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.
The premise
A single weak or reused password can hand a thief the keys to everything you own online. A smart digital citizen builds strong locks before trouble strikes and knows exactly what to do when an alarm goes off. Work through the case files, weigh each choice, and open all four locks. Every lock carries a reason that shows exactly why the answer keeps you safe.
How this breakout builds CLEAR thinking
Every Critical Thinking Online Breakout runs on the CLEAR process — Claim, Lens, Evidence, Alternatives, Response (full framework). Here is where students practice each step in this activity:
- Claim — for each lock, decide what answer it is really asking for, and make it specific.
- Lens — notice what you already assume before you choose.
- Evidence — weigh the six clues; “The Battery” is true but off-topic, so it is not evidence for any lock.
- Alternatives — the multiple-choice and multi-select locks force a comparison of competing options.
- Response — the reason revealed after each lock models the justified answer to act on.
Standards alignment
Aligned to Texas TEKS Technology Applications, Grade 8, §126.19, Digital Citizenship strand — subsections (c)(10). Skills are paraphrased; read the official standard at tea.texas.gov. This page shows the reasoning focus of each lock — not the answers.
| Lock | Reasoning focus | DigCit substrand |
|---|---|---|
| Lock 1 Build a Strong Passphrase |
Build a Strong Passphrase | (c)(10) Privacy, safety & security |
| Lock 2 Name the Second Lock |
Name the Second Lock | (c)(10) Privacy, safety & security |
| Lock 3 Don't Reuse Passwords |
Don't Reuse Passwords | (c)(10) Privacy, safety & security |
| Lock 4 Respond to the Breach |
Respond to the Breach | (c)(10) Privacy, safety & security |
In the classroom
- Warm up (5 min). Ask: “Become an Account Guardian” — what does this mean online? Surface prior experience before the activity.
- Model one clue. Open a single clue together and think aloud: what does this tell us, and which lock might it help?
- Reason, don’t guess. Require students to say why before checking a lock. After each solve, read the revealed reason and compare it to their thinking.
- Spot the decoy. One clue is true but useless. Debrief which one and how they knew — a core evaluation skill.
- Language support. The 🌐 picker offers 7 languages; pair newcomers to discuss clues in their home language, then answer.
- Extend. Have students write a new clue, or a real-life example, for the focus skill they found hardest.