, half the class at home.
Today you will: Rewrite an unkind comment kindly · Run Stop – Check – Share on real messages · Know what to do if someone is hurt online
Story
A message arrives in the class group on Hiba's mother's phone:
Hiba: “URGENT!!! Schools in Srinagar closed tomorrow because of heavy snow. Forward to everyone!!!”
Within ten minutes it has been forwarded to five other groups. Next morning, the sun is out, and school is open. Half of Bilal's class stayed home.
In the same group, someone has written under a photo of a classmate: "lol look at his jacket 😂". Nobody has replied. The classmate has left the group.
Today you will learn two things: to make your words kind, and to make sure they are true.
Watch
Kind words, true words — — scan code 6.4.4 in the printed book.
Warm up your fingers
Skill: capital letters with Shift (7 min)
- On typing.com, open Beginner → "Shift Key" (or the lesson on capital letters) .
- Use the opposite hand's little finger on Shift: to type a capital K, hold the left Shift.
- Notice something: writing in ALL CAPITALS looks like SHOUTING online. Use capitals for names and sentence starts, not for anger.
On the laptop
Tools: a new text document · three messages on the projector
Mission 1: The kindness rewrite (alone, 7 min)
- ☐1
New document, title "Kind and true".
- ☐2
Rewrite each comment so it's honest but kind: "ur drawing is so bad lol" · "why is he even in our team" · "NOBODY CARES ABOUT YOUR PHOTO".
- ☐3
Under each, write what your version does better.
Mission 2: Stop – Check – Share (pairs, 8 min)
- ☐4
Predict: how many of the three messages are safe to share? Write your guess.
- ☐5
For each message on the projector, fill in:
Question Message 1 Message 2 Message 3 Who sent it first? Do we know? Is there proof — a link, a name, a date? Does an official source say the same? Is it trying to make me scared or angry? Share, or not? - ☐6
For message 1 (the snow closure), check the official source your teacher shows.
No laptop today?
Do Part 1 in your notebook. For Part 2, the teacher reads each message and each question aloud; the class votes Share (stand) or Don't share (sit).
Now you know
- Behind every screen is a person. Online words hurt as much as spoken ones — and last longer.
- Cyberbullying is using technology to hurt, scare or embarrass someone, usually again and again.
- If it happens: don't reply, save proof, block, tell a trusted adult. Adults can report at cybercrime.gov.in or call 1930, India's cybercrime helpline.
- Stop – Check – Share: who sent it, is there proof, what does an official source say?
- Two questions before every send: Is it kind? Is it true?
🕌 From our heritage
Both of today's rules sit in a single sūrah. On truth: "O believers, if an evildoer brings you any news, verify ˹it˺ so you do not harm people unknowingly, becoming regretful for what you have done" (Al-Hujurat 49:6) — which is Stop, Check, Share, in one sentence. On kindness: the same sūrah forbids ghībah, backbiting, and asks whether you would eat the flesh of your dead brother (49:12). The Prophet ﷺ defined ghībah as "mentioning your brother in a manner which he dislikes", adding that if what you say is untrue, it is slander (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2589). A forwarded rumour and a mocking comment are both very old problems. Only the screen is new.
Sources: Qur'ān 49:6 and 49:12, translation by Dr. Mustafa Khattab, The Clear Quran; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Book of Virtue, Good Manners and Joining of the Ties of Kinship, hadith 2589.
Debate it
Your friend forwards the snow message to you and says: "Quick, send it on! Better safe than sorry."
Is forwarding "just in case" harmless? What happened to Bilal's class because of it?
Check yourself — practice, not a test
1. A classmate is being teased in a group chat. What should you do? (choose all that apply)
- ○ Reply with an even ruder comment
- ○ Take a screenshot as proof
- ○ Tell a trusted adult
- ○ Send the classmate a kind message
2. Put the steps in order before forwarding a message:
- 1. Share only if it is true
- 2. Compare it with an official source
- 3. Stop, and don't forward yet
- 4. Check who sent it and look for proof
3. A message that says "URGENT! Forward to everyone!" is probably true.
- ○ True
- ○ False
4. India's national cybercrime helpline number is ______.
Remember
Before you send: is it kind, and is it true?