Digital Citizenship · TEKS Technology Applications

Digital Citizenship Breakouts

A suite of Critical Thinking Online Breakouts for grades K–8. Students read clues, reason through four locks, and learn to think — not just click — online. Multilingual, and it runs entirely in the browser.

Grades K–2 Grades 3–5 Grades 6–8 🕹️ Arcade 🔎 Browse library Teacher guide
Google Classroom Edition. Every breakout gives students a completion code to turn in on Google Classroom, and you check the codes in one click.How to use it with ClassroomCheck codes
18
Activities
18
Free to use
K–8
Grades
7
Languages

Every breakout — free

Two complete breakouts for every grade, K–8, and all of them are free: fully playable, no login, no license, nothing collected. Share the link and go.

Grades K–2

Grade K · §126.5
Safe & Kind Online
Stay safe and be kind on the tablet. Solve four locks. Use the picture clues to help you.
FREE Start the breakout → Grade K · §126.5
Kindness Buddies
Help our online buddies be kind. Solve four locks. Use the picture clues to help you.
FREE Start the breakout → Grade 1 · §126.6
Smart Choices Online
Make smart choices on the tablet. Solve four locks. Use the clues to help you decide.
FREE Start the breakout → Grade 1 · §126.6
Password Pals
A password is like a secret key. Keep yours safe! Solve four locks with the clues.
FREE Start the breakout → Grade 2 · §126.7
Fair, Safe & Kind
Be fair, safe, and kind online. Solve four locks. Use the clues to make good choices.
FREE Start the breakout → Grade 2 · §126.7
My Online Trail
Everything you do online leaves a trail. Follow the clues and open four locks to learn about yours.
FREE Start the breakout →

Grades 3–5

Grade 3 · §126.8
Your First Digital Footprint
A new student left tracks all over the internet. Use the clues to solve four locks and clean up the trail.
FREE Start the breakout → Grade 3 · §126.8
Be Kind Online
The class chat got a little unkind. Use the clues to solve four locks and make it a kind place again.
FREE Start the breakout → Grade 4 · §126.9
The Permanent Record
A student thought old posts would just disappear. They didn't. Crack four locks to learn why the internet remembers.
FREE Start the breakout → Grade 4 · §126.9
The Group Chat
A student got added to a busy class group chat. Some messages were kind. Some were not. Crack four locks to learn how to be a good friend in a group chat.
FREE Start the breakout → Grade 5 · §126.10
Track the Trackers
Someone has been following a student across the internet — quietly, from site to site. Read the clues, solve four locks, and expose how the tracking works.
FREE Start the breakout → Grade 5 · §126.10
What Should I Share?
A new post is ready to go online — but wait. Some of it is safe to share, and some of it should stay private. Read the clues, solve four locks, and lock down what belongs to you.
FREE Start the breakout →

Grades 6–8

Grade 6 · §126.17
Fair Use Detective
A student creator wants to remix a photo, a song clip, and a quote into a class project — but is it legal? Follow the evidence and crack four locks to close the case.
FREE Start the breakout → Grade 6 · §126.17
Phishing Patrol
Strange messages are flooding the sixth-grade group. One promises free coins, another warns your account is about to be deleted. Which are real and which are bait? Study the messages and crack four locks to clear the case.
FREE Start the breakout → Grade 7 · §126.18
Spot the Spin
A post is racing across the internet, and thousands are sharing it without checking. Your job is to slow down, read past the spin, and unlock the truth.
FREE Start the breakout → Grade 7 · §126.18
Clickbait Detector
A headline is screaming for your tap and racing across every feed. Your job is to slow down, read past the bait, and unlock what is really going on.
FREE Start the breakout → Grade 8 · §126.19
Evaluate the Source
A trending article is spreading fast, but something about it doesn't add up. Analyze the evidence, crack four locks, and decide whether the source can be trusted.
FREE Start the breakout → Grade 8 · §126.19
Lock It Down
Your accounts hold your whole digital life, and someone just tried to get in. Learn how strong passphrases, second locks, and a calm plan keep intruders out. Crack four locks and secure the account for good.
FREE Start the breakout →

Why Critical Thinking Online Breakouts (CTOBs)?

A Critical Thinking Online Breakout (CTOB) is a browser-based digital escape room built for reasoning, not recall. Students read six short clues — one a deliberate decoy — and use them to open four locks. Each lock reveals a one-sentence reason that names why the answer follows from the evidence. There are no logins, nothing is graded, and Start over is always one tap away, so the cost of thinking out loud and being wrong is zero.

CTOBs run on the CLEAR thinking process — a simple critical-thinking checklist students can carry into any claim, message, or source they meet online. Every lock is a small CLEAR rep: the decoy trains students to weigh Evidence and reject a true-but-irrelevant fact; the “strong evidence” lock makes the strong / weak / missing distinction explicit; and the revealed reason models the Response. Digital citizenship is judgment — and CLEAR is how students practice it.

The CLEAR thinking process

A simple critical-thinking checklist. Students walk it on every breakout and can carry it into any claim, message, or source they meet online.

C

Claim What exactly is being said?

  • Make the claim specific.
  • Make it testable.
L

Lens What assumptions am I bringing?

  • What do I already believe?
  • Am I reacting to evidence or past experience?
E

Evidence What supports the claim?

  • Strong: facts, data, direct observations
  • Weak: rumors, impressions
  • Missing: what do I still need to know?
A

Alternatives What else could explain this?

  • Consider other causes.
  • Consider other viewpoints.
  • Avoid oversimplifying.
R

Response What should I do now?

  • Ask a question · gather more information · challenge the claim
  • Document the issue · speak up · wait
Quick reminder: What do I think? Why do I think it? What might I be missing? What should I do next?

Full teacher materials: curriculum guide · scope & sequence · lesson-plan guide · TEKS correlation · UDL & ELPS supports.