A female elementary student wearing headphones smiles while working with her teacher on a classroom digital tablet.

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Lesson

Thinking Traps

What are thinking traps, and how can they impact our well-being when we use tech?

Grades

6–12

Time

45 mins.
Objectives:

  • Learn about "thinking traps" and how they can impact us while we use tech.

  • Recognize and label common thinking traps, like mind reading and all-or-nothing thinking.

Vocabulary Show definitions
digital well-being · thinking traps · negative automatic thoughts
digital well-being – experiencing media and technology in ways that support one's mental, physical, social, and emotional health
thinking traps – exaggerated or irrational negative thought patterns that can lead us to believe things that aren't necessarily true
negative automatic thoughts – negative thoughts that pop up in our minds, which may not be true or helpful to us
Lesson video
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Part 3 of this lesson involves a class voting activity. Activity prep:

  • Print out the Thinking Traps posters and place them on a wall in the classroom. 
  • Have something students can use for voting: either a set of circle stickers (five per student) or a marker (one per student). (All can be the same color).

Lesson Plan

45 mins.
© Common Sense Media. Lessons are shareable with attribution for noncommercial use only. No remixing permitted. View detailed license information at creativecommons.org. Lesson last updated: July 2023

What You'll Need

In Class

© Common Sense Media. Lessons are shareable with attribution for noncommercial use only. No remixing permitted. View detailed license information at creativecommons.org. Lesson last updated: July 2023

This lesson was co-created with the Center for Digital Thriving at Harvard Graduate School of Education in collaboration with KQED.