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THE PHILOSOPHY BEHIND SURF SWELL ISLAND:
We at The Walt Disney Company believe that children learn best when they are relaxed and having fun. That is why we have chosen to address the very serious topic of Internet safety through a fun and engaging forum.

CONTENT OVERVIEW:
The Surf Swell Island site is a quiz-driven adventure game. Internet safety material is presented in a series of three games, each featuring a classic Disney character and focusing on an area of concern: privacy, viruses, or netiquette (guidelines for behavior on the Internet). Each of the three games is followed by a mini-quiz reinforcing what was presented in the game. The exciting Challenge of Doom mega-quiz brings together the content from the first three games. Answering correctly gives children access to a collection of fun Surf Swell-themed activities located in the password-protected Treasure Palace.

Woven throughout the Surf Swell Island site are visual and written references to wireless devices, particularly handheld PCs. Although good behavior on the Internet is the same regardless of how you are connecting, we felt it was important to acknowledge the wireless movement, because this simple fact may not be apparent to children.

A NOTE ON CHILD DEVELOPMENT:
Surf Swell Island and this Teacher's Guide were developed with the understanding that children of a wide variety of ages and backgrounds, with their own strengths and weaknesses, would be using this site. We recognize that although children differ in personality and learning, certain age groups tend to share characteristics. We also recognize that within any age range there is likely to be a wide variety of skill levels. With that in mind, we have created this guide in the hope that you, who best know your classes' skills and needs, will take this material and customize it to make it work for all of you.

We have organized the following guidelines by age group to inspire teachers to create their own curriculums around Internet safety, incorporating some of the ideas and content from Surf Swell Island, and perhaps the site itself.

PRESCHOOL - K:
Employ these activities for fun, engaging tasks that carry the experience of Surf Swell Island offline and into the active, everyday lives of young, imaginative children.

1) Have children play with the site alone or in small groups, with an adult on hand. This can happen at home, in school, or both, depending on the availability of computers.
2) Once children have become familiar with the site and its content, role-play experiences with them.
3) Retell or write out the story of Surf Swell Island in the children's own words. In the process, touch on some of the important Internet safety suggestions from the site. Clarify any misunderstandings.
4) Give children time to write or dictate their own stories of Internet safety or to elaborate on the events that occur on Surf Swell Island.
5) Set aside time for children to act out their stories for their classmates, assigning roles to the children who want to help act the stories out.
6) Write a class poem on Internet safety. The first letter of every line could make up a saying, such as "Always be cyber smart!"

GRADES 1 - 3
These suggestions are geared toward the middle childhood years, when children are poised between the magical, imaginative thinking of early childhood and the logical concrete thinking of subsequent years.

1) Allow children to play, either independently or in small groups, with the Surf Swell site until they are familiar with the concepts presented.
2) Discuss the site openly during group time. Guide the children's conversation to help solidify their understanding of some of the concepts presented on the site.
3) Create lists together of some of the rules of conduct for the Web. For example, ask them what is private information. Once they seem to understand that private information is information that you never share on the Web, list types of private information as well as things that are OK to share.
4) Divide the class in two. Have one group of children create quiz questions while the other children try to remember everything they've learned from the site. Then have the first group test the knowledge of the second group. Reverse the process the following day.
5) Have a Surf Swell Island day where children dress up as adventurers and search for clues around the room that lead to a hidden treasure. Allow them to collaborate on answers or to research the questions on Surf Swell Island.
6) Have children write and illustrate their own stories on Internet safety. Bind these books with cardboard covers and make them part of the reading area for children to review at leisure.

GRADES 4 - 6
Children in these upper grades are solidifying many of their earlier skills as well as growing more sophisticated in what they can understand and do.

1) Allow children to play with the Surf Swell site until they are familiar with the concepts presented.
2) Have them work in small groups to identify rules of behavior on the Web. Compare the lists that different groups put together. Encourage conversation about why missing items are important. Guide children toward areas they may be forgetting or overlooking.
3) Have children write and illustrate their own stories on Internet safety. Bind these books with cardboard covers and make them part of the reading area, to review at leisure.
4) Encourage children to pretend they are on Surf Swell Island. What kind of adventures in cyber safety would they have? Create a story.
5) Do a presentation for parents in which the site is reconstructed in the classroom or auditorium and the children act out the adventures. Afterward the children can act as hosts while parents and siblings visit the various parts of Surf Swell Island.
6) Give everyone a list of words and objects to find on the Surf Swell site. Have children work independently or in small groups to find and define these items.