Common Sense Digital Literacy & Well-Being Curriculum

commonsense.org

Free plan Web

Spec score 7.9 #13 of 29 in K-12 Curriculum Platforms

What it is

Common Sense Digital Literacy & Well-Being Curriculum is a free web curriculum for kindergarten through grade 12. It gives teachers a framework for digital literacy and well-being, with standards alignment and teacher tools. The program covers healthy habits, relationships and communication, privacy and safety, cyberbullying and online harm, digital footprint, and information and media literacy. Its offering includes more than 165 updated lessons, described on the About page as 170+ lessons. Lessons combine interactive activities and discussion guides, taking about 20 minutes for K–8 or 40 minutes for grades 9–12. Topics include AI literacy, social media, screen time, deepfakes, consent, and AI hallucinations. Schools may follow a complete grade sequence or select and reorder lessons. A free self-paced implementation course is available for teachers and administrators. Lessons can fit library, media lab, subject, advisory, health, or social-emotional learning programs. The curriculum was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in San Francisco.

Spec sheet

Purpose: The curriculum gives teachers a free, research-backed framework for building students’ digital literacy skills.Read 8 Oct 2026 · commonsense.org
Audience: The curriculum is designed for grades K–12 and is offered to every district, school, and classroom.Read 8 Oct 2026 · commonsense.org
Headquarters: San Francisco, California, United StatesRead 28 Sep 2026 · commonsense.org
Founded: 2003Read 28 Sep 2026 · commonsense.org
Current issues: The curriculum addresses topics including AI literacy, social media, cyberbullying, screen time, digital footprint, deepfakes, consent, and AI hallucinations.Read 8 Oct 2026 · commonsense.org
Delivery: Lessons and implementation resources are presented on Common Sense Education web pages, and the implementation page links to scope-and-sequence and integration-guide documents.Read 8 Oct 2026 · commonsense.org
Implementation: Schools can use the full grade-level sequence across a school year or select individual lessons and reorder them as needed.Read 8 Oct 2026 · commonsense.org
Integration: The curriculum can be used during library or media lab time, in core-subject classrooms, advisory periods, or health and social-emotional learning programs.Read 8 Oct 2026 · commonsense.org
Lesson count: The curriculum includes more than 165 updated lessons; its About page describes the offering as 170+ K–12 lessons.Read 8 Oct 2026 · commonsense.org
Lesson format: Lessons include interactive activities, discussion guides, and flexibility, and are approximately 20 minutes for K–8 or 40 minutes for grades 9–12.Read 8 Oct 2026 · commonsense.org
Professional development: Common Sense offers a free, self-paced course for teachers and administrators implementing the curriculum.Read 8 Oct 2026 · commonsense.org
Research and partners: The curriculum was developed with Project Zero at Harvard Graduate School of Education, informed by experts at Georgetown, Wellesley, and Cornell, and independently evaluated by researchers at the London School of Economics and the University of New Hampshire.Read 8 Oct 2026 · commonsense.org
Security and privacy: Common Sense describes its Privacy Program as evaluating privacy policies to help parents, teachers, schools, and districts make informed choices about learning tools.Read 8 Oct 2026 · privacy.commonsense.org
Support and partnerships: School and district leaders can access implementation support and district partnerships, and Common Sense invites schools to contact it about partnering.Read 8 Oct 2026 · commonsense.org
Topics: The six core topics are healthy habits, relationships and communication, privacy and safety, cyberbullying and online harm, digital footprint, and information and media literacy.Read 8 Oct 2026 · commonsense.org

Plans and prices

Free Free K–12 curriculum · 170+ lessons Read 8 Oct 2026 · commonsense.org

Every Common Sense Digital Literacy & Well-Being Curriculum plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

Free plan for K–12 curriculum
170+ lessons across six core topics
Interactive activities and discussion guides
Lessons can be reordered for local use
Free self-paced implementation course

Limits

Web platform only
No free trial is offered

Who it suits

It suits K–12 schools, districts, teachers, and administrators seeking a free, multi-subject digital-literacy curriculum. Its flexible lesson selection also fits schools integrating content into existing classes or programs.

Verdict

This is a broad, free K–12 curriculum with substantial lesson coverage and flexible scheduling. Its browser delivery and implementation resources make it suitable for schools planning digital-literacy instruction across subjects.