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FREE TEACHER STORY UNIT · KS1 AND KS2

Safer Internet Day story activities for KS1 and KS2

A class story for Safer Internet Day about using smart tech, including AI, safely, kindly and wisely. KS1 spot a muddled picture machine’s mistakes and keep private things private; KS2 follow a story idea through the machines and write a class smart tech promise. Each key stage has a one-page lesson sheet.

When to use it
The week of Safer Internet Day, or any online safety lesson.
Date
Safer Internet Day 2027 is on Tuesday 9 February. The UK theme is “Reflect on Tech: exploring digital wellbeing and our relationship with technology”. Source
Story world
Inside the Computer
Subject focus
Computing · Online safety
Suggested story settings
Genre: Invention & Discovery · Length: 2 chapters · Time: 15–20 minutes
On this page
KS1 · KS2 · Teaching notes · Lesson sheet

Story feel: Wonder & discovery. Story shape: Problem to solve.

About this unit

This unit gives children an honest, simple picture of AI: a clever tool, not a person or a friend, which makes words and pictures by predicting from lots of examples and can sound sure while being wrong. Around that it builds three habits: check what a computer tells you, keep private things private, and notice when it is time for a break.

Both stories are set in an imaginary world inside a computer, and the machines in it have no names, faces or feelings. The world is make-believe, so the stories do not describe how any real app or website works. The tone is cheerful and calm throughout.

KS1 (Reception to Year 2): The Picture Machine's Muddle

Learning objective

Know that computers and AI can make mistakes, keep private things private, and ask a trusted grown-up when unsure.

Talk questions

  1. What mistakes did the Picture Machine make? How did our hero find out?
  2. Which things about you are private? Who could you ask if a computer asks for them?

Writing task

Draw the Picture Machine making a funny mistake. Write one sentence: 'Computers can get things wrong, so I ___.'

Suggested story settings: Genre: Invention & Discovery · Length: 2 chapters · Time: 15–20 minutes

The story brief

What the class story is asked to do. “Our hero” is the character your class chooses.

A Safer Internet Day story for young readers about using smart tech safely. Our hero and their class visit an imaginary world inside a computer, where a big, humming Picture Machine turns children's ideas into pictures and words. The machine is a clever tool, not a person or a friend: it has no name, no face and no feelings, and it never chats. When it gets muddled (a cat with six legs, a green sun, a fish up a tree), our hero spots the mistake and checks with their teacher. When a flashing sign asks for our hero's home address, our hero says 'That's private!' and tells a grown-up. Near the end, our hero notices they have been on the screen a long time and chooses to go and play outside. Use a repeated line children can join in with: 'Stop, think, ask a grown-up!' Keep it cheerful and calm, with nothing scary. The world is make-believe: do not describe how any real app or website works.

Word bank

computer
a machine that follows instructions to do jobs, like writing, drawing or sorting
private
about you, and kept to yourself and the grown-ups you trust, like where you live
mistake
something that is wrong, done or made by accident
check
to look again to make sure something is right
grown-up
an adult you trust to help you, like a parent, carer or teacher

Text-type features: instructions

Purpose: to tell someone how to do or make something. Plan it with the free instructions plan template.

Reception to Year 2

  • A title that says 'How to…'
  • What you need
  • Numbered steps
  • Bossy verbs at the start

National Curriculum statements

  • “checking that the text makes sense to them as they read and correcting inaccurate reading”

    Year 1, Reading – comprehension (statutory)

  • “ask relevant questions to extend their understanding and knowledge”

    Years 1 to 6, Spoken language (statutory)

  • “use technology safely and respectfully, keeping personal information private; identify where to go for help and support when they have concerns about content or contact on the internet or other online technologies”

    Key stage 1, Computing (statutory)

Sample opening · KS1

A sample written for this page to show the brief in action. It is not the story Litsee writes for your class.

Whoosh! Our class tumbled into a world inside the computer. Lights blinked. Wires hummed.

In the middle stood the Picture Machine. It was big and boxy, and it went whirr, clunk, ding! It had no face and no name. It was a tool, like a pencil or a pair of scissors, only much bigger.

Kofi typed his idea: “A cat sitting on a mat.” Whirr, clunk, ding! Out came a picture of a cat with six legs.

Kofi giggled. “That’s not right! Cats have four legs.” He went to check with Miss Hart, and she agreed.

Then a sign began to flash: TYPE YOUR HOME ADDRESS. Kofi stopped. “Stop, think, ask a grown-up!” he said. “That’s private.”

KS2 (Years 3 to 6): The Story Checkers

Learning objective

Explain simply how AI makes words and pictures, why it can be wrong, and how to use smart tech safely, kindly and in balance.

Talk questions

  1. Why can AI sound sure and still be wrong? How did our hero check?
  2. How does using apps and games make you feel? How do you know when it is time for a break?

Writing task

Write our class's smart tech promise: five short rules for using apps and AI safely, kindly and wisely, each with a reason ('We will… because…').

Suggested story settings: Genre: Invention & Discovery · Length: 2 chapters · Time: 15–20 minutes

The story brief

What the class story is asked to do. “Our hero” is the character your class chooses.

A Safer Internet Day story for older primary readers about using smart tech, including AI, safely and wisely. Our hero shrinks into an imaginary world inside a computer and follows a child's story idea on its journey. At the Checking Gate, unkind or private things, like a home address, are stopped. In the Guessing Engine, the next part of a story is made by predicting likely words from huge numbers of examples: it does not know or understand things like a person, so it can sound sure and still be wrong. Our hero spots a confident mistake (that penguins live at the North Pole) and checks it in a book. They meet a picture that looks real but was made up, and learn never to make or share pictures of real people without asking. Our hero notices how long they have been on screen and chooses a break. At the end, the idea reaches a teacher, who reads it first. The machines are tools, not people or friends: no names, faces or feelings. The world is make-believe: do not describe how any real app works.

Word bank

artificial intelligence
computer programs that make words or pictures by spotting patterns in lots of examples; they do not think or understand like people
predict
to say what you think will come next, using what you already know
private
about you, and kept to yourself and the people you trust
reliable
able to be trusted to be right or to work properly
fact-check
to find out whether something is true using a trusted source, such as a good book or an expert

Text-type features: persuasive letter

Purpose: to persuade someone to agree or act. Plan it with the free persuasive letter plan template.

Years 3 and 4

  • Opening: what I want and why
  • A paragraph for each reason
  • Persuasive words: surely, definitely, everyone
  • A question to the reader
  • A strong closing

Years 5 and 6

  • A clear point of view in the opening
  • Reasons backed with evidence
  • Answering the other side
  • Modal verbs and adverbs of possibility
  • A formal, polite register
  • A call to action

National Curriculum statements

  • “distinguish between statements of fact and opinion”

    Years 5 and 6, Reading – comprehension (statutory)

  • “articulate and justify answers, arguments and opinions”

    Years 1 to 6, Spoken language (statutory)

  • “use search technologies effectively, appreciate how results are selected and ranked, and be discerning in evaluating digital content”

    Key stage 2, Computing (statutory)

  • “use technology safely, respectfully and responsibly; recognise acceptable/unacceptable behaviour; identify a range of ways to report concerns about content and contact”

    Key stage 2, Computing (statutory)

Sample opening · KS2

A sample written for this page to show the brief in action. It is not the story Litsee writes for your class.

One minute Amira was typing a story idea; the next, she was standing inside it, a tiny figure on a glowing road of letters.

Ahead stood the Checking Gate. Words rolled up to it like cars at a toll booth. Most passed straight through, but one stopped with a buzz: it was a home address, and the gate would not let it in.

Beyond the gate roared the Guessing Engine. It did not know anything, Amira realised as she watched. It simply looked at millions of examples and guessed which word was most likely to come next. Usually its guesses were good.

“Penguins live at the North Pole,” the Engine announced, in big, confident letters.

Amira frowned. That didn’t sound right. She pulled a battered animal atlas from her bag, flicked to the index, and checked.

Teaching notes

Start by asking children where they have met smart tech: voice assistants, games that suggest what to play next, apps that make pictures. Sort their examples into “helps me” and “I need to check it” on the board, then read the story. The point is not to scare anyone off technology but to use it wisely.

For KS1, play a game of “Stop, think, ask a grown-up!”: read out things a computer might ask for (your favourite colour, your address, your pet’s name, your password), and children stand up for anything private. Finish by naming the grown-ups in school they can ask.

For KS2, give pairs a short list of confident statements, some true and some false, and a book or trusted website to check them. Then write the class promise together, so that every rule comes with a reason. Children keep rules they have argued for.

Before teaching, check the unit against your school’s online safety curriculum and safeguarding procedures, and tell children who to talk to if anything online worries them.

Printable lesson sheet

One A4 page for each key stage, ready for your planning folder: the story title, objective, story settings, talk questions, writing task, word bank with meanings, success criteria, curriculum statements and the sample opening to read aloud. Printing this page prints only the two sheets.

Sources

The curriculum quotations are copied word for word from these documents. Dates were checked on 29 October 2026.

How this page was made

This page was drafted with AI help from Litsee’s curriculum data. The story titles, briefs, objectives, talk questions, writing tasks, word lists and story settings come from the seasonal class-story packs in the Litsee app; the text-type features come from the app’s curriculum data; the National Curriculum quotations are copied word for word from the Department for Education’s documents. The word meanings, sample openings and teaching notes were written for this page, and every date was checked against the source named beside it. Spotted something to improve? Email info@litsee.com.

Last reviewed: .

Questions parents and teachers ask

When is Safer Internet Day 2027?

Tuesday 9 February 2027. The UK Safer Internet Centre has set the UK theme as “Reflect on Tech: exploring digital wellbeing and our relationship with technology”.

Does this unit teach children how AI works?

At a simple level. KS2 learn that AI makes words and pictures by predicting from lots of examples, that it does not understand like a person, and that it can sound sure and still be wrong. KS1 learn that computers can make mistakes and that they should check with a grown-up.

Does the story show a real app or website?

No. The world inside the computer is make-believe, and its machines have no names, faces or feelings, so children are not shown any real product as a friend or an expert.

Which parts of the curriculum does it cover?

The online safety statements in the Computing programme of study, and English statements on checking that a text makes sense, telling fact from opinion and giving reasons for answers. They are quoted on this page.

Run this as a live class story in Litsee

In Litsee, a seasonal brief like this becomes an illustrated, narrated class story. You preview the first chapter before reading it with your class, and the class chooses what happens next together.

Start a free classroom trialSee Litsee for schools

Safer Internet Day story unit · KS1 (Reception to Year 2)

The Picture Machine's Muddle

Learning objective: Know that computers and AI can make mistakes, keep private things private, and ask a trusted grown-up when unsure.

Suggested story settings: Genre: Invention & Discovery · Length: 2 chapters · Time: 15–20 minutes · Story world: Inside the Computer

Talk questions

  1. What mistakes did the Picture Machine make? How did our hero find out?
  2. Which things about you are private? Who could you ask if a computer asks for them?

Writing task

Draw the Picture Machine making a funny mistake. Write one sentence: 'Computers can get things wrong, so I ___.'

Word bank

computer
a machine that follows instructions to do jobs, like writing, drawing or sorting
private
about you, and kept to yourself and the grown-ups you trust, like where you live
mistake
something that is wrong, done or made by accident
check
to look again to make sure something is right
grown-up
an adult you trust to help you, like a parent, carer or teacher

Success criteria (instructions)

Reception to Year 2: I can write a 'How to' title. I can number my steps. I can start with a bossy verb.

National Curriculum statements

  • “checking that the text makes sense to them as they read and correcting inaccurate reading” (Year 1, Reading – comprehension (statutory))
  • “ask relevant questions to extend their understanding and knowledge” (Years 1 to 6, Spoken language (statutory))
  • “use technology safely and respectfully, keeping personal information private; identify where to go for help and support when they have concerns about content or contact on the internet or other online technologies” (Key stage 1, Computing (statutory))

Sample opening (written for litsee.com, to read aloud)

Whoosh! Our class tumbled into a world inside the computer. Lights blinked. Wires hummed.

In the middle stood the Picture Machine. It was big and boxy, and it went whirr, clunk, ding! It had no face and no name. It was a tool, like a pencil or a pair of scissors, only much bigger.

Kofi typed his idea: “A cat sitting on a mat.” Whirr, clunk, ding! Out came a picture of a cat with six legs.

Kofi giggled. “That’s not right! Cats have four legs.” He went to check with Miss Hart, and she agreed.

Then a sign began to flash: TYPE YOUR HOME ADDRESS. Kofi stopped. “Stop, think, ask a grown-up!” he said. “That’s private.”

Notes

Free from litsee.com/teachers/story-units/safer-internet-day

Safer Internet Day story unit · KS2 (Years 3 to 6)

The Story Checkers

Learning objective: Explain simply how AI makes words and pictures, why it can be wrong, and how to use smart tech safely, kindly and in balance.

Suggested story settings: Genre: Invention & Discovery · Length: 2 chapters · Time: 15–20 minutes · Story world: Inside the Computer

Talk questions

  1. Why can AI sound sure and still be wrong? How did our hero check?
  2. How does using apps and games make you feel? How do you know when it is time for a break?

Writing task

Write our class's smart tech promise: five short rules for using apps and AI safely, kindly and wisely, each with a reason ('We will… because…').

Word bank

artificial intelligence
computer programs that make words or pictures by spotting patterns in lots of examples; they do not think or understand like people
predict
to say what you think will come next, using what you already know
private
about you, and kept to yourself and the people you trust
reliable
able to be trusted to be right or to work properly
fact-check
to find out whether something is true using a trusted source, such as a good book or an expert

Success criteria (persuasive letter)

Years 3 and 4: I can give a reason in each paragraph. I can use persuasive words. I can end strongly.

Years 5 and 6: I can back my reasons with evidence. I can answer the other side. I can use modal verbs and a formal register.

National Curriculum statements

  • “distinguish between statements of fact and opinion” (Years 5 and 6, Reading – comprehension (statutory))
  • “articulate and justify answers, arguments and opinions” (Years 1 to 6, Spoken language (statutory))
  • “use search technologies effectively, appreciate how results are selected and ranked, and be discerning in evaluating digital content” (Key stage 2, Computing (statutory))
  • “use technology safely, respectfully and responsibly; recognise acceptable/unacceptable behaviour; identify a range of ways to report concerns about content and contact” (Key stage 2, Computing (statutory))

Sample opening (written for litsee.com, to read aloud)

One minute Amira was typing a story idea; the next, she was standing inside it, a tiny figure on a glowing road of letters.

Ahead stood the Checking Gate. Words rolled up to it like cars at a toll booth. Most passed straight through, but one stopped with a buzz: it was a home address, and the gate would not let it in.

Beyond the gate roared the Guessing Engine. It did not know anything, Amira realised as she watched. It simply looked at millions of examples and guessed which word was most likely to come next. Usually its guesses were good.

“Penguins live at the North Pole,” the Engine announced, in big, confident letters.

Amira frowned. That didn’t sound right. She pulled a battered animal atlas from her bag, flicked to the index, and checked.

Notes

Free from litsee.com/teachers/story-units/safer-internet-day